The Kind of Books I Like

Are you sure that you really know your friends, neighbours or members of your family? I think that often we are oblivious to people around us because we are overworked, have a hectic day or we just do not want to see <s>the</s> reality. The idea that we know nothing impressed me after reading Stephen King's novella "A Good Marriage". It's about a woman who found out that her husband is a serial killer after 27 years of <s>their</s> marriage. It's really scary. I couldn't imagine the possibility of not noticing any changes in a person you see every day. Apparently, the woman herself didn't want to admit that.

That story ignited my interest in these kinds of books. I like psychological thrillers with <s>these</s> spine-chilling moments and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes they are too fictitious to believe and I don't know why they grab my attention but I can't pass by a new-released novel or a TV-series about this topic. This is my guilty pleasure :)

Good job! You can use Microsoft Word or other resources to spellcheck texts to see small mistakes in spelling.

Children shouldn’t be punished for their mistakes. My opinion on the article below

In my opinion, the article touches on a topical issue, and its recommendations should be implemented. Children are generally under pressure from their parents and teachers. Our school program is getting more and more difficult, whereas its results leave much to be desired. It may appear to children that all grown-ups do is criticize them. As a result, the parent-child relationship problem becomes aggravated. I’m in broad agreement with the idea of concentrating not on the results of children’s work, but on their work itself. A child’s motivation can be easily destroyed by a large amount of criticism as it’s common knowledge that children are apt to be touchy. Therefore, it behoves us not to discount their feelings and make sure that one mistake won’t demotivate a child. Personally, I think that children may be punished for their laziness, but even then you shouldn’t come down on them. On the contrary, a parent or a teacher must go all out to help a kid not to run out of steam, otherwise at one point or another they will give up on further work.

My corrections are mainly stylistic, and therefore a matter of taste. Here's how I would write similar ideas (it's just an example):

In my opinion, the article certainly touches on a topical issue. Though people may have their disagreements, I believe the recommendations made in the article should be implemented. Children have a tough time in school because of the high expectations of teachers and parents. To make things more worse, our school system is only getting more difficult for students, all while exam results leave much to be desired. Sometimes it seems to kids that all adults do is give them a hard time for one thing or another. It's no wonder that child-parent relationships are at an all-time low. I generally agree that we ought to focus on children's work itself, and not so much on test results. After all, even a small, idle remark can undermine a child's motivation. That's why we should always take their feelings into account during the educational process. I do believe that it's alright to punish children for laziness, but it should be done kindly, and with empathy. Only by caring for the children's emotions can we ensure that they won't lose motivation and give up entirely.

I thought your response was interesting. Where do you think we can draw the line between discipline and keeping kids motivated?

National Stereotypes

Frankly, I don't like talking about stereotypes because everyone is different. But there is something in common in people of the same nationality. Russian people's strengths include purposefulness, ambition, quick wit, ingenuity, and creativity. We are stubborn and usually achieve what we want. We are generous and hospitable. Russians may seem rude, but once you become our friend, we <s>will</s> treat you like family.

We are quite flexible and able to adapt to changing conditions, but I'm not sure if this is an advantage. If conditions change for the worse, Russian people don't resist this. Now, let's smoothly move to the weaknesses.

I am happy that I don't live in Russia, because I cannot stand some of the character traits of my compatriots. Russians like to endure. They complain a lot, they are envious, but they do nothing to change their life. Because it will be worse. Because we remember that it used to be worse.

They believe in strange rules, like that you must be married and have at least one child before the age of 30. Many Russians are rude and tactless.

I am not a typical Russian, otherwise I wouldn't be living abroad.

Corrections are a mix of grammatically more-or-less necessary changes (generally commas and conjunctions in this text) and stylistic changes based on my personal taste.

My #5 note. Weekend activities

Greetings to all!

It's still Saturday but I have already managed to accomplish plenty of things. First of all, I have finished my homework for the holidays. And that's so timely because <s style="background-color: rgb(235, 214, 255);">of</s> my English classes will start next week. It will begin on Wednesday but I want to have some free evenings to recheck some stuff from my work and arrange my schedule.

From next week, my classes will be twice per week. Also, I need to find time for my speaking classes online and weekly personal lessons. That<s style="background-color: rgb(235, 214, 255);">'s</s> will be hard. As I wrote in my previous notes, I don't have much time to prepare for the examination. It's necessary for getting into university (/college). And what is more important, the application process has already started. It lasts until autumn. But if I hanker (/want) to receive a grant for <s style="background-color: rgb(235, 214, 255);">an</s> my education, I should hurry.

To make the learning and preparation easier, I unearthed and commenced playing a game in English. It's called "Orwell" and you can purchase it on Steam. In this game, we are involved in an investigation. We have to analyze personal data, read e-mails, and make connections between pieces of info (/clues) and phone calls. There a huge amount of texts and all of them are in English. It is interesting and educational. At least for me. I {found/learned about} a ton of new words from this game. Also there is no action, no shooting, and other stuff from classic games in the usual sense. So, if you crave to diversify your studying you could try it.

Have a good weekend and thank you for comments!

Great work, Egor!

Remember:

Because of + noun or noun phrase

e.g.

Because of the weather; because of the fact that the weather was bad

If I were to write what you'd written in the way that I write, I would end up with something like this:

It's only Saturday, but I've managed to get a ton done! First of all, I finished all my homework for the holidays, which is really fortunate since English classes are starting next week. They start on Wednesday, but I'm happy to have some free time till then to arrange my schedule and check stuff from my work.

I'll be having English classes twice a week. I'll also need to find time for my online speaking classes and personal lessons, which will be hard. As I've written in my previous notes, I don't have a lot of time to prepare for my exams. It's pretty important, because the results of these exams determine whether you can get into college or not, and also whether you can get any grants or scholarships. Since the application process has already begun, I really need to hurry if I want a chance to get a good grant.

To help prepare for my exams, I started playing a new game called "Orwell." It's entirely in English, and in it you're conducting some sort of interesting investigation. You can find it on Steam, by the way. Anyway, most of the game is centered around analyzing texts like emails and the like, all of which, obviously, are in English. It's really interesting and educational, and it goes without saying that it's a great way to learn new words. It's not like ordinary games with action, shooting, or things like that. If you need a break from your textbooks, it's worth giving a shot!

My goals for 12 weeks

My name's Alexander. I'm 27 years old. I'm from Krasnodar in Russia, and I speak Russian and a little English. I'm learning English myself. Today my English level is A1. I'm using New English File Elementary and Macmillan Grammar in Context.

These are my goals for 12 weeks:

- have a confident A1 level;

- start speaking English with natives;

This is my plan for 12 weeks:

- 40-60 minutes for student's book and work book every day;

- find <s style="background-color: rgb(255, 235, 204);">a</s> language partners on italki and speak every week;

- write posts every day;

My big [/long-term] goal is level C1. My wife and I want to pass IELTS test with 7 points.

✔️Thank you for checking this post. It is useful for me.

Alexander, nice work! You write more confidently than an A1 student. Continue studying, and make sure to note places where English logic is different from Russian:

мы с женой - My wife and I

говорить на английском - speak English

Work on present continuous tense!

Could you please check this review?

Storytelling show from Stand-up Club №1

It sounds compelling to watch <s>the</s> a comedy show live, in the front row, rather than on TV, doesn’t it? Stand-up Club №1 in Moscow offers a variety of entertaining programs you can attend for free, including a storytelling genre. [could mention the storytelling genre in a separate sentence, if you don't want to say "including" twice]

The cast of young comedians from different parts of Russia gather<s>ed</s> in the club on Arbat street under the patronage of channel TNT in order to produce atmospheric shows for the audience, including storytelling performances. The genre itself is derived from the ordinary stand-up show, but it focuses more on the story rather than on separate jokes.

The plan of the show is pretty simple: there are 10 comedians of varying age and experience who have 5 minutes to tell their story. Obviously, their narrative should be somehow funny, but there are no strict rules. The show’s pace is usually action-packed and fast-moving. It is also worth mentioning that the performers are mostly unexperienced, but their effort is really impressive. In addition, it is not uncommon to see [guest performances by] famous comedians during these shows, so the performances become even more memorable.

However, it should be taken into consideration that some narrators come without any preparation, which is, undoubtedly, disrespectful to the audience. But still, it is a completely different kind of experience when you sit in front of the comedians telling their stories, as it is much more convincing and hilarious. As for me, storytelling shows are something every person should see.

highlights in red are stylistic suggestions. in pale violet are more necessary changes. All in all, the writing is really great :)

Several Sentences with New Words

1) Last time we went on an outing I saw a hare in the forest. The picnic we <s>have</s> had there was amazing and my friend joked that even wild animals were interested <s>to visit</s> in visiting it.

2) Your last paragraph doesn't really go with what was said above. If I were you, I would definitely think it over once again.

3) You missed the instruction at the top of the page - that's why you did everything wrong. Next time, please, follow it.

4) The authorities have some plans about how to gentrify this area in the coming years.

5) Ask and call around to find out if our neighbors have seen our poor cat. Perhaps they <s>could</s> saw someone who took it away.

6) The UK has the unbroken tradition of a royal monarchy. I believe that it makes the country and their society strong and proud.

7) I got a parcel but I have no idea who it is from. There are no names, just initials, and the address <s>are</s> is pale and illegible.

You did a good job with your new vocabulary but you made a few small mistakes with grammar in other places.

Yes, I can say that is true for me. The first meeting may differ from the others. We never know what happened with a person before we met them. Even if a person has <s>a</s> dirty clothes, we shouldn’t judge him or her. This person might have been in an accident and didn’t have time to change his or her clothes. As for cost of clothes, for me it doesn’t matter. From time to time I meet people who wear <s>not</s> inexpensive clothes, but they have enough money.

And the most important thing is that a person’s appearance often has nothing to do with their moral qualities. A person can be very attractive, wear famous brands, but there may be nothing in that person’s heart and soul. He or she might be a traitor, a liar or something else. And vice versa.

Yes, it’s true that (handsome) looks can draw attention, but only the beauty of one's soul is able to hold it.

I think you have a good range of vocabulary, and I like the way you presented your ideas in your text. One area for improvement is articles. Thanks for sharing your writing :)

If you want to see how I would write the same ideas with different words, you can look at this:

Yes, I think that statement holds true for me. The first time you meet someone, they can seem completely different than the person they really are. We never really know what happened in someone's life before we run into them, so it's pretty senseless to judge them. For example, maybe they had an accident and simply didn't have time to change their clothes. Regarding the cost of clothes, I can say that for me it doesn't matter at all. Sometimes I even run into rich people dressed like homeless people! Regardless, someone's appearance tells you very little about their moral qualities. More often than not, super attractive people who wear expensive designer brands may be trying to compensate for the lack of some other, deeper qualities. These people might be liars, gossips, or turn out to be terrible backstabbers.

While good looks can draw attention, only the beauty of one's soul can maintain and nourish that attention.