Practical/ Functional English- Making a point vs. Making a Proposal

Hey!

I've mentioned in class a couple of times that whenever we are speaking in English, with any kind of communicative purposes, aside from using some given grammatical and lexical structures, we are fulfilling a particular function (or various), and such endeavor usually requires utilizing some rather fixed expressions; not because we fancy doing so, but because our interlocutor is more likely to fully understand and even agree to respond to our communicative intentions accordingly.

Find below some handy expressions for both making a point and a proposal.

A) How to make a point

Making a point

- There are several reasons why I think that...

- The reason (why) I say that is...

- The facts suggest.../ The evidence shows...

- After all, ...

- The point is...

- If you think about it...

Clarifying a point

- What I'm basically saying is...

- The point I'm trying to make is...

- Actually,.../ In fact, ...

- Let me put it this way...

- I think you'll find that...

Challenging a point

- Do you think that's always the case?

- Can you be sure about that?

- Is there any way/evidence to prove that?

- But that's not the point.

- But that doesn't take account of the fact that...

B) Making a proposal

Introducing your proposal

- Just to give you a bit of background information...

- To start with, I'm going to talk briefly about...

Stating the purpose

- The aim of the project is to...

- The main goal/objective of our proposal is to...

Describing the Idea:

- What we plan to do is...

- We plan to build/ develop/ come up with...

Justifying your Idea:

- This solution will help us to... This idea is feasible because...

Listing the benefits:

- In the first instance/ place, this would mean...

- The short-term/long-term goal benefits include...

Summarising your proposal:

- So, basically, what we're proposing (to do) is...

- to sum up, we're proposing...

Soliciting questions:

- Is there anything that needs clarification?

- Does anyone have any questions? (Duh!)

All these expressions have proven to be extremely useful in any kind of (real or fictional) communicative situation in which expressing one's views and trying to make any project succeed were the main goal!

Enjoy!

Advanced Grammar: How to express Emphasis (1)

Hi there again!

As cleft sentences are the brand new grammatical content to be addressed- though one you should not be completely unfamiliar with if you've had some contanct with advanced English grammar in the past-, find here some explanatory videos with lots of cool examples, for you to practice.

Enjoy!

BBC Learning English- Giving emphasis by using WHAT

Advanced English Grammar- Cleft Sentences

Some recent videos

Hey!

Find below some of the videos we have seen in class lately. By having all of them grouped here, I guess it'll be easier to re-watch them for whoever is intereted in doing so!

Interview with Samuel L. Jackson

Such great insights the ones good old Samuel L Jackson comes up with in this great interview. Really interesting information about his background and one very fine example of managing to succeed in the face of adversity!

Cutting Back: Spain hits hard times

Objective portray of the reality in Spain or just clichéd Right Wing propaganda by the pricks at Wall Street Journal? In any case, a pretty interesting video to watch and practice your listening skills!

Garry Bushell on what it means to be English

Man, is that bloke Bushell proud to be from E-N-G-L-A-N-D (let me spell it out, as he would). All sorts of historic, cultural, social and war feats justify the patriotic boner this mate gets whenever the name of his country just gets mentioned, according to his words. Yeah, ROIT!

UKIP campaign for Brexit 2016

In the wake of the recent events, it definitely looks like the world is changing, if not exactly for the better. It is basically the law of the jungle, every man for himself, my country's much better than yours,.. you name it. The beginning of the end of our civilization? Well, I wouldn't go that far, but it is a little worrying the path developed countries are heading for!

Advanced English Writing Tips: How to write an Essay

Hi there!

Writing any type of text in English, whilst using a good range of grammatical structures, interesting insights and ideas and advanced vocabulary may not be an extremely easy endeavor to undertake, but you bet the effort is worth making!

I've mentioned a couple of times in our classes that writing and speaking are two different mediums of communication, each with its own particular and distinctive traits. For most educated foreign learners, however, speaking will usually be the most complicated task to master of the two (its improvisational nature, less time to plan and structure our messages, etc.). This means that we may feel more comfortable expressing some complex, abstract ideas in writing, for we may use more advanced language and "shine" language-wise than in speaking, where we are more likely to rely on language we are already familiar with and accustomed to.

 Anyway, there is a strong carryover from advanced writing practice to advanced speaking performance, as those complex language items once were a challenging choice in our texts will cease to be so and can easily be transferred to our spoken English.

Yeah, one of the many reasons to practice your writing skills!

Find here a couple of cool links I found on the net to help you when writing your ESSAYS.

6 practical tips to write an Essay

CAE tips for writing Essays

Pdf presentation with tips on Advanced Essay writing