Part One: Warm Up
Discuss the following questions with your partner(s).
- When was the last time you helped someone? Talk about it.
- When was the last time someone helped you? Talk about it
- Do you usually take people’s advice? Why or why not?
- Have you ever given someone health advice? If so, talk about it. If not, would you ever do it?
Part Two: Getting Ready To Write
Read the following email from a close friend.
Not feeling so hot these days
To: patsmith@gmail.com
Hey Pat,
Sorry I haven’t been in touch lately. Things have been super busy for me this summer. I’ve been working like crazy! Out of the last 34 days, I’ve worked 32! No summer fun for me :(
Seriously, though, I could use some advice. I know you have a busy schedule, too, with work and family, so I’d like to know how you do it. I find that I just have no time for exercise, and I’ve been sooooo stressed out lately.
I’d love to hear any tips you’re willing to share.
Take care & hope to you hear from you soon!
Sam
Answer the questions below with your partner(s).
- What is Sam concerned about?
Teacher Notes
How to exercise with a busy schedule and deal with stress.
- Why is Sam asking Pat for advice?
Teacher Notes
Sam knows that Pat is busy too, but is able to do everything.
- What do you think is Sam’s underlying problem?
Teacher Notes
She works too much. / She needs to take better care of herself.
Imagine you are Pat, and you’re going to give some general advice to help Sam feel better. You want to give Sam some ideas that worked for you from some websites. However, you don’t want Sam to have to read everything. You just want to give the main points.
In Writing 2-2, you studied what you need to focus on for note-taking. In Writing 4-2, you studied how to write a summary. We’re going to use both of these skills to reply to Sam’s email.