Final task: From Runnymede to Westminster

Choose one format. Use at least three landmarks: 1215, 1689 and today.

Marked recap · 3 points

1. Give the dates of Magna Carta and of the Bill of Rights.

2. Who appoints the Prime Minister, and on what condition?

3. Which two nations voted Remain in 2016?

Show the recap answers

1215 and 1689.
The King, if the person commands the confidence of the House of Commons.
Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Option A. Oral (B1 to B2): a speech as a newly elected MP

You have just been elected MP. In three minutes, you explain to young voters who holds power in the United Kingdom and why their vote matters.

Step by step

Greet your audience and introduce yourself.
Explain how the King lost his power (1215, 1689).
Explain who governs today: Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Commons.
Give one recent example (2024, 2026 or 2016).
Conclude with a call to vote.

Option B. Written (B2 to C1): an op-ed of 250 to 300 words

For a British student newspaper: “The King reigns, Parliament rules: is British democracy still built on Magna Carta?”

Step by step

A title and a hook.
Paragraph 1: Magna Carta and its limits.
Paragraph 2: 1689 and the power of Parliament.
Paragraph 3: today, the Prime Minister, the Commons and the citizens.
A conclusion that answers the question with nuance.

Write your op-ed here (Option B)

Your text

0 words · target 250 to 300

Before you hand in: checklist

I use at least three landmarks: 1215, 1689, today. I use the past simple and the passive correctly (was sealed, was passed). I use modals of power: can, cannot, has to, must. I give one recent example (2016, 2024 or 2026). My conclusion answers the question.

Assessment grid (out of 20)

Criterion	1 point	3 points	5 points
Historical accuracy	Few correct dates or confusions	Main dates and institutions correct	Accurate, precise, with a recent example
Argument and organisation	List of facts	Clear plan, links between ideas	Nuanced answer to the question, clear progression
Language	Simple sentences, frequent errors	Past simple, passive and modals mostly correct	Varied structures, precise vocabulary, few errors
Fluency (oral) or coherence (written)	Hesitant or disconnected	Mostly fluent, linking words used	Fluent and convincing, engages the audience or the reader

Each criterion is marked 1 to 5 (2 and 4 for answers between two columns). C1 extension: one bonus point for an accurate quotation (Bagehot, Roosevelt or a clause of Magna Carta) used to support an argument.

Model op-ed (B2 to C1)

Show the model op-ed

Eight Centuries of Saying No to Power

Every year, a door is slammed in the face of the King's messenger at Westminster. It looks like theatre, but it tells the whole story of British democracy in one gesture: power has to knock and ask permission.

It started at Runnymede in 1215. King John, short of money and facing rebel barons, sealed a charter that put the king under the law. Magna Carta protected the barons rather than the people, and the Pope declared it void within weeks. Yet two of its clauses, no imprisonment without lawful judgment and no sale or delay of justice, are still law in England today.

The real turning point came in 1689. After a civil war and a king forced out, William and Mary accepted the Bill of Rights: no laws suspended, no taxes and no army in peace time without the consent of Parliament. From then on, the Crown reigned while Parliament ruled, and no monarch could govern alone again.

Today, the King reads a speech written by his Government and has not refused a law since 1708. Real power lies with the Prime Minister, who needs the confidence of the House of Commons. In July 2026, Andy Burnham became Prime Minister without a general election, simply because his party still held a majority. Voters choose MPs; MPs decide who governs.

So is British democracy still built on Magna Carta? Its spirit, yes: no one is above the law. But its walls were raised later, by Parliament and by voters, and they are still being built, as the debate on votes at sixteen shows.

270 words, title included

Homework

Rehearse your speech twice aloud and time it, or reread your op-ed and correct it with the checklist. Hand it in at the next lesson.

Show a tip

Tip: record yourself on your phone, listen once, then change only two things: one language point and one idea.