Reading and writing practice on this page is organized by unit, with each unit linking out to lesson posts covering comprehension passages, paragraph models, grammar in context, and writing prompts. Scroll through the unit lists below to find a topic that matches what you are currently studying, or work through them in order if you are starting from the beginning.
UNIT 2
Each unit’s reading and writing practice is meant to be used together: read the linked passage or model paragraph first, then use the accompanying writing prompt to produce something in the same style. This pairing mirrors how strong writers actually improve — by noticing patterns in what they read before trying to reproduce them on the page.
If you are teaching a class rather than studying alone, most of these reading and writing practice units work well as a two-part lesson: read and discuss the passage as a group first, then let students write individually or in pairs before sharing a few responses aloud. For self-study, it helps to read a passage twice — once for general meaning and once to notice structure — before starting the writing prompt.
Progress in reading and writing practice is often uneven: reading comprehension tends to improve faster than confident, well-organized writing. That gap is normal. Rereading a strong model paragraph a second time after attempting your own version usually makes it easier to spot what your writing is missing.
For extra reading and writing material outside of these units, the British Council’s LearnEnglish writing section is a free, well-organized companion resource. If you have not yet looked at the Reading, Writing, Listening & Speaking hub this page belongs to, it is worth a visit to see how these units connect to the listening and speaking side as well.
Not every unit needs to be completed in a single sitting. Reading and writing practice tends to stick better when spaced out — a unit today, a short review of new vocabulary tomorrow, and a fresh unit a few days later — rather than working through several units back to back.
Parents or tutors supporting a learner at home can use these reading and writing practice units as a light weekly structure: read the passage together, then have the learner write their response out loud before writing it down. Saying an idea first, then writing it, often produces clearer sentences than writing cold.
Classroom teachers adapting these reading and writing practice units for larger groups often have students annotate the reading passage individually first, marking anything they found difficult, before comparing notes in pairs. Only after that comparison do most classes move into the writing prompt, which tends to produce more confident first drafts than jumping straight from reading to writing alone.
As you work through more of this reading and writing practice list, it helps to keep a short running log of useful phrases or sentence structures from each unit’s model paragraph, not just new vocabulary. Reusing a phrase you have already seen in context is usually easier than inventing a new sentence structure from scratch every time you write.
One more habit worth building into any reading and writing practice routine is timing yourself on the writing prompt, even loosely. A rough 15-to-20-minute limit encourages a complete draft rather than an over-polished opening paragraph, and it more closely matches the pacing most exams and classroom writing tasks actually expect.
A quick final tip: keep a short list of your three most common grammar mistakes somewhere visible while you write, and check your draft against that list before moving on to the next unit.
