A book on writing Sam Mc Carter

Exercise 9Organising a paragraph by questions In this exercise, you are going to look at some o f the thought processes involved in writing a text.. Exercise 10 More questions for organi

I n t e l l i G e n e

F irst p u b lish ed by In telliG en e 1997

R ep rin ted 1998

S econd R ep rint 2002

C opyright Sam M cC arter and The N uffield Self-access Language lYpjcci

fo r O v erseas D octors at S o u th w ark C o lleg e , L ondon.

IS B N 0 9 5 1 9 5 8 2 1 6

a book

on writing

Sam Mc Carter

For Alison, Deborah and Johnathan

rt ( ontcnls

P rcfiiee >

A cknow ledgem ents ii

Section 1: Focus on coherence 1 I low to interpret essay ti tl e s 4

2 Mow to link your introduction to your essay title 5

3 Language s a lv a g e 6

4 Controlling your id e a s 7

5 How to organise and control your essay 8

6 Giving nam es to se n te n c e s 9

7 Naming sentences in a p arag rap h 10

8 Awareness o f coherence in a p a ra g ra p h 12

9 O rganising a paragraph by q u e s tio n s 14

10 More questions for o rg an isin g 16

11 Creating questions for organising a t e x t 17

12 The sequence of te n s e s 18

13 Making c h o ic e s 19

14 A chaos m a z e 20

K e y 86-106 Section 2: Focus on cohesion 15 Sentence relationships - knowledge check 1 26

16 Sentence relationships - knowledge check 2 27

17 Some areas o f confusion 28

18 Split te x ts 30

19 Lost connecting words and p h ra se s 31

20 Sentence relationships in a t e x t 32

21 Text with gaps 34

22 Text with no gaps 35

23 Reference with sy n o n y m s 36

24 More reference with sy n o n y m s 37

25 Words and phrases that are not exactly c o rr e c t 38

26 The definite article as a connecting w o rd 39

27 The articles: fill the g a p s 40

28 Reference awareness and connections in a text .41

29 Awareness o f old/new information in a sentence: 1 42

30 Awareness o f old/new information in a sentence: 2 42

31 C o n trad ictio n s 44

K e y 107-121

Section 3: Writing letters

32 Formal letter checklist Part 1 48

33 Formal letter checklist Part 2 49

34 Formal letter a n a ly s is 50

35 Sequence o f tenses in a te x t 51

36 Reading for writing .52

37 Form al and informal a w a re n e ss 54

38 Translation from informal to formal .55

39 Dressing up an informal le tte r 56

40 Form al to informal translation 57

41 A writing d r i l l 58

K e y 122-129 Section 4: Correcting written English 42 Recognising spelling m is ta k e s 62

43 Recognising the correct word p ictu re 63

44 Recognising words with a different ap p earance 64

45 Editing sentences with different m ista k e s 65

46 Speed e d itin g 66

47 A teacher’s re v e n g e ! 67

48 Correcting a t e x t 68

49 Correcting and improving a te x t 70

50 Learning to see m istakes in a t e x t 72

51 Finding irrelevant in fo rm a tio n 73

52 A nother m a z e 74

K e y 130-136 Section 5: Punctuation 53 Punctuation n a m e s 80

54 Questions about p u n c tu a tio n 81

55 Missing p u n c tu a tio n 82

56 Punctuation co rrectio n 83

57 Capital L etters 84

K ey 137-139

Preface

T h is p u b lic a tio n is a se lf-s tu d y b o o k o n w ritin g It is b a s e d o n th e a u th o r ’s w o rk o v e r

m an y years in E n g lish as a S e c o n d /F o re ig n L a n g u a g e an d E n g lish fo r S p e c ia l P u rp o s e s, first in S ierra L e o n e , W est A fric a , a n d th e n in th e U K

The bo o k is d e sig n e d p rim a rily fo r E n g lish la n g u a g e s tu d e n ts a t an a d v a n c e d le v e l, i.e th e C a m b rid g e C e rtific a te in A d v a n c e d E n g lis h ,C a m b rid g e P ro fic ie n c y a n d th o se stu d e n ts p re p a rin g to a c h ie v e a p p ro x im a te ly b e tw e e n 6 0 a n d 7 5 in th e IE L T S ex a m

m a n a g e d an d a d m in is te re d by th e B ritish C o u n c il, th e U n iv e rs ity o f C a m b rid g e L o cal

I ix a m in a tio n s S y n d ic a te (U C L E S ) an d by IE L TS A u stra lia N a tiv e sp e a k e rs o f E n g lish

m ay a lso fin d so m e a sp e c ts o f th e b o o k o f u se

T h e b o o k h as b een w ritte n fro m a c o g n itiv e , ra th e r th an a g ra m m a tic a l, p o in t o f view

T h e g u id in g p rin c ip le th ro u g h o u t is to m im ic th e u n d e rly in g m e c h a n ism s a n d th o u g h t

p ro c e s s e s th a t m a k e u p th e a c t o f w ritin g T h e re fo re , it is h o p e d th a t i f y o u fin is h th is

b o o k you w ill re m e m b e r th e m e c h a n is m s ra th e r th a n th e la n g u a g e a n d a d a p t th e m to

su it y o u r o w n n e e d s

T h e re arc five S e c tio n s , fo c u s in g o n th e fo llo w in g areas: c o h e re n c e in a te x t, c o h e sio n ,

le tte r w ritin g , c o rre c tin g a te x t a n d p u n c tu a tio n A ll th e e x e rc ise s m ay b e u s e d in

is o la tio n , b u t y ou arc m e a n t to read th e m as fa r as p o ss ib le in s e q u e n c e

T h e e x e rc is e s a rc , in the m a in , d e s ig n e d to m a k e y o u slo w d o w n a n d th in k a b o u t

o rg an isatio n in w ritten tex ts You m ay fin d , th e re fo re , th a t you h a v e to re p e a t an ex ercise

se v e ra l tim e s O n o c c a s io n , y o u m a y e v e n fe e l th e n e e d to u se th e K e y to h e lp y ou

c o m p le te a p a rtic u la r e x e rc ise ; d o n o t b e a fra id to d o th is T h e im p o rta n t th in g is th a t

y ou are a b le to d o th e e x e rc is e s w ith e a se a fte r so m e p ra c tic e

O n e w ay p e rh a p s to a p p ro a c h th e e x e rc is e s is to th in k o f th e m as c re a tin g a m e c h a n ism

fo r you to a b so rb th e in fo rm a tio n in th e K ey R e m e m b e r th a t y o u are a ls o try in g to

a b so rb the m en tal p ro c e s se s in v o lv e d in w ritin g T h is is o b v io u s ly m u c h m o re tim e

c o n s u m in g , a n d so m e tim e s m o re fr u s tr a tin g , th a n le a rn in g b are fa c ts Y ou sh o u ld not

th e re fo re e x p e c t to d o e a c h e x e rc is e p e rfe c tly , n o r a lw a y s a t th e first a tte m p t l*'or e a c h e x e rc is e in th is b o o k y o u sh o u ld re a d all th e in s tru c tio n s v e ry ca re fu lly

A s y ou d o th e e x e rc is e s try not to m a rk th e b o o k so th a t y ou c a n re p e a t th e m

Sam M cCarter August 1997

I w o u ld like to th a n k th e fo llo w in g c o lle a g u e s a n d frie n d s fo r th e ir h e lp a n d su p p o rt

d u rin g th e w ritin g a n d p ro d u c tio n o f th is b o o k

J u d ith A s h , D o ris B a y b u tt, W e n d y B is ik e r, J u lie E a s to n , H ila r y F in c h , C a ro lin e

T w o m e m b e rs o f th e sa id C o m m itte e , w h o a re n o lo n g e r w ith u s , D r K a th e rin e E llio tt

a n d K e n C rip w e ll, a lso d e s e rv e a m e n tio n

D rs G ill a n d B ru c e H a d d o c k d e se rv e m o re th a n k s th a n I c a n say fo r th e ir lo n g p atie n c e

a n d fo rb e a ra n c e

F in a lly , I w o u ld like to say a v ery sp e c ia l th a n k y o u to M a rg o B ly th m a n fo r h a v in g

fa ith

SECTION 1

a book on writing

Contents

Page

1 H o w to in te rp re t essa y t i t l e s 4

2 H o w to lin k y o u r in tro d u c tio n to y o u r e ss a y t i t l e 5

3 L a n g u a g e s a l v a g e 6

4 C o n tro llin g y o u r i d e a s 7

5 H o w to o rg a n ise an d c o n tro l y o u r e s s a y 8

6 G iv in g n a m e s to s e n t e n c e s 9

7 N a m in g s e n te n c e s in a p a r a g r a p h 10

8 A w aren ess o f c o h e re n c e in a p a r a g r a p h 12

9 O rg a n is in g a p a ra g ra p h b y q u e s t i o n s 14

10 M o re q u e s tio n s fo r o r g a n i s in g 16

1 1 C re a tin g q u e s tio n s fo r o rg a n is in g a t e x t 17

12 T h e se q u e n c e o f t e n s e s 18

13 M a k in g c h o ic e s 19

14 A c h a o s m a z e 20

Exercise 1

How to interpret essay titles

The first step in writing any essay is to read and interpret the essay title correctly Let us look al

the following example:

1 What steps do you think should he taken to reduce pollution?

In this essay question, the word steps is the organising word and the general subject is puliation

You do not need to describe pollution itself; the title assumes that you already know what

pollution is The title also indicates that pollution, at the mom ent, is bad You could, therefore,

use this idea as part o f your introduction:

Pollution is nowadays one o f the m ost serious threats to all living things on the planet

There are, however, m any steps that can be taken to remedy this situation.

The first sentence is a general statem ent about the general subject The second sentence is the

topic sentence: it gives the direction of the essay and tells you how to organise it

Now study the essay titles below and:

(a) find the word(s) in each question w hich will help you to organise your essay

(b) decide what the general subject o f the essay is

2 W h a t are th e m o st e ffe c tiv e w a y s to re d u c e u n e m p lo y m e n t in E u ro p e ?

3 W h a t are th e d is a d v a n ta g e s o f u s in g c o m p u te rs in th e w o rk p la c e ?

4 F o o d a d d itiv e s sh o u ld b e b a n n e d D isc u s s

5 W h a t are th e m ain b e n e fits o f in v e s tin g m o n e y in sp ace re s e a rc h ?

6 T h e m a in c a u se o f th e d e s tru c tio n o f th e e n v iro n m e n t is th e b u rn in g o f

How to link your introduction to your essay title

In the last exercise, you looked at interpreting essay titles and writing a suitable introduction

In other words, you were looking forward from the essay title to the introduction As you write, however, you also need to look back at what you have w ritten, as well as forward

In the introductions below, look for the organising words and decide what the general subject

is Then write down a possible essay title for each one

- Boxing should be banned What is your opinion o f this statement? Give your reasons.

- What is your opinion o f boxing? Give your reasons.

1 Capital punishm ent is an issue about which people fe e l very passionately However, there are many strong arguments against this issue.

2 Banning sm oking in public places is an issue that gives rise to endless controversy There are, therefore, m any argum ents fo r and against.

3 Road deaths in Europe are still a m ajor problem This situation could, however, be

im proved enorm ously by adopting a wide-ranging package o f measures.

4 O ver recent years, poverty has increased in many parts o f the world with disastrous consequences.

5 The legalisation o f cannabis is a subject that has aroused considerable debate There are, however, a number o f benefits to be derived fro m making the drug legal.

6 Recycling waste paper, glass and scrap m etal is obviously a sound m ethod fo r reducing pollution Even so, a num ber o f equally im portant measures exist to tackle the problem.

7 In som e cases a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but there are also certain circumstances where it can be o f enorm ous help.

8 Both public and private m eans o f transport have advantages and disadvantages.

9 Corporal punishment, in one fo rm or another, has been part o f the educational system

in many countriesfor a long time As fa r as I am concerned, however, such punishment

is unacceptable.

10 Now that oil resources are becoming rapidly depleted, more attention is being focused

on alternative fo rm s o f energy.

Exercise 3

Language salvage

Now it is time for you to try to write your own introductions, with some help All the essay

questions below have the same general subject The focus o f each essay, however, is different

In each case, decide first what the focus is Then look below You will see that you have a list o f

introductions with another general subject Find an introduction, or introductions, with a similar

focus and adapt the text to fit the titles

E xam ple:

1 Do you agree that euthanasia should be made legal? Give your reasons.

You can adapt a (and also e and h) as follows:

Making euthanasia legal is an issue which arouses enormous controversy However, I

[largely] [disjagree with such a practice and fe e l that it should not be legalised

2 Euthanasia should be made legal What are the arguments fo r and against, and

what is your opinion o f this statement?

3 Discuss the risks o f making euthanasia legal.

4 How fa r do you agree with the statem ent that euthanasia should be made legal?

5 Euthanasia should be made legal D iscuss.

6 What are the benefits o f making euthanasia legal?

7 D iscuss the advantages and disadvantages o f making euthanasia legal.

8 What are the argum ents against making euthanasia legal?

9 What are the argum ents fo r or against making euthanasia legal?

Introductions:

a Experimenting on animals is an issue which arouses enormous controversy However,

I largely disagree with such experim ents and feel that they should be banned

b Experimenting on animals is an issue w hich arouses enorm ous controversy There

are, therefore, many arguments for and against

c Experimenting on animals for medical purposes is a controversial issue However, in

my opinion, such experiments should definitely be banned for many reasons

d Experim ents on animals have brought mankind not only many advantages, but also

some disadvantages

e Although many people are violently opposed to experim ents on animals, they have

brought many benefits to mankind

f Experimenting on anim als is a controversial issue There are, however, many strong

arguments against such experiments

g Experim enting on animals is an issue which arouses enorm ous controversy There

are, therefore, many arguments for and against, but, in my opinion, such experiments

on animals should definitely be banned

h Experim enting on animals is an issue which arouses enorm ous controversy among

the general public As far as I am concerned, however, such experiments are necessary

for a num ber o f reasons and should not be banned

Ex e icise 4

L ^ j rolling your ideas _ _ _

You h |vc |()0|<C(j ilt ^ow t() jn(Crp rC( cssay questions The next stage is controlling your ideas.hen you read an essay title, you may sometimes have lots o f ideas, but y ° u m ay not know

w hleho fth c m are relevant

Look at the follow ing titles:

W hy do more an d more people w ant to live in cities?

What are the disadvantages o f living in cities?

N(,w look al the map below It shows the general subject, living in cities and the focus o f each issay above: reasons and disadvantages Around the m ap is a chaotic juinblc ° f ideas Look at j"'n b lc and decide w hich ideas can follow each direction

L ist your answer on a piece o f paper D o not m ark the bo°h

-greater variety o f jobs

better facilities

living in small towns is boring entertajnm ent \

is accs85*'!5!6 \

m ore jobs/better prospects

pollutioncrime

better services

greater variety of leisure facilities

living in cities (j h

cities can

be very uglybetter edicational

Exercise 5

How to organise and control your essay

As you develop your essay, you also need to keep your ideas under control Look at the essay

title and plan below:

What are the differenttfyp eh o f alternative energy?

As the world looks to a future without o il, more attention

is being focused on alternati vef§ource?i

o f energy

The most commontfornftof alternative energy is

Another abundant^ffergy soiircftis the sun

There is also , o f^ d u rse, wind power, o f which thebest know n(£xampIbis windmills

As we have seen, there are m any differentflandsi ofalternative energy

If you examine the above plan carefully, you can see:

(i) the focus word in the title is highlighted This word shows the specific direction o f

the essay

(ii) the focus word in the introduction is highlighted to show the direction o f the essay

(iii) each paragraph begins w ith a topic sentence In each o f these sentences, there is a

focus word which links the paragraph to the topic sentence in the introduction and

shows the direction o f the paragraph The focus words are also highlighted

(iv) the synonyms for the word types: sources, form , energy source, example and kinds

These are interchangeable and help you to avoid repetition o f the word ty p e lsl

(v) the underlined phrases w hich introduce ideas in the paragraph Students often

complain that they have ideas, but they do not know how to put them down on paper

This inability to introduce ideas is a central problem in writing and, for the most part,

goes unrecognised Compare this with the difficulties you have beginning essays, i.e

writing introductions, and putting your ideas on paper

(vi) you have a basic mechanism to help you control your writing

Now, it is your turn to make essay plans Below is a short list o f essay questions Work out the

focus and the general subject o f each essay Then write an introduction with no more than two

sentences and an essay fram e for each one as above Pay careful attention to the way you

introduce your ideas in the plan, and also to the synonyms you use For the synonym s, you may

need to use a thesaurus

1 D iscuss the measures to reduce obesity in rich countries.

2 Euthanasia is immoral Discuss your opinion.

3 Euthanasia is immoral Discuss.

4 Many people now try to keep f i t by jogging or working-out in a gym What are the dangers o f such exercise?

5 Some people fe e l that all m edical personnel should be tested fo r HIV What would the problems o f such a programm e be? Give your own opinion.

6 Anim al organs should not be used fo r human transplants What are the main arguments against this statement?

7 H ow can accidents in the hom e be prevented?

8 War can never be justified How fa r do you agree with this statement?

9 Describe your p et hates.

Exercise 6 Hiving names to sentences _ _

This exercise focuses on the meaning o f individual sentences and giving them names You have,

in effect, been doing this already in th is S ection so far, p erhaps w ithout realising

S om etim es, people have difficulty w hen they are reading o r w riting, b ecause they do not recognise the signs in a text w hich pinpoint m eaning T he result is that there is too m uch unknow n inform ation to process at one tim e If you learn gradually to recognise text m arkers, whether they are obvious or hidden, it will improve the amount of detail you are able to process, and absorb T his, in turn, w ill influence your w riting, as you learn to m anipulate the signposts you need to m ark y our ow n w riting

Look at the sentences below In som e cases, the sentences stand on their ow n and, in others, they have been rem oved from a larger text G ive a nam e to each sentence (e.g a general statem ent, a topic sentence, a fact, a suggestion) and give a reason fo r y our answ er Som e sentences have m ore than one nam e

Example:

Water boils at 1001C.

The sentence is a fact Note the use o f the Present Sim ple, boils, which is used to express a fact

1 The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.

2 I f only you had come a little bit sooner!

3 My main argum ent fo r the ban is that personal stereos are a nuisance to all passengers.

4 The main argum ent fo r the ban is that personal stereos are a nuisance to all passengers.

5 Such a policy could, I fe e l, take quite a fe w young people o ff the streets.

6 Such a policy would, I fe e l, take quite a fe w young people o ff the streets.

7 Such a policy will 1 feel, take quite a fe w young people o ff the streets.

8 These properties could even be renovated by the hom eless themselves.

9 The m ost im portant advantage is the safety o f the fo o d

10 As a result, Antarctica w ill be saved fo r fu tu re generations.

11 The law m ight be difficult to enforce.

12 He m ight have told you about the proposed changes.

13 He m ight have told you about the proposed changes!

14 Shaniqua prom ised to come.

15 For example, now it is possible to keep people alive on m achines fo r a considerable

time.

Exercise 7

Naming sentences in a paragraph

This exercise looks at the meaning o f sentences as they relate to each other in a continuous text

In other words, you are going to look at coherence in writing a passage

Read the first two paragraphs o f the essay title below As you read, think about the relationship

between the sentences Then do the exercise which follows

W hat measures do you think should be taken to reduce pollution?

(1) The very survival o f all living things on our planet is now under threat from

pollution (2) In my opinion, however, there are a number o f very effective measures

that can be taken to rem edy the situation

(3) The introduction o f a carbon tax, i.e a tax on coal and oil products, such as plastics,

petrol and fuel for domestic and industrial consum ption, is, I feel, the m ost important

measure (4) Such a tax would have a num ber o f benefits (5) First o f all, the reduction

in the consumption o f fuel would give us fresher air to breathe (6) At the same time,

it could raise money far cleaning up the environment and make the general public more

co n scio u s o f p o llu tio n (7) H aving said th at, how ever, this tax w ould be rath er

unpopular am ong the general public, as it w ould reduce their spending power (8)

Moreover, there would be a strong industrial lobby against it because o f the extra costs

and, thirdly, the governm ent would be against it, as it would result in increased inflation

(9) So politicians w ould not support such a measure (10) N evertheless, I strongly

believe that a carbon tax is an essential step in the fight against pollution

On the opposite page are ten m ultiple choice questions with four alternatives

Read the passage again and decide which alternatives best describe the purpose of each sentence

and why the others are not suitable In same cases, more than one alternative may be correct

b a proposal

c a tentative proposal

d expanding the word measures in sentence 2

4 a a developm ent o f the previous sentence

b a conclusion

c a result

d a recommendation

5 a a result

b an explanation o f the organising word: benefits

c an expansion o f the previous sentence

d a suggestion

6 a a result

b an explanation o f the organising word: benefits

c an expansion o f the previous sentence

Exercise 8

Awareness of coherence in a paragraph

Below is the beginning o f an essay Read the text carefully and, while you are doing so, keep in

mind what you learnt in the previous two exercises Think specifically about the coherence in

the text

On the page opposite, there is a list o f words and phrases to describe the purpose or function o f

each sentence Study the list and decide which purpose or function describes each sentence

Note that a sentence may have more than one function

Experiments on animals should be banned What is your opinion?

(I) Experiments on animals may have contributed enormously to the

welfare of the human race (2) Nevertheless, I personally feel that such

experiments are totally unacceptable for many reasons.

(3) By far the most important reason is the suffering that animals have

to endure during tests (4) Every year, many thousands of innocent

creatures are used in laboratory experiments (5) Cosmetics companies,

for instance, test many of their products on rabbits and dogs to make

sure they are safe for humans (6) Such testing, however, means that

harmless animals have to endure appalling pain and torture for the

vanity of human beings (7) Surely, the cosmetics industry should use

other techniques now available, like computer models; or, instead, they

could develop new methods (8) The main counter argument is that a

human life is more important than that of an animal (9) Furthermore,

the countless lives saved by animal experiments cannot be overlooked

(10) Still, in my opinion, experiments on animals do not justify the

suffering caused to innocent creatures.

( II) Another argument against is that animals also have rights.

b an expansion o f the previous sentence

c supplying background information

d giving an example

e an explanation

f an argument against animal experiments

g a topic sentence for the essay

nt an expansion of the word ‘reasons’

n introducing the general subject of the essay

o an argument for animal experiments

p a contrast

q introducing the focus or topic of a paragraph

r introducing a reason

Reminder Write yctur answers on a separate sheet for all the exercises so that you can repeat them

Exercise 9

Organising a paragraph by questions

In this exercise, you are going to look at some o f the thought processes involved in writing a

text Read the instructions below

Instructions:

1 Imagine that you have to write an essay on the following title:

A ll blood sports should be banned D iscuss the main argum ents fo r this statement

and then give your own opinion.

2 Imagine that you are w riting the introduction and the first argument for the above

essay title

3 Imagine that the questions below are your own

4 Read the questions one at a time

5 Match each question with an answer from the jum bled text on the opposite page

6 A nswer the questions in sequence

Three o f the sentences opposite do not match any o f the questions

1 The first statement in the essay title above is written in such a way

that it will create a discussion, and is, therefore, controversial As

a starting point, can I write a general statement about blood spoils

to include this idea?

2 How many arguments are there supporting a ban on blood sports?

3 What is the main reason for banning blood sports?

4 Can I give some background information about the numbers of

helpless creatures killed for pleasure each year?

5 W hat do people think about blood sports? Are they barbaric/

uncivilised?

6 There must surely be many examples to support this view Can I

give one?

7 Can I explain this example more fully?

8 W hat does such cruelty do to people in general?

9 Can I draw a personal conclusion from this?

a There are, however, many arguments for and against banning blood sports.

b In this instance, an innocent animal is chased by men and women

on horses and by a pack of dogs When the poor creature is trapped,

it is then inhumanely killed and may even be viciously torn to pieces by the dogs.

c Consequently, people’s tolerance of brutality is increased and other violent activities, including crime, are encouraged.

d As far as I am concerned, sports are quite civilised.

e There are, however, many reasons why blood sports should be made illegal.

f Every year many thousands of helpless animals and birds are killed

in this country, not primarily for food, but for pleasure.

g Finally, blood sports cannot really be considered as sport at all and are a waste of time.

h Fox-hunting is probably the best example of the sheer brutality of such entertainment.

i For my part, after considering the arguments above, I feel there can be no justification whatsoever for allowing blood sports to continue.

j Few issues arouse more bitter controversy than attempts to ban hunting animals for sport.

k To many people, this practice is barbaric, because innocent animals are tortured and killed for the amusement and gratification

o f human beings.

1 The most obvious justification for the ban is that blood sports such

as fo x -h u n tin g , sh o o tin g birds and, in fac t, any form of game-hunting, are uncivilised.

Exercise 10

More questions for organising

Look at the text below and the list of jum bled questions which follow Mulch nu h qtu Hue

a sentence in the text

The responsibility for reducing juvenile crime in the UK lies as much with paicnh and

teachers as with the governm ent Discuss

(1) Crime committed by young people in the U K is an ever-increasing problem (2>

Although there is some suggestion that the governm ent should take the lead in reducing

juvenile crim e by say, introducing m ore severe form s o f punishm ent, parents and

teachers certainly have a greater role to play in this process

(3) Statistics show that young offenders frequently come from unstable, uncaring ot

violent family backgrounds (4) A com fortable family environm ent is, therefore, one

o f the most important factors in helping to reduce crime comm itted by the young (5)

It is obviously the parents’ responsibility to teach and bring up their children to follow

the law and to behave as respected m embers o f our society (6) O f course, not every

family can create the ideal surroundings for educating their children (7) In that case,

teachers could share the burden o f teaching young people how and why they should

obey rules (8) The governm ent, o f course, also has a very im portant part to play (9)

It is surely the state’s role to provide the environm ent necessary for a stable, caring

society

Q uestions

a Is it possible fo r all fa m ilies to create an appropriate environment fo r their children?

b Has the governm ent any role to play? I f so, how great?

c What are the responsibilities o f parents?

d What is the governm ent’s role specifically?

e What is the rate o f juvenile crime in the United Kingdom at the moment?

f What do the statistics say about juvenile crime in the UK?

g I f this is so, what is the m ost important fa c to r in helping to reduce juvenile crime?

h Who else could share the burden i f parents cannot do it all themselves?

i Which o f the two groups, parents and teachers or the governm ent, has the greater

role to play?

Exercise 11

Creating questions for organising a text

The text below is part o f an essay written by a student Read through the passage quickly Then read it again, carefully, and decide what questions the writer asked him self to develop the essay Write your questions, in full, on a piece o f paper

What would you do to improve the lot of the elderly in this country? The UK, like other countries in Europe, has an increasingly ageing population, yet it is a pity that the elderly are not properly looked after

or cared for There are many ways, however, in which the lot of elderly people in this country can be improved.

The first step that needs to be taken is to improve the living conditions

of all old people According to statistics, there are over one million dwellings which have been declared unfit for habitation Out of these,

at least half a million are occupied by the elderly Special houses should, therefore, be built, which are cheap, and designed in such a way that they are easily accessible By this I mean, they ought to have special provision for those who have joint problems or difficulty in walking Moreover, all the basic amenities should be nearby, so that the old will not have any trouble purchasing their food and other articles of daily use The provision of adequate heating is a further improvement that could be made These homes should be provided with proper heating facilities, as the elderly are susceptible to cold It is estimated that hundreds of people who are old and frail die of hypothermia in their homes each winter.

Another area which requires attention is food.

Exercise 12

The sequence of tenses

Verbs also reflect and reinforce the relationships between sentences in a text

In the passage below, choose the correct verb form from the alternatives given to fit the

relationship between the sentences Decide also why the other alternatives are not suitable

Relations between different countries are now better than they have

been for many years Even so, there is a lot of tension in the world

W hat do you think governments should do to relieve this tension?

In my opinion, the tension in the world [1 comes/is comingJ from

ignorance and the lack of contact between different people and com­

munities To overcome this situation, there [2 is/are/would be J much

that the international community can do First of all, I [3 am think­

ing/think| governments [4 should/would/might] encourage their peo­

ple, especially young people, to learn more languages This [5 would

bring about/might bring about/brings about] closer contact between

different cultures and people For example, at the moment many

countries [6 would give/will give/should give/give] scholarships to

enable people from other countries to study their languages Most of

these scholarships are for adults, but they [7 would usefully be/could

usefully be/are usefully] extended to cover school children, or rather

groups of school children.

Second, there [8 could/would/might] be more informal sporting events

F o r e x a m p le , sp o rts o rg a n is a tio n s in d iffe re n t c o u n trie s

[9 could/would/might] organise regional and international events on an

amateur basis Already, we [10 are having/have/do have] the Olympic

Games, but, worthy though they are, they [11 have become/would

become/could become] too political or too competitive More informal

sports meetings, however, in the true spirit of the Olympic Games

[12 would go/go] some way to bringing people from all over the world

together.

Exercise 13 Making choices

Read the following essay title:

Drug addiction among young people in the UK is daily becoming more and more serious How, in your opinion, should the problem be tackled?

Now read through the Maze below At each number choose the correct sentence to develop the first paragraph o f the above essay title The sentences are in the correct order

in the UK is unfortunately, on the increase

1 Drug addiction among the young

A

2 The problem, however, is not insurm ountable, if it is approached realistically

3 Peer group pressure is I feel, one o f the most likely causes of addiction among young people

4 Such education can be divided roughly into two broad categories, namely health education in school and out o f school

5 At school, children and teenagers can be shown the dangers o f drug addiction in health education classes

6 Then, if som eone does not do w hat the others in the group are doing, they may

be ostracised or cut off by their friends

7 Education outside the school could take the form o f advertising on television and the radio, as well as in magazines aimed at young people

8 The advertisers could use well-known figures that young people adm ire, and are likely to listen to, like pop stars and footballers

9 N ow adays, the younger generation have more pocket money and are able to earn quite a bit from part-time jobs

10 Thus, when something novel like drugs comes their way, they can often afford to try it out, at least once

BThe problem , in my opinion, comes not just from the break-up o f the family, but from other sources as well

In my opinion, the most effective method to com bat drug addiction among young people is through health education

W hat often happens here is that youngsters start playing around with drugs, because they see their friends taking them

They do not want to be left out or, as is frequently the case, taking drugs becomes a kind of badge of acceptance within a group

The older pupils could do projects on addiction; watch videos on the topic; speak to ex-addicts, and so on

All one has to do is to look at the prevalence o f smoking among youngsters to realise the extent o f the danger from such pressure

M oney is another cause o f addiction

In this way, drug addiction would then

be prevented before it starts

Exercise 14

A chaos maze

In R oger’s English class recently, he and his fellow students had a

lively discussion about w hether intelligence is inherited or not

During the debate, Roger supported the opinion that it is impossible

to separate the inheritance from the environm ental factors when

discussing intelligence.

One student in the pro-inheritance group raised the point that there

are many examples o f people who are very gifted and who rise to

the top no m atter what happens This was an argum ent which

R oger’s group could not disagree with.

Roger, however, also raised the point that there are many talented

people, but, without the right environment and influences, they are

held back He then observed that intelligent parents tend to encour­

age their children and provide an environment favourable to devel­

opment.

He went on to quote examples o f families where the parents are not

considered generally to be ‘bright’, yet their children are top of the

class at school Conversely, as he also mentioned, there are students

who are not very good academically, but whose parents are both in

intellectually demanding professions.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher asked the class to express their

views in an essay entitled:

Is intelligence inherited?

Bearing in mind the opinion o f R oger's group, choose sentences opposite that would make up

the first paragraph o f his essay You may use only eight o f the sentences to reflect the points

above Text num ber 14 is the third sentence which Roger wrote

5 I All this leads me to conclude that the

interplay betw een environm ental and hereditary factors is crucial in the

d evelopm ent o f hum an intelligence

3 In o th er w o rd s,in tellig en t parent m ean intelligent children

5 For exam ple, m ost p rofessional fam ilies produce children w ho are very

successful and follow a professional career

7 b o o k in g at the issue from an o th er angle, there arc m any intelligent child ren w ho

do not h ave intelligent p arents, and vice versa

9 Som e people rightly feel that intelligence depends solely on hereditary factors

11 1 low ever, I personally b eliev e that intelligence is based on a m ixture o f both hereditary and environm ental factors

13 The debate about w hether intelligence is inherited has been raging fo r quite som e tim e

2 Intelligence is very difficult to

m easu re, b ut, if we lo o k at the issue carefully, w e can identify certain criteria fo r assessm ent

4 N evertheless, there are countless others w ho are talented, b u t w ithout the right env iro n m en t and influences they do not realise their full potential

6 Further, surely parents w ho are intelligent and are successful are

m ore likely to try to provide an env iro n m en t w hich nurtures the

d ev elo p m en t o f their children

8 T his gives rise to the statem ent that doctors are b o rn , not m ade

10 I accept that there are som e people

w ho are very talen ted an d they succeed no m atter w hat happens

12 A n exam ple o f this is fam ilies w here the parents and children are doctors

14 In fact, these factors are soinextricably interlinked th at it is

im possible to separate them

15 In o th er w ords, they believe that people

in certain pro fessio n s, like m usicians, teach ers, d o cto rs, etc., are b orn, not

m ade

a b o o k o n writing

SECTION 2

Page

15 Sentence relationships - knowledge check 1 26

16 Sentence relationships - knowledge check 2 27

17 Some areas of c o n fu sio n 28

18 Split te x ts 30

19 Lost connecting words and phrases 31

20 Sentence relationships in a te x t 32

2 1 Text with g a p s 34

22 Text with no g a p s 35

23 Reference with sy n o n y m s 36

24 More reference with synonym s 37

25 Words and phrases that are not exactly c o rre c t 38

26 The definite article as a connecting word 39

27 The articles: fill the g a p s 40

28 Reference awareness and connections in a t e x t 41

29 Awareness of old/new information in a sentence: 1 42

30 Awareness of old/new information in a sentence: 2 42

31 C ontradictions 44

Exercise 15

Sentence relationships - knowledge check 1

As you are w riting, it is worth bearing in m ind that it helps your readers if they can see clearly

the relationship between your sentences Quite often you can show this relationship with parliculm

joining words or phrases Not only are you then guiding the reader through your thoughts in

written form, but you are also directing yourself

In this exercise, you are going to test how much you know about some basic connecting devices,

or text markers

A nswer the questions below as far as you can Do not expect to know all the answers One aim

o f this exercise is to help you check and then organise your know ledge

Avoid writing in the book so that you can do the exercise several tim es, if necessary

1 To connect sentences you can use basically two types o f connecting words or phrases:

adverbs and conjunctions In the list below, which words are adverbs and which

conjunctions?

while, and, besides, consequently, moreover, although, if, where, when, but, however,

though, thus, what is more.

2 W hat is the difference between an adverb which links sentences and a conjunction?

3 W hich o f the two sentences below is correct?

(a) The steps that have been taken are admirable, but they m ay be too late to do

any good.

(b) The steps that have been taken are admirable, however they m ay be too late to

do any good.

4 Is the text below correct?

The steps that have been taken are admirable.

But they m ay be too late to do any good.

5 W hat is the difference between although and but?

6 W hat is the difference between y£t and but?

7 In the list below which word or phrase is the odd one out?

sim ilarly, furtherm ore, on the other hand, moreover, in addition, what is more.

8 W hen can you use much as to link sentences together?

9 W hich is the odd one out:

such as, like, namely, fo r example?

10 There is a problem in the text below W hat is it?

Take rugby, fo r example, it is also a sport which can cause considerable injury.

This exercise is also a test o f your knowledge o f basic text markers, w hich help to lead both you and the reader through your writing

Answer the questions below as far as you can Again, do not expect to know all the answers; the exercise is to help you check and organise your knowledge

Avoid writing in the book so that you can do the exercise several times, if necessary

1 I t ’s n o t e a s y to d e a l w ith a situ a tio n lik e th is I t ’s a b it m u c h , th o u g h , to

p u t a ll th is p r e s su re o n y o u r f r i e n d s

Is th e w o rd th o u g h in th e se c o n d se n te n c e an a d v e rb o r a c o n ju n c tio n ?

2 E x p la in th e c o n n e c tio n b e tw e e n the th re e s e n te n c e s b e lo w T h e th ird

se n te n c e is a ls o u n fin is h e d ; fill th e g a p w ith o n e w o rd

(c) F irst, r e a d a ll th e q u e s tio n s v e r y ca re fu lly S e c o n d , c h e c k h o w m a n y

q u e s tio n s y o u h a v e to a n s w e r ; a n d , fin a lly , w r ite o n ly th e n u m b e r

Some areas of confusion

From the last two exercises, you have probably realised that you do, in fact, know most connecting

words and phrases However, you m ay have discovered that there is often some vital inform ation,

about even very common connecting devices, o f which you are not aware So, when it comes to

putting these linking words into a text, you m ay find it difficult to use them correctly

This exercise looks at a few areas where students are sometimes confused In each pair o f

sentences below, one sentence is correct and the other is wrong Decide which answer is correct

and why

l a T h e g o v e rn m e n t tig h te n e d th e l b S o th a t th e m e d ia c o u ld be

law s on c e n s o rs h ip , b e c a u s e th e b ro u g h t u n d e r s tric te r c o n tro l,

m e d ia c o u ld b e b ro u g h t u n d e r th e g o v e rn m e n t tig h te n e d the

2 a T h e a rg u m e n ts fo r re s tric tio n s 2b T h e a rg u m e n ts fo r re s tric tio n s on

lO a.S o m e p e o p le , n am ely 10b S o m e p e o p le , lik e A ris to tle ,

A ris to tle , L e o n a rd o d a V inci L e o n a rd o d a V in ci a n d E in s te in ,

Exercise 18

Split texts

Now you are going to look at connections in another way M atch the text on the left with a

suitable clause or sentence on the right

As you do the exercise, think about the relationship between the two parts o f the text

1 D espite the fact that he arrived in

this country as a penniless

refugee,

a th at thousands o f people fled from the area

2 T he outbreak o f the disease

cau sed such a panic,

b that he w on the N obel Prize for Physics

3 N ow that m ore and m ore people

have access to the Internet,

c N ev erth eless, I can n o t b ear him personally

4 The roads w ere jam m ed , d he w as finally arrested and sent

to prison

5 B eing a com petent linguist, e they will be able to find their

w ay here quite easily

6 T here is no doubt th at the law

needs to be changed

f she is able to und erstan d the problem s that h er students face

7 I adm ire him as a politician g- so that people w ith physical

disabilities can have greater access to all public buildings

8 It w as such a brilliant

developm ent,

h the n um ber o f injuries w ould have b een dram atically reduced

9 O n account o f his violent

b eh av io u r tow ards his w ife and

children,

i yet the am bulance m anaged to reach the scene o f the accident

10 H ad the w earing o f safety belts

been com pulsory on co aches as

k the am ount o f inform ation

m oving around the globe is phenom enal

12 S om ething needs to be done

about w ater conservation in

m any parts o f the w orld;

1 o th erw ise, there m ay w ell be

w ars in the n ear future

13 Provided they follow the

In the sentences below, the connecting words and phrases are missing Read through the exercise first and see if you can identify where you need to add an appropriate connector The punctuation will help you to decide w hat you need and where Note that you can only use connectors which the punctuation allows Sometim es, you m ay be able to use more than one item to connect the sentences

Use only words and phrases from the list below the exercise If, however, you feel confident enough, try to do the exercise without using the list

Example:

In sentence I , you have to pu t a connecting word at the beginning o f the sentence, because he_ has a sm all letter You can use W hen Once or As soon as.

1 he had found the key, he was able to get out

2 action had been taken sooner, this tragedy would not have occurred

3 the exam s are over, I can relax

4 There are many things you can do to get exercise, w alking, swim ming, cycling, tennis and so on

5 a referee sees that a boxer is hurt, he should stop the fight

6 television has had a detrim ental effect on society, it has brought many benefits

7 There are many steps can be taken to make public transport safer

8 the law on gun ownership in the UK should be more strictly controlled is now being seriously considered

9 the leak is m ended, the structure o f the house will be severely damaged.

10 They ate their meal quickly and left the restaurant the ow ner could close early

11 M aureen teaches botany Violet teaches history

12 the num ber o f car accidents is decreasing in the UK, in other countries, it is increasing

13 The plane was delayed; the hotel was a mess and it rained m ost o f the time; the holiday was a disaster

14 the violence occurred rarely Then over the years it became worse

Item bank

if/unlcss/when/if only/like/so that/and/whether/that/at first/whereas/but/

although/howevcr/all in all/now that/since/which/as soon as/once

Exercise 20

Sentence relationships in a text _

This exercise will help you focus on marking the relationships between sentences in a text

Obviously, highlighting such connections is much more complex than just joining a few sentences

or clauses together

First of all, read the introduction and the first paragraph o f the essay below As you are reading,

try to feel where there is a need for connecting devices to mark the sentence relationships in the

passage

Then, use the guidelines which follow the text and write out the passage, connecting the sentences

where possible

Avoid marking the book

What are the arguments for and against private vehicles? What is your

opinion in this matter?

(1) Private vehicles play a key role in our lives (2) They provide

independent transport, freedom and many jobs (3) They cause pollu­

tion, traffic jam s, noise and death.

(4) Private transport, especially the car, gives us freedom to move (5)

We no longer need to organise our lives around bus or train timetables

(6) Many people think that their cars are indispensable machines (7)

They cannot live without them (8) People who live in rural areas need

private vehicles to go to towns for shopping, socialising, taking children

to schools, etc (9) Without a car their lives would be very difficult

(10) They would be forced to rely on infrequent public transport, if it

existed at all (11) Many families who live in the country have one or

more cats (12) They would be cut off from the rest o f the world (13)

For many people a car is a necessity.

(Guidelines for sentence relationships

Sentences 1 and 2 You can join these sentences together; the second sentence stales the reasons why such vehicles play an important role.

Sentence 3 shows the opposite side of the picture, so insert an adverb that brings out the contrast Be careful with the punctuation! You will find in the Key that the author has added another phrase, because he finds that the contrast is not strong enough, and because there is a problem with the rhythm of the sentence Can you add something yourself to the sentence?

Sentence 4 is the first argument of your essay Add a word or phrase to indicate this.

Sentence 5 is a consequence of Sentence 4 Use a conjunction to join them together.

Sentence 6 is an extension of the previous one It states another true fact about private vehicles Can you add a phrase to help show this?

Sentence 7 is a result of Sentence 6

Sentence 8 is an example of the previous sentence.

You can join Sentences 9 and 10 with a simple conjunction that indicates the two are of the same value.

Sentence 11 is a consequence.

Can you think of an adverb to join Sentence 12 to the previous one? Use a word that means or else Be careful with the punctuation.

S e n te n c e 13 is a c o n c lu s io n

Exercise 21

Text with gaps

You are now going to connect the sentences in a text by inserting suitable words and phrases,

but, this tim e, you will have no help

A Look at the items in the following list:

3 Take the threat o f A IDS, for example 10 Admittedly

6 First o f all, I believe 12 Even so, I strongly believe that it needs

Now read the passage below and write the numbers o f the items from the list in the appropriate

blanks You m ay use each item once only

B W hat is the title o f the essay?

The issue o f (a) in all schools at secondary level has been an on-going debate

fo r quite som e t i m e (b) , such education is a necessary part o f the

curriculum at this level

(c) -pupils need be given lessons on sex education, ju st like any other field

o f study (d) - , they should not be protected from this subject, as it is one o f

the most important matters in our everyday life (e) Sex education would

go a long way in preventing the spread o f the HIV v ir u s , (f) _ , among the

younger g en eratio n (g) _ , there m ay be some reticence, and even antago­

nism , among certain groups o f people, as to the way and the degree this subject is

presented (h) to be part o f the curriculum

(i) - , we have to rem em ber what other hazards ignorance about sex may

bring for pupils, at secondary sc h o o l, (j) (k) _ , it is better to

know everything about this ‘taboo’ subject than to seek know ledge when it is too late,

for example in the case o f unwanted pregnancies

(1) - , we all know that young people are especially vulnerable to stress as

regards sex Proper education w ould I feel, help to prevent frustration in certain

circum stances (m) _ , it may also stop young people from seeking

‘nonsci-entific’ ways o f solving their problem s, and halt the development o f superstition

As we can see, there are many aiguments to support giving lessons in sex education at

f rom Iixerciscs 15 to 2 1, you have been concentrating on connecting words and phrases which contribute to (he texture o f what you write This exercise attempts to focus your attention more

on this quality to help you improve your writing Below are the introduction and first two

paragraphs o f an essay on Knowledge is power D iscuss The text is gram matically correct, but

it is not well connected Put the num bers which relate to the words and phrases below into the most appropriate place in the text, as in the two examples The punctuation will help you to complete the exercise If you are not able to put in all the words and phrases in the first few attempts, use the Key to help you

1 Work is another obvious area where 9 so that

4 In fact, in all areas o f life, 12 , for instance,

5 Looking at the m atter from another angle, 13 are then more likely to

7 When the successful candidate finally 15 This

Few people would deny the validity o f th e 6 saying, the pow er of knowledge exerts

a considerable force

As som e p o litician s have access to m any sources o f inform ation, they possess a formidable weapon: power, they are able to control the lives o f the general public, when politicians want public support for a particular cause, all they have to do is put forward the positive aspects o f their proposals and hide the negative The public, ignorant o f the whole picture, lend their support to the politicians’ cause, other politicians are also controlled, the general public and other politicians, through lack of know ledge, are at the mercy o f the politician who possesses know ledge, and power

When someone applies for a j o b 12 the success o f the application depends on theknowledge o f the person who applies, knowledge involves skills, knowing how best to complete the application form; using the correct language; or how to write the accom ­panying letter, the success o f the application will depend on the applicant’s display of knowledge about the post applied for success or failure will largely be dependent on his/her accum ulation of know ledge, he/she can deal effectively with others and not be manipulated by them , too much

Check your answers with the Key and correct any o f the numbers Then read the text to yourself and try to put in the words and phrases above automatically Repeat the exercise several times

so that you can learn to feel where there is a gap in the text

Exercise 23

Reference with synonyms

The use o f synonyms to link sentences also improves the quality and texture o f a passage

W hen you are writing, synonyms help you sum marise part o f the previous text, and, thus, link

sentences together Furthermore, they help you to avoid repetition and stop you from relying

over much on adverbs and conjunctions to make connections

Below is a list o f such words that are often used to help link sentences Put the words into the

appropriate spaces below Note that in some cases it is possible to use more than one word You

may also be able to think o f other words from outside the list

solution/ entertainment/ problem / proposal! policy/ group/ violence/ measure/ m ove/

idea/ situation/ ploy/ am enities/ recom mendation/ fa c t/ suggestion/ crim e/ dam age

Try not to write the answers in your book W hen you have com pared your answers with the

Key, repeat the exercise over a period o f time until the words come automatically

1 Old people should be given a higher pension during winter m onths This seems to be

the best possible to the problem

2 Millions of people are dying each year because of a lack o f basic medicine; a _

that surely cannot be ignored

3 M any inner cities have been disfigured by insensitive office developm ents, but the

, I feel, is not irreparable

4 Safety belts should be made com pulsory on all coaches If t h i s were

adopted, it would certainly help reduce injuries in road accidents

5 More swimming pools, leisure centres and sports clubs are being built all over the

country Even so, there are still not e n o u g h like this to satisfy demand

6 S cenes o f m u rd er and p hysical a ssa u lt are now c o m m o n p lace on TV Such

, unfortunately, has a negative effect on the m inds o f young people

7 The D epartm ent o f Transport has decided to introduce a green tax on fuel There are,

o f course, many people who would object to the introduction o f th is

8 Making petty criminals w ear electronic tags has been a failure in the U nited States

Surprisingly, th e is being considered by the Home Office in the UK

9 Young people nowadays have many forms o f technology to amuse them Teachers

often disapprove o f s u c h , as it tends to make students lazy and unable to

think for themselves

10 Society often fails to m eet the needs o f physically handicapped people Yet they are

a that obviously deserves more help

11 The governm ent introduced the new rule while everyone's attention was engaged

elsewhere It was quite a c le v e r

Exercise 24 More reference with synonyms

This exercise gives you further practice with synonyms Read the sentences below and think of

a suitable word for each o f the blanks Note that in some cases it is possible to use more than one word Only this time, try to do the exercise without any help, if you can

As you read, try to predict which words will be translated into a synonym in the next part of the text Then as you choose each synonym think about the text which it looks back to Let us take

an example from the previous exercise:

6 a Scenes o f murder and physical assault are now com m onplace on TV

b Such entertainm ent/violence, unfortunately, has a negative effect on the minds

o f young people

In (a), the underlined text looks forw ard to both the synonyms in (b) The synonym s, in turn, look back to the text underlined in (a)

If you cannot find a word which fits, then select one from the list on the next page

1 Animals are kept in appalling conditions during transport from one country to another

S u re ly , o f this kind cannot be tolerated in a civilised society

2 Violent attacks by young people are increasing alarmingly, but little is being done to address th e

3 Poverty and ill-health are inextricably bound together, yet t h e betw eenthem does not appear to be recognised by those in power

4 I n 1945, there were 100,000 vegetarians in the U nited Kingdom and now there are 3million W ith 2000 people changing to a meat-free diet each week, it is a _that is set to continue

5 Euthanasia may have to be considered as a possible solution to overpopulation in the future; at the moment, fortunately, it is not a se rio u s

6 One way to solve the problem would be to legalise the use o f cannabis and other soft drugs T h is could, o f course, prove to be rather risky

7 lie said that I should have taken up the job If I had followed h i s , though,

I would have been com pletely worn out by now

8 Through the media, people are now being encouraged to recycle different materials like bottles, paper, plastic bags, etc S u c h doesn’t always work

9 The Project can only go ahead, if 75% o f the funding is found from the private sector

In the present climate such a will be difficult to fulfil

10 If speed limits on m otorways were reduced, the num ber o f car accidents would fall dramatically This is obviously a highly d esirab le

11 The world is in im minent danger o f being destroyed by the greenhouse e ffe c t Yet little is b e in g done to counter t h i s

12 With the rising costs o f medicine, the question of whether to allocate scarce resources

to the elderly or the young is a many hospitals now face

Below is a list o f words you can use to help link the sentences on the previous page.

disaster, outcom e, dilem m a, craze, action, advice, issue, danger, relationship,

encouragem ent, problem , cruelty, threat, trend, link, step, condition, situation,

co n n ectio n , p ra c tic e s, o p tio n , p o licy, p re d ic a m e n t, trea tm en t, ca ta stro p h e,

requirement.

Exercise 25

Words and phrases that are not exactly correct

W hen you are w riting, it is difficult to think about the gram m ar and spelling as well as the

different connecting devices, all at the same time However, if you can learn to control the

reference and connections in your w riting, it gives you greater freedom , and more tim e, to

concentrate on the content and the ideas

In this exercise, you are going to look at a mixture o f connections Some words or phrases are

alm ost correct; some are completely wrong; and yet others are repetitions Read the text below

once and then read it again, replacing, where possible, the underlined words with suitable words/

phrases Try not to m ark the text so that you can repeat the exercise

W hy are people turning more and more to alternative m edicine?

A lternative, or non-orthodox, m edicine is now attracting an ever-increasing num ber of

people There are, (11 how ever, many (21 causes behind this (31 custom

The m ost important argum ent is the public’s increased awareness o f their (41 condition

(51 The public are no longer willing to bear the mildest o f pain, (6) as headaches, or

(71 bear even m inor illnesses like flu (81 On the other hand (91 the public spare no

effort looking for help by any means available As orthodox medicine often does not

work or needs time to work, (101 they do not hesitate to seek help from an acupuncturist

or osteopath in the hope o f better relief ( I l l And in chronic situations, (121 namely

arthritis, headaches or backache, where (131 orthodox medicine can often do little,

some forms o f (141 unorthodox medicine are favoured by an increasing num ber o f

people

(151 Other important reason is that (161 in contrary to orthodox m edicine, non-orthodox

forms o f treatm ent do not usually involve much intervention (17) They also fear being

admitted to hospital for any length o f tim e, taking drugs or chem icals, which may do

harm A bove all, they (18) fear operations o f any kind (19) In ad d itio n , when

something simple prom ises relief, they naturally (20) switch to it

Exercise 26 The definite article as a connecting word

You have looked at joining sentences together by various means It is now time to focus on another linking device, the definite article

In the exercise below, explain the use o f the articles, the/a/an and the lack o f articles, as far as you can Then read the Key carefully You may need to do the exercise several times

1 A man was walking slowly along a dark street of low cottages The street was narrow and unwelcoming As he glanced into the alleys between some of the cottages, the man looked quite scared.

2 The advice you gave me was unsound.

3 The blind may benefit from new developments in technology.

4 The walk to Studland along the beach from the ferry takes just over

an hour.

5 I usually hear from him twice a year.

6 We were sitting in an old cafe The sun was shining in a blue sky, but it was bitterly cold The room was very cosy and the hot chocolate was warm and rich.

7 Islands are romantic places and the Seychelles are no exception.

8 The most important bee in a hive is the queen.

9 In the following exercise fill the blanks with a suitable word.

10 I was set upon from behind The attack lasted only about five minutes, but, believe me, it seemed like a very long time.

Exercise 27

The articles: fill the gaps

Now you have a chance to use the information you learnt in the previous exercise to complete

a series o f texts For each blank in the texts below, decide whether you should add either a/an/thc

or leave the space empty Rem em ber to ask yourself the questions you learnt in the Key in

the previous exercise Again try not to mark the text so that you can repeat the exercise

1 advice is often difficult to accept fro m 2 friends, b u t 3 advice Samir

gave me was surprisingly helpful The next time 1 n e e d 4 help I shall know where

to go

5 - old people always think th a t_6 young la c k 7 discipline; maybe it’s

b e c a u se 8 young people are free f r o m 9 shackles that h in d e re d 10

previous generations

11 first time she saw him she was only thirteen His curly auburn hair and sailor’s

uniform were what did it 12 year later she was out d eliv erin g _13 _ milk on

her bicycle, when she saw him f o r 14 second time He was also o n 13 bike

If you are going in 16 opposite directions, 17 bicycles are not very convenient

for startin g 18 love affair!

19 whales are i n 20 danger o f becoming extinct

Sarah and Matty w e r e 24 great friends W henever Sarah went out to see her at

25 big house, Matty w ould always make her tea i n 26 large kitchen Then,

if Lady M argaret were not around, they would slide d o w n 27 banisters o n 28 _

staircase i n 29 front entrance hall How difficult it is, when you are young, to resist

30 banisters, especially if they look dangerous!

O n 31 arrival a t 32 a irp o rt, 33 first thing he did was phone home

i G iant’s Causeway is one o f 35 most beautiful places in 36 Europe

Below is part o f an article for a school magazine on: Life in 100 ye a rs’ time; a personal view

Read the texl through carefully; you will see that the passage is not very well connected.Just as it would have been difficult to predict, a hundred years ago, life in this century, so now it is not easy to say what life is going to be like in 100 years’ time

First of all, I must say that I think life will be very different in many ways by the year 2096 People will be living on other planets, perhaps even on planets outside the solar system

O bviously, therefore, travelling will be incredibly sophisticated and people will be able to travel vast distances in space; perhaps, even in a m atter o f seconds

Secondly, comm unication is also bound to be so sophisticated, that people will be able to com m unicate by telepathy A nother possibility is that people may be able to comm unicate visually with each other w herever they are For exam ple, people will be able to send holographic messages to each other; these holographic messages will be able to be stored for play back later, just as answ ering machines do today

Thirdly, a planet is certain to be free from disease and, as a consequence, we will have a longer lifespan M any people may fear the introduction o f euthanasia as the earth becomes more crow ded, but, if it is introduced, I believe that it will be only a temporary measure, as more and more men and women will be needed to colonise other worlds

Now try to improve the article by com pleting the following exercise:

1 The w riter has repeated certain words and phrases Use the synonyms below, in the order they occur in the list, to improve the text

(a) the m ajor events that have taken place; (b) our lives; (c) worlds; (d) cover; (el

highly developed; (f) we; (g) everyone; (It) human beings; (i) one another; (j) images

For exam ple, (c) worlds = planets in Paragraph 2

2 Are the words and phrases below necessary in the text?

First o f all, in many ways, Secondly, Thirdly, For example, as a consequence,

3 The w riter couldn’t decide w hether to add therefore, to the beginning of the secondsentence in the fourth paragraph In your opinion, is it necessary?

4 In one place in the fourth paragraph, the indefinite article a is used instead o f the? Why is it wrong?

5 Note also that the w riter has repeated the structure will be able to four times W hat other alternatives can you use in the third paragraph?

6 Which other two structures d o e s th e w rite r u se to a v o id th e re p e titio n o f th e

construction w ill b e ?

Exercise 29

Awareness of old/new information in a sentence: 1

This exercise helps make you aware of the organisation o f the information in a sentence

Below is part o f an article entitled Violence in our Society The sentences o f the first paragraph

are divided into two parts The part on the left is in the correct order, but the part on the right

is jum bled

M atch the two sections and you will have a complete paragraph As you do the exercise, think

about the balance o f the information in each sentence

1 One o f the most pressing problems a. is the inability o f society to tackle

the root o f the problem , namely poverty

2 This increase can be attributed b. operate in isolation.

3 Lack o f discipline in the home and at c to many different causes depending

4 The break-up o f m arriages and the d. is often quo ted as a reason fo r the

increase in one-parent families disintegration o f our society.

5 B ut w ithout doubt the primary cause e are also blam ed fo r the in creasin g

violence in our lives

6 Poverty is often the source o f a host o f f like the lack o f opportunity, squalor

few

7 However, rarely does one o f the above g- facing our society today is the

Exercise 30

Awareness of old/new information in a sentence: 2

This exercise helps you to focus on the organisation o f the information in a sentence from a

different angle Below is part o f an essay: Inequalities in health care cannot he avoided Discuss

The sentences o f the second paragraph are divided into two The parts indicated by letters,

which contain the text references, are jum bled, but those indicated by numbers, containing the

ideas, are in the correct order Match the two sections o f each sentence and you will have it

complete paragraph

Read through the part o f the text on the opposite page carefully Use the connecting words and

phrases, the gram m ar and the sequence o f inform ation, to help you find your way through the

text

As you do the exercise think about the relationship between the two parts o f each sentence and

how they connect

it This treatment is available, because there are

b In the latter, however, there are

c First of a ll, the rich can afford to go to

d What is more, those living in

c Second, for people living in big cities it is

f Thus, for poor people living in remote areas

g Poor patients, on the other hand, have to go to

1 a private hospital where they are able to have better investigations and treatment without delay.

2 a government hospital where they may encounter many difficul­ ties, including long waiting lists for treatment, or even a lack of basic supplies like bandages.

3 easier to find modern treatment.

4 many highly equipped hospitals available in large cities compared with small towns.

3 often no hospitals at all and public transport is non-existent.

() large urban areas have access to more specialists in different fields with modern technology like CT scans, dialysis machines, etc.

7 access to health care is not easily available.

Exercise 31

Contradictions

As we have seen, it is difficult to think about the content, as well as the gram m ar and the

connections, when we write It is not surprising, therefore, that we sometimes contradict ourselves

in m inor detail

Read through the text below quickly Then read it again carefully and find the contradictions

Note that the first fact in the text is always true One o f the contradictions is marked for you

K im berley was born in 1953 and brought up in Hackney, north London, the

only girl in a family o f four boys She had a happy childhood with parents

who were very caring and easy going Being rather w ell-off, the family lived a

totally carefree life in a large, ram bling house

5 Kimberley was quite an ordinary child, rather dull, in fact, with no real interest

in any school activity She was very mischievous and always getting into

trouble H er behaviour caused her parents no end o f anguish, as her other

brothers and sister were doing extremely well At school, insects, drawing and,

o f course, boys were her main obsessions

10 Then, in 1972, at the age o f sixteen K im berley began to blossom The plain

girl turned into a very handsom e young wom an, but still very much a loner

She w asn’t exactly elegant, as, coming from a poor background, she could not

afford to buy many expensive clothes

She had always been a model pupil o f average intelligence, but now she began

15 to shine in the class, especially in languages In her first attem pt at her

A -Levels, she did rather well, much to everyone’s surprise

Kim, as she was known to her many friends, couldn’t decide whether to stay in

south London, where she was born, or go to Exeter She went to the latter,

where she studied French and Italian She lasted only two years, as she hated

20 the student life in London As part o f her course, she spent a year abroad: six

months in M oscow and six in Athens W hen she came back to England, she

found it very difficult to settle down Being decisive, at first, she didn’t know

what to do, but gradually Kimberley found her feet

She started an acting career, which took off rather quickly A fter a

25 considerable time, she had a lucky break in a comedy called Right Monkey,

about a fam ily who bring up a baby chim panzee The film was a huge success

She is now also a big hit in a romantic comedy, called H ello and Bye.

SECTION 3

Exercise 32

Formal letter checklist Part 1

This exercise checks how m uch you know about formal letters Read the statements below and

decide w hether they are true or false

8 I f yo u d o not k n o w th e a d d re sse e p e rso n a lly , b u t y o u k n o w h is /h e r n a m e ,

y o u sh o u ld still u se D e a r S ir/M a d a m to b e g in y o u r letter

9 A ll fo rm a l le tte rs sh o u ld b e g in w ith a h e a d in g o n th e lin e

This is another exercise to check how much you know about formal letters Read the statements below uiul decide whether they are true or false

1 In th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e , y o u can u se w o u ld in s te a d o f s h o u ld :

/ slio u h i b e g r a te fu l i f y o u c o u ld s e n d m e a c o p y o f the rep o rt.

2 W hen you are a p p ly in g fo r a jo b , it is b etter to in clu d e a su m m ary o f your

c u r r ic u lu m vita e in th e letter.

3 You c a n n o t u se c o n tra c tio n s (e.g d o n ’t/ I ’ m /c a n ’t)

4 H o p e to h e a r fro m y ou so o n is a g o o d w a y to e n d a fo rm a l letter

5 Y ours fa ith fu lly , is u s e d in all fo rm a l le tte rs

6 You sh o u ld alw a y s say T h a n k v o u /T h a n k in g v o u in ad v a n c e at th e en d

o f fo rm a l letters

7 It is b e tte r to p rin t y o u r n a m e a fte r y o u r s ig n a tu re a t th e e n d o f th e letter

8 Y ou sh o u ld a v o id c o llo q u ia l e x p re s sio n s , e g p h rasal v e rb s, g e t, etc

9 Y ou d o n o t n eed to w rite n u m b e rs in w o rd s

10 W hen you u se a b b re v ia tio n s in a fo rm al letter, y o u sh o u ld w rite th e w o rd s

in fu ll w ith th e a b b re v ia tio n in b ra c k e ts a fte rw a rd s , e g th e U n ite d

K ingdom ( U K t W hen y o u w a n t to use th e p h rase/n am e again in th e tex t, you can use th e ab b rev iatio n on its o w n

11 F o rm a l le tte rs sh o u ld b e fa irly n e a t a n d tidy

12 You m u st a lw a y s u se u n lin c d p ap er

Exercise 34

Formal letter analysis

In the letter below, there are a num ber o f problem s, w hich relate to style and layout Edit the

letter using the true/false checklists in Exercises 32 and 33

2 7 S ilv e r S treet

L o n d o n ,

S E 1 6 1CH 12/7/96

D e a r S ir

I ’m a so c ia l w o rk e r liv in g in L o n d o n N o rm a lly , I d o n ’t w rite to

p a p e rs , b u t I fe e l I m u s t d o so o n th is o c c a sio n

I m u s t say th a t 1 d o n ’t ag re e w ith th e w r ite r ’s p o in t o f view S h e h as said

th a t, w ith th e u se o f fetal m aterial fo r tra n sp la n ts, w e are a c tiv e ly en co u ra g in g

m o re a b o rtio n s A re c e n t stu d y , th o u g h , sh o w s th a t a b o u t 175 ,0 0 0 a b o rtio n s

a re c a rrie d o u t le g a lly e v e ry y e a r in th e U K , w h ic h m e a n s th a t tissu e fro m

1 7 5 ,0 0 0 fetal b ra in s is a v a ila b le fo r tra n s p la n ta tio n D o w e th e n re a lly n eed

m o re a b o rtio n s?

B y c a rry in g o u t th e s e o p e ra tio n s , w e are h e lp in g lo a d s o f p a tie n ts su ffe rin g

fro m P a rk in s o n ’s d is e a s e (T h e re are a b o u t 110,000 p a tie n ts su ffe rin g fro m

th is c o n d itio n in the U K ) T h u s , w e c a n h e lp a large n u m b e r o f p e o p le lead

b e tte r an d pu rp o sefu l lives S econdly, after the o p eratio n th e patien t has to take

fe w e r d ru g s B o th th ese facto rs w o u ld re d u c e the lo ad on th e N H S as m illio n s

o f p o u n d s are spent on th e reh ab ilitatio n o f p atien ts su fferin g fro m P a rk in so n ’s

d is e a se

F in a lly , by s to p p in g th e se o p e ra tio n s w e are a c tu a lly try in g to h a lt

m e d ic a l re s e a rc h an d p ro g re ss H o w th e n c a n w e h o p e to k e e p u p w ith o th e r

d e v elo p e d nations w h ere scientific progress is ad v an cin g at an incredible pace?

H o p e I c a n g e t th is le tte r p u b lis h e d in y o u r p ap er

Y ours sin cerely ,

Exercise 35 Sequence <>i~ lenses in a text

The text below is part o f a letter to a newspaper, stating how the w riter thinks the incidence of rape can be reduced

In the text, there is a problem with most o f the verb forms Look carefully at the relationships between the sentences Then decide what the correct verb form is In some instances, there may

be more than one correct alternative Before you do the exercise, you may like to repeat Exercise

12 in Section I

!d&eax < S i i / a d a m ,

j l O m wxite] to e x j i x e a niij concern a f o u t t f e increasing n u m f e x

o f xafie a t t a e f s a g a i n s t w o m e n in our society a n d to f i a t f o x w a x d

on w om en c z / f t t f e sa m e tim e , wfiife in p r is o n , s e x o ffe n d e r s , a t

flO f a s recent fy x e c o m m e n d e d j, f l l u n d e r g o ] f o n g - t e r m coun-

seffin g to f e l ’p tfiem f l l f i g f t i n g ] t f e p r o f fern t f e m s e f v e s 1U cfl

counseffing f l 3 is c o n tin u in g ] a fte x t f e r e f ease o f i e x o ffe n d e r s ,

then 0 [1.4 a m s tr o n g ly f e f i e v i n g ] t f a t t f i s [15 can I j e J one o f t f e

m o l t e ffective w a y s f l 6 x e d u c e ] t f e n u m f e x o f s e x u a f a s s a u f t s on

w om en.

Exercise 36

Reading for writing

One way o f im proving your writing is to learn to absorb the oiganisation o f a text as you read

M any o f the exercises you have done up to now have, in fact, been teaching you how to do just

this

The aim o f this exercise is specifically to make you read a text actively and to revise some

points you have already looked at

Read through the questions below and read the text on the opposite page Then answer the

questions and check your answer with the Key

1 In lin e 1, is it p o s s ib le to start th e le tte r 1 w rite in s te a d o f 1 am w ritin g ?

2 W h y is it n o t p o s s ib le to re p la c e th e first se n te n c e w ith th e fo llo w in g : I

on A ID S c o u ld be left o u t w ith o u t a ffe c tin g the te x t in a n y w ay D o you

a g re e w ith th is s ta te m e n t? R e a d th e in tro d u c tio n , i f n e c e ss a ry sev eral

tim e s , w ith an d w ith o u t th e p h ra s e

6 D o y o u th in k the w rite r sh o u ld sta rt th e se c o n d p a ra g ra p h w ith a p h rase

lik e: F irst o f all, F irstly , F irst? G iv e re a s o n s fo r y o u r an sw er

7 Y ou can re p la c e T h is in lin e 8 w ith It Is th is tru e ? G iv e y o u r re a so n s

im m o ral life T h is is n o n se n s e I w o u ld lik e to a sk th e a u th o r h o w

w o u ld h e e x p la in , fro m h is e x tre m e ly n a rro w p o in t o f v iew , th e

10 tra n s m is s io n o f th e H u m a n Im m u n o d e fic ie n c y V iru s (H IV ) to

A fte r h is in itial s ta te m e n t, th e w rite r g o e s on to s u g g e s t th a t

re s o u rc e s sh o u ld n o t b e a llo c a te d f o r re s e a rc h p ro g ra m m e s o n A ID S

T h is m e a n s a c o m p le te a n d u tte r s u rre n d e r to a very th re a te n in g , b u t

20 c o n tro lla b le a n d p re v e n ta b le situ a tio n

T h e a rtic le m u st a ls o h a v e b e e n a g re a t sh o c k to th e v ic tim s o f A ID S

W c s h o u ld b e a r in m in d th a t p e o p le w h o h a v e th is d is e a s e n e e d

s y m p a th y , s u p p o r t, c o u n s e l li n g a n d h e lp , r a t h e r th a n i s o la t io n ,

a c c u s a tio n and p u b lic h u m ilia tio n

25 I d o h o p e the w rite r w ill, in fu tu re , c o n s id e r th e e th ic a l a n d h u m a n

c o sts o f w h a t he w rite s

Yours faithfully,

G eorgina M oore.

Exercise 37

Formal and informal awareness

The first stage o f deciding w hether a word or phrase is formal or informal is being aware that

there is a difference betw een the tw o o f them This exercise w ill help you to recognise

formal/informal language

Read through the sentences below and you will see that they are all informal Try to make them

formal and then compare your answ er with the suggested versions in the Key

Example:

Why don V they invest more m oney in the education system?

This is informal

Formal:

I suggest that more m oney (should) be invested in the education system.

1 T h a n k s fo r y o u r le tte r, w h ich I g o t y e ste rd a y

10 T h e th in g th a t re a lly g o t m e w a s th e w r ite r ’s ig n o ra n c e o f th is m atter

11 I re c k o n th a t th e w rite r has g o t it all w ro n g

You arc now going to sec w hether you can distinguish between formal and informal language

in a text Itelow is a formal letter to a bank m anager complaining about a cheque that was not honoured by the bank The gram m ar, spelling, etc are correct, but some o f the words and phrases are not suitable for a formal letter First o f all, read through the text and m ake a list of the words and phrases which you think are too informal Then try to find formal items to replace them without any help If necessary, however, you may choose from words and phrases from the list at the bottom o f the page Some o f the informal exam ples have been marked for you.Hello Mr Underall,

Just a few lines to say that 9 you bounced a cheque, which was presented for payment

on 25/1/96, in spite o f the fact that my account 17 had money in it at the time of presentation I would also like to make a complaint about the subsequent service I got from 1 one o f your chaps

I would call your attention to the fact that a ban k er’s draft for £150 was paid into my account at your branch by my elder daughter, Rebecca M erstone, on 20/1/96, five days before the said cheque was presented and refused The following day my younger daughter, Rosie, also paid £100 in cash into my account There w ere, then, enough funds in my account at the time o f presentation and the cheque should have been cleared And I’d like to point out that I got in touch w ith you by phone and the chap I spoke to was really rude N ot being used to such behaviour, I w as, as you can im agine, left speechless

I’lease inform me what compensation you propose to offer me for my inconvenience

in this m atter and what you are going to do re the rudeness o f the cashier

Look forward to hearing from you when you’ve got the time

Best wishes,

Ms Caroline Grinaide

1 a m em ber o f your staff 11 I look forward to hearing from you

2 1 should be grateful if you could 12 failed to honour

6 I am writing to lodge a com plaint 16 sufficientabout the fact

21 Dear

Exercise 39

Dressing up an informal letter

A nother aspect o f editing a text is to improve on a draft, which requires both patience and

practice

Below is the beginning o f an informal letter The text is correct, but it could be improved Read

the text and then insert some, or all, o f the words and phrases below to dress up the passage

You do not have to use all o f the items; how far you improve the text is for you to decide Then

read the Key and see if you can find the words and phrases listed

Please note that, in some cases, you may have to change the punctuation

1 then

2 The first thing do was

3 and so I went along with them

4 very pleasant studio

5 and have been settling in gradually

(7us,C to /& /pon £now / tfo t h e re ancito <gbu-e egou meg new at/dres#,

/ arr-iu-ed in /ondon a t o a t a month atfo / h a d to fa n d a g /a c e to Time,

hi/hen / g o t h ere, /P ■)ham m edput me of) fa r a coapde ofa n ig h ts and

then / fa u n d th is fabat in li/c s t /ondon through an agcnceg T h ere s

a tahe sta tio n n o t too faar awag /oa s’ho addcome oo-er h ere fa r a fa w

w eeds a t th e endoftg term

/fe e tin^- geogde in / ondon is quite difafacubt /n th e beginning, / fa b t

to some o th er stu den ts T h eg ino-itedme to a gartg, which th e g w ere

going to g a te -c ra sh / t was fa n ta stic / m et o th e r geogde, some ofa

whom / o-e m et seo-eradtim es since.

t S = 3 »

« = »

Exercise 40 Formal lo informal translation

This exercise helps you focus on the difference between formal and informal language Below

is an informal letter to a friend The gram m ar, spelling, etc are correct, but some o f the words

or phrases arc not suitable for a friendly letter First, see if you recognise the language which

is too formal Then try to make the letter more informal by replacing the formal words and phrases with the informal items below Two examples have been done for you

8 hear

Dean Sarah

iam writing to thandgoa ftorgoar better, which ireceia-eda coup be oft dags ago, and fa r tie message on mg answering machine, b t was 5 such a pheasant experience to hear ftromgoa i'o-e triedinnamerabbe times to made contact withgoa on the phone, bat i d ep t obtaining goar answering machine So i resobo-ed to patpen to paper instead.

it's reabbg wonder fa b oft goa to hao-e arranged the ho bidag to /enice so cftfticicntbg These dags id on't seem to be abbe to g e t mg a ct together; nor do ihao-ethe time or energg to do angthing i mast sag th a t chasing abb this paper aroand a t word

J goar biftc and environment are a b it quieter, i woabdbegrateftabiftgoa coabd cono-eg

mg regards to Hugh.

/ours ftaithfta dbg,

Todneg

Exercise 41

A writing drill

Students often learn words and phrases in isolation Then when it conies to writing a text the

words and phrases do not fit in properly, or more often than not they do not come to mind easily

In this exercise, you are asked to think o f a word to fill each blank in an informal letter Read the

text through once Then read the letter again and think o f a suitable word for each gap Write the

words on a separate sheet o f paper

Check your answer with the Key Repeat the exercise until you are able to read and fill the

blanks fluently Please note that you are not expected to be able to fill all the blanks at the first

attempt With repetition, however, you should be able to fill m ost o f them automatically

18 _,1 c a n ’t b eliev e cigarettes are h elp in g y o u D o you rem em b er

19 I said b e fo re a b o u t all th e illn e s s e s y o u c a n 2 0 by

Exercise 42

Recognising spelling mistakes

Once we have written something, it is difficult to recognise spelling mistakes There are many

reasons for this: we are not careful enough when we write; we check too quickly; we recognise

the overall shape o f the word, but we do not check the detail within the word

One way o f looking at spelling is to consider each word as a picture Like a person, if you see

people often enough in different clothes and in different contexts, you can recognise them

easily We all come across people whom we do not recognise outside the context we usually see

them in! With words, it is not much different You have to be able to recognise words in books,

in newspapers, in your own handw riting, in advertisements, on com puter screens and so on All

these different word shapes and sizes can cause problem s Com pare the way you write and print

a word with a printed word from a book They will all be different

Further, some o f our word pictures may be wrong, so that we are not able to see that there is a

mistake in the spelling o f a word You should not, therefore, be surprised that errors occur in

your w riting, especially as it develops

As you study language, you can consciously alter the pictures you have o f words One method

is by learning to recognise that something is wrong

In each line below, there is at least one spelling m istake Read the list carefully Find the spelling

mistakes and write the corrections on a piece o f paper

1 p a ra g ra p h a c c o u n t ap p ly fin a ly p re fe rre d d e fin ite ly

2 p ro g ra m m e e x e c ise s su p p o rt e n v iro m e n t p o stp o n e re lie f

3 stu b b o rn listn in g s to p p in g v e g ta b le s a d itio n a l su d d e n ly

4 y e ste d a y a llo w e d e x p e n s iv e te m p o ra ry a lth o u g h t b e c a u se

5 p a s s a g e b e le if tu m m y c a re fu l a rriv a l b e g in in g g u a ra n te e d

6 in tre stin g tra v e lle d im e d ia te ly to m o rro w e sp e c ia lly

7 im ag in e a n se rin g c o rre sp o n d a d v e rtis m e n t p u n is h m e n t

8 stra ig h t re s tu a ra n t d is c u sin g d e lig h tfu l b u is n e ssm a n

9 a d m ite d d is a p o in te d tu n n e l th re a te n in g la n g a u g e n o n s e n s e

10 c a n c e lla tio n e x a m in a tio n p ro ffe sio n a fe c te d o c c a sio n a l

11 m a in te n e n c e sk ille d su p rise co lo u rs ap ro v a l attra c tiv e

12 fo rtu n a tly p u tin g p e rm e n a n t im p o rta n t g e n eral

Exercise 43 KccoKiii.siiiK the correct word picture

Spelling is also about recognising that the picture o f a word that you have in your head is the same as the one you see on the written page In this exercise, you are going to pick out the correct word picture from a series o f words

In each list below, there is ONE word which is spelt correctly Read each list carefully and decide which word is correct

Do not mark the book so that you can do the exercise again

1 rcaly fulfil ack now leg e availible esen tial finaly

2 benifit bcautifull g o vernm ent independ ant b re if studing

3 d issaray d issag ree d isap ro v e d isap p ear em barass iritate

4 feild b eleiv e receiv e p laed p olu tio n p receed practiced

5 su ccessfu l w ond erfu ll p o w erfu ll p reffer g re if dificulty

6 pro cede w riten intelig ent separately p ro ceedu re

7 o ccu rred orig inaly p o se ssio n fascilitate atem pt b e h a v o u r

X diffren t rcfcring difficu lt carefuly g au rantee

9 aco m m o d atio n phisical arrange sirnlar preferrab le po sess

10 cq uiped resp o n sab le necessary ocasion al appearence

11 k now ledge b en ifited licenced ach eive desparate

Exercise 44

Recognising words with a different appearance

In this exercise, you are again going to look for words which have been correctly spelt.To see

if you can recognise words with a different appearance, the typeface in the lists below has been

changed

In some o f the lists, all o f the words are correct and in others only one or two are correct Read

each list carefully and decide which words are spelt correctly

Do not mark the book so that you can do the exercise again

1 irresponsible aprove dillema com m ittee aeroplain

2 desperate separate phenom enon intention occurence

3 delinquant appointm ent ordinry develope

correspondance

4 independence technique vehicle possibility thorough

5 com puter tem perature envlromental erradicate alochol

6 dictionery therfore thier permission enginering

7 teatotaller independent professor tastefull

8 conscientious m anagem ent envelope February

9 frightening application detention fascilitles

10 liesure perceive offensive neighborhood envelop

11 intrested unfortunatly apoleg etic directory

12 occasion embarrassment casaltles deforestration

Exercise 45

Editing sentences willi dilTcmit mistakes

When you write, you lutve to think about many tilings, not just spelling You need to be aware

ol the correct word to use, the correct conjunction, the correct adverb, the correct punctuation, the organisation and so on In other words, your attention is being sent in different directions

at the same lime As your ability to control your writing develops (see Sections 1 and 2), you may find that some organisational mistakes disappear This is partly because certain m echan­isms have become reflex actions; you do not have to think about them all the time! You can then direct your attention to other types o f inaccuracies

In this exercise, you have to find and correct mistakes in sentences This time the errors are not

111st to do with spelling Read each sentence carefully to find the mistake and write the correction

on a piece o f paper

Do not mark the book so that you can do the exercise again

I All p rim a ry sc h o o ls sh o u ld b e p ro v id e d c o m p u te r su ite s

2 L ast y e a r th e m a tte r h as b e e n d e b a te d in p a rlia m e n t

3 T h e re arc m an y p e o p le w o u ld ag re e w ith th is s ta te m e n t

4 E x c e p t fro m b u ses a n d tr a in s , th e re are o th e r fo rm s o f p u b lic tra n s p o rt

th a t c o u ld be u se d

5 Y oung p e o p le still se e m to h a v e e n o rm o u s p ro b le m s in fin d in g w o rk

6 M an y p eo p le arc v ery in te re stin g in p o litic s

7 In re c e n t y e a rs , ju v e n ile c rim e is a s e rio u s th re a t to th e fa b ric o f society

8 T h e a c c o m o d a tio n o n o ffe r is u su ally o f p o o r q u a lity an d v e ry e x p e n siv e

9 O n e w ay to re d u c e th e in c re a sin g p o p u la tio n is to in tro d u c e lic e n se s to

Exercise 46

Speed editing

In this exercise, there is a m istake in most o f the sentences; five sentences are, in fact, correct

As with spelling, you need to learn to recognise what is w rong and what is correct Now, you

should try to increase your speed Read each sentence as quickly as you can to find the mistake

and write the correction on a piece o f paper As you do the exercise, time yourself If you repeat

the exercise, try to do it more quickly

1 In m y o p in io n , n e w s o n te le v is io n a b o u t v io le n c e n e e d to be c e n s o re d , as

it e n c o u ra g e s v io le n c e

2 T h e a ffe c ts o f te c h n o lo g y on o u r liv e s are e n d le s s

3 A fte r the m a tte r w ill be c o n s id e re d fu lly , th e law w ill be c h a n g e d

4 T h e re is a little d o u b t as to th e tru th o f th is sta te m e n t N o b o d y w o u ld

19 It is v e ry e s s e n tia l to e x a m in e th e situ a tio n c a re fu lly

2 0 T h is is n o d iffe re n t fro m the o th e r o n e

Exercise 47

A teacher’s revenge!

In lliis exercise, you need to be a little bit more active in your recognition and correction o f

m istakes, as you will find out when you turn to the Key Below you have 25 sentences; altogether, they are roughly the sam e length as an essay o f 250-260 words Three o f the sentences have no mistakes and you may also find that some have more than one Time yourselfand see il you can find the mistakes in less than five m inutes Leave the exercise for a few daysand try it again

1 fossil rem ains o f dinosaurs are found recently

2 The governm ent must tighten the law in this respect

3 Nowadays, especially young people, everyone should practise safe sex

4 I le arised the m atter at the meeting before last

5 I wonder how can the w riter explain this statement

6 Success only can be acheived by hard work

7 I suggest you to try working a bit harder

8 Instead, the money should be spent on improving school buildings and to help old

people.

9 If people arc careful when they drive, there will be few er accidents

10 This is a delicate m atter that has raised considerable controversy

11 Smoking is very harmful! to our health

12 Less people would mean less problems

13 Should education be free for all?

14 Passing exam s often depends o f luck

15 We pick knowledge throughout life

16 The idea is certainly sound and, in my opinion, it should not be introduced

17 I le bought the stationary he needed and then rushed home to right the letter

18 The goverm cnt arc surely responsible in this case

19 Had they acted sooner, then the collapse o f the housing m arket would not happen

20 I le appears to be very experienced with dealing with people

2 1 We arc all sensible to criticism at times

22 I’ve kept a dairy since I was in primary school

23 1 le had to pay a £50 fee when he was caught parking in a restricted area

24 I often lo o se m y w ay around here.

25 Recent stnistics have shown that the distance between the rich and the poor is increasing