Hometown— Part 1 Report

Suggestion: Be careful with articles and word order; begin with a clear topic sentence and avoid extra words. Use correct prepositions and concise phrasing. Add one or two specific details (population, notable features) with linking words to make it coherent.

Example: I come from Vladikavkaz, a small city in southern Russia. It lies in the North Caucasus near the Russian–Georgian border, and it is surrounded by mountains. The city has about 300,000 residents and is known for its historic architecture and busy markets.

Suggestion: Organize your answer: start with a clear topic sentence, then give two specific supporting details using linking words. Avoid filler words and unclear phrases. Be specific about locations and examples (names of trails, seasons, activities) to strengthen content.

Example: I especially like the mountain scenery in my hometown because the views are breathtaking. For example, when you hike up Mount Kazbek Trail you can see the entire valley, which is particularly beautiful in autumn. In addition, the town is very safe, so I often walk around at night without worrying about crime.

Suggestion: Make the timeline concise and use clearer tenses. Start with a direct statement about how long you've lived there, then briefly explain the exception with simple linking words (however, for). Keep it to two sentences maximum.

Example: I have lived in my hometown for most of my life. However, I spent about ten years living in Moscow before moving back, and I have been back here ever since.

Suggestion: Remove hesitations and fillers, use precise phrasing and correct tense. Start with a direct opinion, then give two concrete reasons with linking words (for example, because, moreover). Mention specific amenities (parks, sports centers, universities) to be more convincing.

Example: Yes, definitely. Because the crime rate is very low — the town was recently ranked among the safest in Russia — parents feel comfortable letting teenagers go out. Moreover, there are many facilities for young people, such as sports centres, youth clubs and a university campus.

× I was born in the southern Russia, in a small city called Vladikovas.

✓ I was born in southern Russia, in a small city called Vladikavkaz.

Use of the definite article 'the' before country regions like 'southern Russia' is unnecessary; say 'in southern Russia'. Also city name appears misspelled: 'Vladikavkaz'. Ensure proper nouns are correct.

× It lies in the North Caucasus on the Russian Georgian border, and it's surrounded by mountains.

✓ It lies in the North Caucasus on the Russian–Georgian border, and it's surrounded by mountains.

Use a hyphen or en dash for compound proper names 'Russian–Georgian' and include the hyphenated adjective form. 'On the ... border' is acceptable; ensure correct punctuation and spelling.

× I love the mountain scenery in my hometown, the views are truly breathtaking where there you go, especially when you hike up to the local.

✓ I love the mountain scenery in my hometown; the views are truly breathtaking wherever you go, especially when you hike up to the local peaks.

Run-on sentence and wrong relative word 'where there you go' should be 'wherever you go'. 'the local' is incomplete; add a noun like 'peaks'. Use a semicolon or split into two sentences to fix sentence structure.

× I also appreciate why the town is very safe with low crime rates so it's peaceful to walk around at any time of the day.

✓ I also appreciate that the town is very safe with low crime rates, so it's peaceful to walk around at any time of day.

Use 'that' rather than 'why' to introduce a clause explaining appreciation. Remove 'the' before 'day' for idiomatic expression. Add comma before 'so' joining clauses.

× I have lived here all my life except for a period when I lived in Moscow for around 10 years, but after that I moved back to my hometown and I have been living here since.

✓ I have lived here all my life except for a period when I lived in Moscow for around ten years; after that I moved back to my hometown and have lived here since.

Mixing present perfect and present perfect continuous is unnecessary. Use 'have lived here since' or 'have been living here since' consistently. Also write numbers under ten as words: 'ten'.

× MMM yes, definitely cause crime rate here is low and it's it was named like the safest place in Russia umm or recently.

✓ Yes, definitely, because the crime rate here is low, and it was recently named one of the safest places in Russia.

Avoid fillers ('MMM', 'umm') in formal speech. Use 'because' instead of 'cause' in formal contexts. Correct word order: 'it was recently named one of the safest places in Russia.' Remove duplicated words 'it's it was' and the filler 'like'.

× And we also have a lot of amenities and sport amenities yeah for young people so.

✓ We also have a lot of amenities and sports facilities for young people.

'Sport amenities' is non-idiomatic; use 'sports facilities'. Remove filler 'yeah' and trailing 'so'. 'Amenities' and 'facilities' are clearer and correctly ordered.