Useful language
Useful phrases
• An everyday invention
that I use a lot is...
• It was invented in (1900)
by...
• Before that time...
• People used to...
• It’s made of...
• It’s useful because...
• I couldn’t live without it
because...
• As well as that, ...
Useful vocabulary
• use / keep / carry
• metal / plastic / electric /
leather / paper
• quick / fun / important
• necessary / helpful /
useful / convenient
Inventions
Writing task: Describe an invention
Reply to Maxine’s blog post from Explore 1 and describe an everyday invention
that you use regularly. Write around 150 words.
Use the Useful language and the notes you made in the Engage task to help you
prepare.
Tip A blog post is usually neutral in style. Like in an article, a writer might ask
questions to the reader to create interest. First, think of an invention and then do some
research and plan your writing.
Follow this structure:
• Paragraph 1: Say what it is, when it was invented, and by who. Say what happened
before it was invented.
• Paragraph 2: Say what it looks like and why it’s useful.
• Paragraph 3: Give any other information about the invention.
Check it! Read your blog post and check it’s organized clearly and makes sense.
Then read it again and check for grammar, vocabulary and spelling errors.
Oxford Online
Skills Program
The ballpoint pen by Laszlo Jozsef Biró.
An invention which is used many times by many people is the pen, which is used to
write and make pints on paper. It was invented by the
Hungarian Laszlo Jozsef Biró, who was a prolific inventor who, among other things,
invented the ballpoint pen in 1938. He patented it in France and Hungary, but it was
never commercialized.
In 1943 he licensed his invention to Faber and Bic. The ballpoint pen was born. This
invention was common at the beginning, it did not have many details, it had to be used
with an ink and many times they were only sold in a single store. It is useful because it
helps us to schedule important things and write what one wants.
That invention was one of the best of the time, because before that another type of
medium was used. It brought renewal and ideas for improvement over time.