ESL Birthday Writing

Doing the ESL birthday writing tasks on this page is a good way to get better at using birthday words. When you write you have time to work slowly and choose the best word to use. You can look up words and think about which to use.

It is good to learn birthday vocabulary as you will probably have friends when you travel abroad that will have birthdays, and you will need to be able to celebrate with them. By doing the tasks on this page you will get better at using the correct words to describe birthdays. If you have any problem with choosing the best word to use, you can go to the ESL birthday vocabulary page for help.

There are the following four tasks for you to do on this page:

• Writing topics.
• Summary writing task.
• Writing a description of a picture.
• Writing a role-play.

ESL Birthday Writing Exercises

Exercise 1 – Writing Topics

In this ESL birthday writing task there are three topics that you can write about. You should pick one of the topics and then write as much as you can. Use the birthday vocabulary and construct the text with sentences and paragraphs. The more you write the better you will get at using the vocabulary. Once you have finished the first topic you could try the others as well, if you really what to practice a lot.

• Describe what you did on your last birthday.
• Explain what you think are good and bad birthday presents to give to people.
• Describe the changes that happen in the way a birthday is celebrated as people get older.

Exercise 2 – Writing a Summary

For this ESL birthday writing activity you need to read the following passage and then rewrite it so that the words and sentences have been changed but it still means the same thing. The new version should be shorter than the original; just keep the most important information in the new passage.

Birthdays

All birthdays are important, but some are very special. When a person reaches 18 years old a big celebration usually happens, and it is referred to as a 'coming of age' party. If parents can afford it, they may buy their child a car to mark the event. It could be that they would pay for a special holiday or buy a gift that will be treasured for the rest of their lives. A gold watch perhaps or some stunning jewellery.

In recent years, a lot of fuss is made when the year ends in a zero, 20, 30, 40 etc. Often as people get older they do not want to tell their friends their age.

Years ago it was quite exceptional to reach 100 years old. Now more and more people are living to and past this age. With good food and excellent medical care they still can have a reasonable quality of life.

When your birthday falls on the 29th February, it can either be celebrated on the 28th of February or the 1st of March when it isn't a leap year.

Royal birthdays provide an opportunity for an entire country to join in. In Thailand when the King celebrates his birthday the country recognises the father figure and everyone celebrates Fathers' day. Likewise, on the Queen of Thailand's birthday, Mothers' day is celebrated. 

The Queen of the United Kingdom has two birthdays. One is the day of her birth and the other one is an 'official' birthday and a state occasion. She was born in April but her other celebration is in June. It is known as The Trooping of the Colour. This is a big tourist attraction and hundreds stand and watch the parade of horses, carriages, soldiers and bands that march through London.  

Exercise 3 – Describing a Picture

Now in this ESL birthday writing activity you need to describe what you can see in the following picture. Explain what is happening, and also explain what might have happened before this and what might happen after the picture. Use full sentences and write as much as you can.

Exercise 4 – Writing Role-plays

For the last ESL birthday writing task you need to write a role-play that you can then perform with friends to practice speaking. Below you have two role-play prompts and you should use one or both of them to practice writing with birthday vocabulary. In each prompt you have been given the location, situation and participants, all you have to do is write what they say to each other.

Role-play 1

• Location: In a department store.
• Situation: Deciding what to buy someone for their birthday present.
• Participants: Two friends.

Role-play 2

• Location: In a house.
• Situation: At a birthday party eating food with the cake about to be served soon.
• Participants: The person celebrating their birthday and some friends.