Task 5 Writing topic sentences.

CONTENTS

PART 1

 

Unit 1. Topic and Topic Sentence…………………………………………………….p. 2

Unit 2. Developing and Clarifying Topic Sentence…………………………………...p. 4

Unit 3. Paragraph Unity……………………………………………………………….p.9

Unit 4. Paragraph Coherence…………………………………………………………..p.11

Unit 5. Concrete Support………………………………………………………………p.15

Unit 6. Paraphrasing and Summarizing………………………………………………...p.18

Unit 7. The Essay……………………………………………………………………….p.22

 

PART 2

Speaking About the Research

Unit 1. Problems and Questions of Scientific Research…………………………………..p.31

Unit 2. Aims and Task of Research……………………………………………………….p.33

Unit 3.Direction and Trends………………………………………………………………p.34

Unit 4. Research Processes……………………………………………………………… p.35

Unit 5. Methods, Technique(s), Procedures ……………………………………………….p.36

Unit 6. Research Equipment ………………………………………………………………p.38

Unit 7. Experiment, Observations, Analysis……………………………………………… p.39

Unit 8. Practice. Significance ……………………………………………………………..p.40

Unit 9. Working on a dissertation………………………………………………………….p.41

 

 

GRAMMAR

PART 3

Unit 1. Types of sentences ………………………………………………………………….p.44

Unit 2. Sentence Problems …………………………………………………………………...p.54

Unit 3. Punctuation……………………………………………………………………….. p. 58

 

APPENDIX …………………………………………………………………………………p.61

PART I

Unit 1

Topic and Topic Sentence

A bit of theory! The basic unit of a written text is a paragraph. The central idea of the paragraph is called the topic. The topic is usually expressed by one word or by the group of words: E.g. “The Main Characteristic Feature of the Present Civilization”, “Assessment of the Actual and Potential Pathways”; “Stress Response”; “Chaos Theory”, “Pests and Diseases”. The sentence expressing the topic is called the topic sentence. The topic sentence has the full structure.

Task 1 Observe the examples of topics and topic sentences. Translate them.

 

Topic	Topic Sentence
1. The Main Characteristic Feature of the Present Civilization	Natural science is the main characteristic feature distinguishing the present civilization from the other civilizations
2. Assessment of the Actual and Potential Pathways	In the case of dispersed contamination, a rigorous assessment of the actual and potential pathways is required to determine the optimal action.
3. Stress Response	Every disturbance in the body, either real or imagined, evokes a stress response.
4. Chaos Theory	Scientists and mathematicians have developed a theory to explain uncertainty of the universe.
5. Pests and Diseases	Willow and poplars are host to a wide range of fungal pathogens and leaf-eating insects.
6. Mapping E8	The American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) announced today that 18 top mathematicians and computer scientists have mapped E8, one of the largest and most complicated structures in mathematics.

 

Task 2 Consider the following topic sentences and complete the chart.

Topic sentences:

a) E ₈ is the symmetries of the geometric object like a sphere, cylinder or cone. b) Events of April 1986 at the Chernobyl NPP compelled the world community to develop new criteria on intervention levels with a view to improve protection of the population. c) A relatively high level of leaf damage can be tolerated willows and poplars with little adverse effect but severe or repeated attacks will reduce yield. d) A Chaotic system is defined by Gollub and Solomon as one that ”shows sensitivity to initial condition”.

 

Topic	Topic Sentence
1. The definition of a chaotic system
2. Effects of leaf damage and repeated attacks
3. Necessity of developing new criteria on intervention levels
4. Essence of E 8

 

Task 3 Consider the following topics and complete the chart.

Topics:

1. Invention of the Lie group. 2.Chaos in education and teaching 3. Two control systems of stress response. 4. CO₂ emissions. 5. Insect species effecting willow and poplar.

 

 

Topic	Topic Sentence
	a) Beetles of the chrysomelid family, mainly brassy and blue willow beetles (Phratora spp.) are the most important species that affect willow and poplar.
	b) Chaos theory is highly relevant to the field of teaching because is difficult to exactly predict what will happen in the class each day.
	c) Lie groups were invented in the 19^th century by Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie to study symmetry.
	d) There is growing consensus that CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels are altering the global climate.

 

A bit of theory! Limitation of the topic

The words and phrases which will let the reader know how you are going to discus the topic are called controlling words or phrase. They limit the topic. Controlling words and phrases can indicate: place, time, quality, effect, cause, availability, and manner of action, enumeration and others. To determine the category make question to the phrase.

 

Topic sentence with controlling words underlined	Category of controlling words
Beetles of the chrysomelid family, mainly brassy and blue willow beetles (Phratora spp.) are the most important species that affect willow and poplar	Enumeration What are the most important species that affect willow and poplar?
Chaos theory is highly relevant to the field of teaching because it is difficult to exactly predict what will happen in the class each day	Cause Why is chaos theory relevant to the field of teaching?
Lie groups were invented in the 19^th century by Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie to study symmetry	Time When were Lie group invented?
There is growing consensus that CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels are altering the global climate	Effect How do CO2 emissions influence the global climate?
At the request of the government the ENVSEC assessment started in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.	Place Where did the ENVSEC assessment start?

 

Task 4 Match the topic sentences and the categories.

Topic sentences

1) Short rotation coppice (SRC) can provide an alternative use of agricultural land.

2) The Environment and Security initiative (ENVSEC) was launched in May 2003.

3) In addition to technical constraints, there may be a wide range of regulatory and socioeconomic constraints on the selection of an appropriate remediation or disposal strategy.

4) Understanding and classifying the representation of E ₈ and Lie groups has been critical to understanding phenomena in many different areas of mathematics and science including algebra, geometry, number theory, physics and chemistry.

5) All work, be it professional or not, is subject to the whims of chaos.

6) In concert with there components of the stress response system, the action of corticosteron displays two modes of operation.

 

Categories

a) time; b) effect; c) quality; d) consequence; e) availability; f) cause; g) mode of action.

 

Unit 2

Exemplification

A bit of theory! When you are going to give examples, use signal words or phrases

 

Signal words and phrases	Examples
Noun	example, illustration	A good example of most important fungal pathogen of both willow and poplar is Metampsora rust.
Verb, verb phrases	can be illustrated by	The first kind of chaos in education can be illustrated by several good examples.
Sentence connector (вводное слово, не является членом предложения)	for instance, for example	For example, removal of 30 % of leaves had little effect on yield.
Phrase signals (местоимение, является членом предложения)	like as, such as	While the main reason for growing SRC is to achieve financial return, other benefits such as increased biodiversity, use as a shelter or screen or as game cover may influence the timing and pattern of harvesting.

 

Task 1 Fill the blanks with signal words and phrases.

1) …. of symmetric three-dimensional objects are balls, cylinders, spheres, cones. 2) The access of corticosteroids to the brain receptors is determined by a variety of factors, …. corticosteroid-binding, globulin, steroid-metabolizing enzymes, and the mdr1Ap-glycoprotein. 3) For commercial planting of willow it is standard practice to use machines …. The Salix Maskiner “Step Planter”. 4) Environmental risk resulting from the implementation of remedial actions may also extend to possible impacts on natural resources … as surface water, groundwater, air, geological, resources or biological resources. 5) It is also important to draw a distinction between those radioelements that occur naturally and those that do not … as technetium, and the transuranics.

Task 2 Find your own exemplifications.

 

Details

A bit of theory! A detail is aparticular partof characteristic of a whole thing or a whole idea. Details are frequently used in a description.

Task 3 Analyze the paragraph below filling in the blanks in the chart that follows.

 

Border Biofules Ltd has developeda “lay flat” planting system. The lay flat system plants twin rows of 2 or 3 m long rods lying horizontally, end to end, just under the soil surface. Shoots and roots develop from the buried rod. The frequency of shoots appearing along the rod cannot be controlled but the distance between the twin rows can. Initial trials using willow planting material have been established. The lay flat principle is also being tested with poplar planting material.

 

Topic Sentence Border Biofuels have developed a “lay flat” planting system.

Details Lengths of … Manner of … Frequency … Distance …

 

Task 4 Analyze the paragraphs below and fill the charts

 

1. By the early stage of an accident, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) means the period of time during which a radioactive cloud (release) is over a particular settlement. This period may last from half an hour to several days. At this stage of the development of accident sources of exposure are as following: external exposure caused by radiations of radionuclide located in the tongue of an air release; by radiations of radionuclide fell out on the surface, and radioactive contamination of skin or clothes; internal exposure caused by inhalation of radioactive substances located in the air in a suspended state. At this stage of the accident the following protective measures are reckoned: sheltering the population in as much as possible hermetically sealed rooms, application of protective means for respiratory tract, taking preparations of stable iodine (iodine prophylaxis), evacuation (as an extreme measure) and rendering a highly skilled medical aid.

 

Topic Sentence

Details

 

2. The magnitude and nature of the E ₈ calculation invite comparison with the Human Genome Project. The human genome, which contains all the genetic information of a cell, is less than a gigabyte in size. The result of the E ₈ calculation, which contains all the information about E ₈ and its representations, is 60 gigabytes in size. This is enough to store 45 days of continuous music in MP3-format. If written out on paper, the answer would cover an area the size of Manhattan.

 

Topic Sentence

Details

 

3. Whereas environmental problems may aggravate security challenges, protective counter-measures, particularly when they are implemented cooperatively, may help to alleviate them. Cooperation over the environment, including joint management of water resources and dialogue on transboundary hazards can help to reduce international tension. Environmental cooperation in relatively low-tension areas, such as the establishment of jointly managed conservation zones (for example “peace parks”) can also raise the level of trust between states or communities, thereby contributing to overall stability. Another important area of such cooperation within the security framework is the development of legal regimes and institutions for information sharing and early warning to anticipate accidents and promote dialogue.

 

Topic Sentence

Details

 

4. Thirty years ago McEwen and co-workers demonstrated that a [³ H] corticosterone tracer administrated to adrenalectomized (ADX) rats is retained in high amounts in the hippocampus several hours later. Autoradiography showed abundant [³ H] corticosterone-labeled cell nuclei in the dentate gyrus and pyramidal cells of the hippocampus as well as in other regions of the limbic forebrain, e.g., lateral septum and amigdala. This retention pattern in limbic brain has subsequently been found in widely divergent species such as birds, dogs, and monkeys that secrete corticosterone (birds, rodents) or cortisol (dogs, primates) as the naturally occurring glucocorticoid. This suggests that the retention of corticosteroids, particularly in the hippocampus, is a trait that is conserved in evolution.

 

Topic Sentence

Details

 

 

Task 5 Write a paragraph describing in detail one of these topics

1) Greenhouse effect 2) Renewable energy resources 3) The scientists’ responsibility 4) The diminishing of natural resources 5) The multiplication of wastes 6) Genius and psychosis 7) Language and culture

 

Facts and Statistics

A fact is something that has actually happened or is happening; something known to be, or accepted as being. Statistics arecollected numbers representing facts or measurements.

Task 1 Find facts and statistics in the paragraphs

1. The early studies with tracer amounts of corticosterone had, in fact, identified mineralocorticoid rexeptors (MRs) rather than glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) in hippocampus since the tracer dose of corticosterone was too low to detect GR. This becomes apparent when binding properties of MRs and GRs were studied in cytosol, using selective GR ligands.

2. The legacy of the Chernobyl disaster - almost synonymous for the outside world with environmental problems in Eastern Europe – epitomizes the difficulties in dealing with all these problems at the same time. In the early hours of 26 April 1986 a violent explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, near the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, destroyed the reactor and started a large fire that lasted 10 days. During the explosion and the fire a huge amount of radioactivity was released into the environment, spreading over hundreds of kilometers into Belarus, Ukraine and beyond. Chernobyl affected one-fifth of Belarus territory and a quarter of its population. In the early 1990s as much as 20 % of the national budget was spent ion remediation efforts, which would result in economic meltdown even in a stable, healthy economy.

3. Planting densities have increased over the last decade. This move is supported by research carried out by Armstrong and Johns (1997) who found that the first harvest yield increased as planting densities increased from approximately 4500 stools per hectare up to 15 625 per hectare. This trend was repeated in the other willow variety and both poplar varieties tested. More recent work investigating the effect of harvest frequency and planting densities (from 8625 to 111 000 stools ha^-1 ) on yield suggests that a figure of 15 625 stools ha^-1 offers the best economic return over the lifetime of the crop.

 

Task 6 Give comments on the following table. Identify the topic.

 

In Britain, % of people
read a newspaper every day		go to the cinema every weekend
smoke		have a pet
watch TV every night		live in a house with a garden

 

Prompts:

a) Survey about British people; b) typically British; c) The way British people live.

 

Task 7 Give statistics for typical Belarusian family. Write a paragraph about the way Belarusian people live.

 

Unit 3

Paragraph Unity

A bit of theory! Unity is an important element of a good paragraph. It means that only one main idea is discussed. For example, if you paragraph is about the advantages of owning a compact car, discuss only that. Do not discuss the disadvantages. Furthermore it is a good idea for to discuss only one advantage, such as gas economy, in each paragraph. If you begin to discuss another advantage, start a new paragraph. Sometimes it is possible to discuss two or three aspects of the same idea in paragraph if they are closely related to each other. For example, you can discuss gas economy and low maintenance costs in one paragraph because they are closely related, but you shouldn’t discuss both gas economy and easier parking in one paragraph. The second part of unity is that every supporting sentence must directly explain or prove the main idea that is stated in the topic sentence. Do not include any information that does not directly support the topic sentence. The sentences that are «off the topic» are called irrelevant sentences.

 

Task 1 Study the three paragraphs. All of them discuss the same topic. Which paragraph has unity? Which paragraph discusses more than one topic? Which paragraph has irrelevant sentences?

Paragraph 1

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is still growing explosively in most parts of the world. In Central and Eastern Europe, HIV is spreading rapidly in countries that had almost no cases a few years ago. In China, there were an estimated 10,000 HIV-infected persons at the end of 1993, and this total grew ten-fold, to 100,000, by the end of 1995. In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic rages on. In Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, 10 percent of the women visiting postnatal clinics in urban areas are infected with HIV, and in some areas, the rate is 40 percent. Mothers can give the HIV virus to their children during pregnancy and childbirth or when breast-feeding. The virus is also transmitted through blood and blood products. For example, drug users who share needles may become infected. The main method of transmission is, of course, unprotected sex, which accounts for 75 to 85 percent of infection.

 

Paragraph 2

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is still growing explosively in most parts of the world. In Central and Eastern Europe, HIV is spreading rapidly in countries that had almost no cases a few years ago. In China, there were an estimated 10,000 HIV-infected persons at the end of 1993, and this total grew ten-fold, to 100,000, by the end of 1995. In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic rages on. In Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, 10 percent of the women visiting postnatal clinics in urban areas are infected with HIV, and in some areas, the rate is 40 percent. Around the world, HIV infection rates are sky-rocketing among sex-workers. In Nairobi, Kenya, 80 percent of sex workers are infected, and in Vietnam, the rate of infection climbed from 9 percent to 38 percent between 1992 and 1995. These statistics illustrate with frightening clarity that HIV/AIDS is still a major health problem in most areas of the world.

 

Paragraph 3

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is still growing explosively in most parts of the world. In Central and Eastern Europe, HIV is spreading rapidly in countries that had almost no cases a few years ago. In China, there were an estimated 10,000 HIV-infected persons at the end of 1993, and this total grew ten-fold, to 100,000, by the end of 1995. There is evidence that in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, HIV infection rates are declining, at least among males. This is a result of a combination of prevention methods. In the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the HIV/AIDS epidemic rages on. In Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, 10 percent of the women visiting postnatal clinics in urban areas are infected with HIV, and in some areas, the rate is 40 percent. Although there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, new medicines are available that prolong the lives of people with HIV.

 

Task 2 The following short essay has not been divided into paragraphs, but it should contain six.

Read the essay and decide where each paragraph should begin.

Culture, Logic, and Rhetoric

Logic, which is the basis of rhetoric, comes from culture; it is not universal. Rhetoric, therefore, is not universal either but varies from culture to culture. The rhetorical system of one language is neither better nor worse that the rhetorical system of another language, but it is different. English logic and English rhetoric, which are based on Anglo-European cultural patterns, are linear – that is, a good English paragraph begins with a general statement of its content and then carefully develops that statement with a series of specific illustrations. A good English paragraph may also use just the reverse sequence: it may state a whole series of examples and then summarize those examples in a single statement at the end of the paragraph. In either case, however, the flow of ideas occurs in a straight line from the opening sentence to the last sentence. Furthermore, a well-structured English paragraph is never digressive. There is nothing that does not belong to the paragraph and nothing that does not support the topic sentence. A type of construction found in Arabic and Persian writing is very different. Whereas English writers use a linear sequence, Arabic and Persian writers tend to construct a paragraph in a parallel sequence using many coordinators such as and and but. In English, maturity of style is often judged by the degree of subordination rather that by the degree of coordination. Therefore, the Arabic and Persian styles of writing, with their emphasis on coordination, seem awkward and immature to an English reader. Some Asian writers, on the other hand, use an indirect approach. In this kind of writing, the topic is viewed form a variety of angles. The topic is never analysed directly; it is referred to only indirectly. Again, such a development in an English paragraph is awkward and unnecessarily vague to an English reader. Spanish rhetoric differs from English rhetoric in still another way. While the rules of English rhetoric require that every sentence in a paragraph relate directly to the central idea, a Spanish-speaking writer loves to fill a paragraph with interesting digressions. Although a Spanish paragraph may begin and end on the same topic, the writer often digresses into areas that are not directly related to the topic. Spanish rhetoric, therefore, does not follow the English rule of paragraph unity. In summery, a student who has mastered the grammar of English may still write the poor papers unless he/she has also mastered the rhetoric of English. Also, the student may have difficulty reading an essay written by the rules of English rhetoric unless he/she understands the ‘logical’ differences from those of his/her own native tongue.

 

Task 3 Decide where the paragraph should be divided into two or more paragraphs. Find the irrelevant sentences and cross them out.

 

Because the Internet makes the world a smaller place, the value of having a common language is greatly increased. The question is – which language? Because the Internet grew up in the United States, the largest percentage of its content is now in English. Bill Gates, Microsoft’s president, believes the English will remain valuable for a long time as a common language for international communication. His company spends $200 million a year translating software into other languages. He says, “Unless you read English passably well, you miss out on some of the Internet experience.” Someday, software may be available to instantly translate both written and spoken language so well that the need for any common language could decline. That day is decades away, however, because flawless machine translation is a very tough problem. Software does not crude translations already exist. It is useful if all you are trying to do is understand the general idea of something you see on your computer screen. However, if you are trying to negotiate a contract or discuss a scientific subject where details are important, machine translation is totally useless. Computer spelling checkers also exist for various languages.

 

Unit 4

Paragraph Coherence

 

A bit of theory! Coherent (speech, thoughts, ideas) means naturally or reasonably connected; easily understood. Cohesion is the act of sticking together tightly. So, a well written paragraph should be coherent. There are three ways to achieve coherence: logical, grammatical, and lexical.

Grammatical Devices

Grammatical devices for the cohesion are pronouns, demonstrative adjective and article. Observe the following examples.

1. A modern view of chaos theory was written by Gollub and Solomon. They wrote, “A chaotic system is defined as one that shows sensitivity to initial condition”.

2. Every disturbance in the body, either real or imagined, evokes a stress response. Essential to the stress response are neurons in the paraventricular nucleus.

3. The mapping of E ₈ may well have unforeseen implications in mathematics and physics which won’t be evident for years to come. This is an exciting breakthrough. This project will be invaluable for future mathematicians and scientists.

4. It is also important to draw a distinction between those radioelements that occur naturally and those that do not, such as technetium and the tsansuranics. In the case of the former, reference may be made to the known geochemistry of the element in a given environmental medium.

5. Results emerging from site/yield experiments with SRC varieties planted in both mixture and monoclonal plots have been variable. The experiments contain row-by-row mixtures of three poplar or three willow varieties.

6. After expanding eastwards over the last decade, the EU seems to be experiencing “enlargement fatigue”. Its capacity to absorb additional members was compromised.

7. Since the disintegration of the USSR various international bodies involving [art of post-Soviet states have been set up. The first of these, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established in 1991.

 

Lexical Devices

Lexical coherence is achieved with the help of

- Synonyms, antonyms (limited possibility in scientific papers). E. g. Ideally, SRC should be grown on a medium textured soil, which is aerated but still holds a good supply of moisture. Results emerging from the site/yield project suggest that heavier brown earths with high clay content are well suited to SRC.

- Derivatives. E.g. In the case of dispersed contamination, a rigorous assessment of the actual and potential pathways is required to determine the optimal action. Since the field is continuously developing, formal methods to assess the applicability and effectiveness of techniques have been developed.

- Hyperonyms and hyponyms. E.g. The anticipated performance of a given technique can be simulated and compared with similar results from other techniques to facilitate the selection. Both willow and poplar are very palatable to a range of mammals. Rabbits and hares, in particular, can cause serious damage soon after planting.

- Equivalent expressions. E.g. While mathematicians have known for a long time about the beauty ant the uniqueness of E ₈ , we physicists have come to appreciate its exceptional role only more recently.

- Reiteration of the term. E.g. Activation of intracellular corticosteroid receptors in neurons may induce a variety of cellular responses, influencing diverse processes such as cellular structure, energy metabolism, or signal transduction. Changes in cellular structure usually develop over the course of several days, whereas effects on energy metabolism or signal transduction may become apparent within hours.

 

Task 1 Read the following paragraphs and find all devices of coherence.

1. Studies at the cellular level have supplied ample evidence that shifts in corticosteroid receptor occupation, such as occur after an acute stress or due to circadian variations in steroid level, exert a delayed and long-lasting control over excitability in limbic brain regions. They do so in a context-dependent manner, i.e., when neurons are shifted from their basal condition through actions of neurotransmitters. The interdependency of steroid and neurotransmitter action s fits very well with a molecular mechanism depending on protein-protein interactions rather than one acting via steroid receptor immers binding to a hormone-responsive element.

2. As already pointed out, internal and external security challenges are closely linked. On the one hand, internal weaknesses increase vulnerability to external threats, and on the other hand external pressure often shape economic and political reforms with their social, environmental and other security repercussions. Energy, among other issues, is at the core of both internal and external security challenges in the region.

3. According to Brian Conrey, Executive Director of the American Institute of Mathematics, “ The E ₈ calculation is notable for both its magnitude as well as the way it was achieved. The mapping of E ₈ breaks the mold of mathematicians typically known for their solitary style. People will look back on this project as a significant landmark and because of this breakthrough; mathematics will now be viewed as a team sport”.

4. While the main reason for growing SRC is to achieve a financial return, other benefits such as increased biodiversity, use as a shelter or screen or as a game cover may influence the timing and pattern of harvesting. This may lead to harvests having to be made outside the 2 to 4-year bracket mentioned above.

5. The removal, transport and disposal of residual waste may result in environmental impacts and risks at locations other than those of the original contamination. There is, for example, little benefit in removing a contaminant that is well fixed in a low volume of coil, only to produce a high volume of an aqueous waste with the contaminant in a soluble or mobile form. In addition, the remediation techniques chosen may generate large quantities of secondary waste and pose risks of exposure of the public or operators that exceed the risks of quiescent contamination.

6. The good news about chaos is that it is natural. It is a key component of the universe. Chaos may cause uncertainty but it also creates the opportunities that create hope and change. Teachers need to prepare for chaos and accept uncertainty as a natural condition. Teachers cannot control the entire universe. However, they can make impacts on the small slice of the universe they reside in despite all the chaos evident in it.

7. In general it might be only noted, that the intervention criteria applied in the republic are stricter, than international ones. For instance, we would like to point out, that such intervention as resettlement is widely used in the republic when averted annual dose is above 1 mSv, while under the international norms permanent resettlement is envisaged only when averted dose rate is 30 mSv/ month, provided that these dose rates will de the same for 1-2 years. The same protective measure is envisaged when lifetime dose is 1 Sv and higher.

 

 

 

Unit 5

Concrete Support

A bit of theory! One of the biggest problems in student writing is that student writers often fail to prove their points. They fail because they do not support their points with concrete details. Their papers are too often full of opinions and generalizations without the factual details needed to support them. A successful paragraph contains concrete support for the topic sentence. Support your topic sentence by using specific and factual details. Facts are objective statements of truth. Ex., At sea level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

Women live longer than men.

Lung cancer among women is increasing.

Opinions are subjective statements based on a person’s beliefs or attitudes.

Ex., Men are better drivers than women.

Engineering students do not need to take a lot of English courses.

Americans are only superficially friendly.

 

Task 1 Decide whether each of the following statements is a fact or an opinion.

1. Smoking is relaxing and, therefore, enjoyable.

2. Dr. Kathleen Parker, a well-known cancer specialist, recently admitted in an interview, “Although I see the harmful effects of smoking nearly every day in my work, I still enjoy relaxing with a cigarette after dinner.”

3. Early in the next decade, more women than men will die of lung cancer, according to the American cancer Society.

4. Smoking is attracting more and more adults.

5. According to a recent New York Times article, cigarette smoking is increasing among adults in their forties as well as among the college educated and those earning more than $35,000 annually.

6. Red-light runners must take a driver’s education class. Then they will become safer drivers.

7. Red-light runners cause scores of accidents, including deaths and injuries as well as millions of dollars in damages.

8. Nationwide, the number of red-light running accidents increased 18 percent from 1991 through 1995. In 1991, 2,425 deaths resulted, and in 1995, the number rose to 2,866.

 

There are several kinds of concrete supporting details that you can use to support or prove your topic sentence. Among the most common are examples, statistics, and quotations. Using quotations and writing paraphrasing and summaries of information from outside sources are important tools in academic writing. To write your research papers, you must find information about your topic in books, periodicals, encyclopedias, and similar sources. It is important to learn how to use information from outside sources without committing plagiarism.

1. Quotations. There are two types of quotations: direct and indirect. In a direct quotation, another person’s exact words are repeated and are enclosed in quotation marks.

Reporting Verbs and Phrases are as follows

According to insist report suggest

Claim maintain say write

Declare mention state

 

Here are some rules for their use:

1. Reporting verbs can appear before, in the middle of, or after a quotation

Dr. Karsten said, “___________________.” “________________,” the doctor stated, ”__________________.” “__________________,” declared the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

2. Reporting verbs can be used with or without the subordinator as.

As a spokesperson for the IOC suggested, “______________________.”

A spokesperson for the IOC suggested,”_________________________.”

3. Reporting verbs may be in any tense.

As the IOC stated in its report after the 1996 games in Atlanta, “_______.”

The IOC states in its report after the 1996 games in Atlanta, __________.”

As the IOC has always insisted,”_______________________________.”

4. The reporting phrase according to can be used in place of a reporting verb. Use quotation marks if you are quoting someone’s words exactly.

According to the OIC,”________________________.”

In indirect quotations, the speaker’s (or writer’s) words are reported indirectly. Indirect quotations are introduced by the same reporting verbs. The tense of verbs in indirect quotations is affected by the tense of the reporting verb. To change a direct quotation to an indirect quotation:

1. Omit the quotation marks.

2. Add the subordinator that (You may omit that if the meaning is clear.)

3. Change the verb tense if necessary. Follow the sequence of tenses rules.

4. Change pronouns if necessary.

Good writers use both direct and indirect quotations.

 

Task 2 Read the model paragraph and find the one indirect quotation. Does it follow the sequence of tenses rule? Change all of the direct quotations in the paragraph into indirect quotations.

Drugs and the Olympic Games

It is no secret that performance-enhancing drugs have been used by Olympic athletes for decades. In 1993, the head of the International Olympic Committee’s medical commission, Prince Alexandre de Merode of Belgium, stated, “I believe that as many as 10% of all Olympic athletes are regular users of performance-enhancing drugs” (qtd. in Bamberger and Yager 63). Despite rigorous drug testing of Olympic athletes, the use of banned performance-enhancing substances has become more widespread than ever. It is clear that if athletes want to win, they must consider using drugs. In a 1997 article in Sports Illustrated magazine, Dutch physician Michel Karsten is quoted as saying, “there may be some sportsmen who can win gold medals without taking drugs but there are very few.” According to Dr.Karsten, who says he has prescribed anabolic steroids to hundreds of world-class athletes over the last twenty-five years,” If you are specially gifted, you may win once, but from my experience you cannot continue to win without drugs. The field is just too filled with drug users.” (qtd. in Bamberger and Yager 62).

 

Task 3 Write a short paragraph that develops the topic you are given below. Use the quotations for support. You may use them either as direct or indirect quotations. Include some additional supporting sentences and transition signals to connect the ideas and make your paragraph flow smoothly.

1) Topic sentence The increased use of computers in business has been accompanied by a costly increase in computer crime.

Main point Computer criminals cost business a lot of money.

Quotation “The financial losses to business from computer thefts will exceed $15 billion in 1998.”

Main point Computer criminals steal not only money but also information.

Quotation “It’s not just the money they steal; they steal data, and data is power.”

Source A book by Meredith Bruce, Cybercrime, page 185

 

2) Topic sentence Computer cannot be compared to human brains.

Main point The human brain is more powerful than any computer.

Quotation “It has been estimated that the information processing capacity of even the most powerful supercomputer is equal to the nervous system of a snail – a tiny fraction of the power available to the supercomputer inside the human skull.”

Main point The kinds of processing are different, too.

Quotation “Computers find it easy to remember a 25-digit number but find it hard to summarize the gist of [children’s story] “Little Red Riding Hood,” and humans find it hard to remember the number but easy to summarize the story.”

Main point Human brains also have the advantage of being inside humans.

Quotation “They [human brains] can soak up terabytes of information over the years as the human interact with other humans and with the environment.”

Source An article by Steven Pinker in U.S. News and World Report, August 18-25, 1997, page 64.

 

Task 4 Write a short paragraph that develops the topic you have chosen as the topic of your research. Add all the supporting details you can, such as examples, statistics, direct and indirect quotations. Don’t forget to mention the source of the quotations.

Unit 6

Original Passage

Language is the main means of communication between peoples. But so many different languages have developed that language has often been a barrier rather that an aid to understand among peoples. For many years, people have dreamed of setting up an international language which all people could speak and understand. The arguments in favor of a universal language are simple and obvious. If all peoples spoke the same tongue, cultural and economic ties might be much closer, and good will might increase between countries (Kispert).

 

Unacceptable Paraphrase

Language is the principal means of communication between peoples. However, because there are numerous languages, language itself has frequently been a barrier rather than an aid to understanding among the world population. For many years, people have envisioned a common universal language that everyone in the world could communicate in. the reasons for having a universal language are clearly understandable. If the same tongue were spoken by all countries, they would undoubtedly become closer culturally and economically. It would probably also create good will among nations (Kispert).

 

Acceptable paraphrase

Human communicate through language. However, because there are so many languages in the world, language is an obstacle rather that an aid to communication. For a long time, people have wished for an international language that speakers all over the world could understand. A universal language would certainly build cultural and economic bonds. It would also crate better feelings among countries (Kispert).

 

The first paragraph is plagiarism. Even though the writer has changed many of the words, the sentence structure is very similar to the original. In the second paraphrase, both the vocabulary and sentence structure are different.

You can write a good paraphrase if you follow these steps:

1. Read the original passage several times until you understand it fully. Look up unfamiliar words and find synonyms for them. If you need to take notes, write down only one or two words for each idea – not complete sentences. For example, here are one writer notes on the original passage about universal language:

language-people use to communicate-but too many-obstacle-dream-international language-reasons: cultural, economic bonds, good feelings between countries.

2. Write your paraphrase from memory. Include as much of the information as you remember. Don’t look at the original while you are writing.

3. Check your paraphrase against the original for accuracy and completeness. If necessary, add point you have missed.

4. Name the source of the original passage in parentheses at the end of your paraphrase.

 

 

Summary

People communicate mainly through language; however, having so many different languages creates communication barriers. Some think that one universal language would bring countries culturally and economically and also increase good feelings among them (Kispert)

 

Compare this summary with the acceptable paraphrase. Notice that some details are omitted form the summary that were included in the paraphrase. The steps for writing a summary are the same as for writing a paraphrase.

 

 

A bit of theory! English frequently combines two (or more) nouns as a way of imparting a lot of information in a short space, for example:

Cancer ward = the hospital ward where people suffering from cancer are treated

Hospital consultant = a doctor who is a specialist and works in a hospital

Health services = doctors, hospitals and other places or people responsible for people’s health

Blood pressure gauge = an instrument which measures the force with which blood flows through your body

Task 1 What noun compounds would express these ideas?

1 a company which manufactures drugs

2 an operation to transplant a heart into someone else’s body

3 a patient who is suffering from cancer

4 an injury sustained in the leg

5 cuts in the amount of money which the government will spend on health

6 a man who enjoys spending time with his family

7 the hospital ward where people are taken when an emergency has occurred

8 waste emitted or discharge by a factory

9 an officer responsible for the safety of people working in a specific place

 

Task 1.1 Think of some more examples of noun compounds from the articles you have to read on your research.

 

 

Task 2 Skim-read these two texts. In terms of subject matter, whet do they have in common?

 

Text 1

During a clinical trial, two women with similar blood pressure levels are given the same dose of a new hypertension drug. One woman’s blood pressure returns to normal, but the other’s crashes to an abnormally low level and remains that way for the next six hours. The telling difference between these two women is a gene which determines how well 25 per cent of prescription drug will work.

Adverse reaction to drugs account for one in 15 hospital admissions and are a major cause of death, yet many harmful side effects could be predicted. Scientists have found that a substantial number of people have an inactive version of the gene CYP2D6 which produces a liver enzyme that helps the body to process many commonly-prescribed drugs. If this enzyme is deficient, a drug will either be metabolized too quickly and not do the work it was intended to do, or will not be processed at all, thus causing adverse reactions.

A simple test for the gene CYP2D6 is now being developed and should be available to General Practitioners (GP) very soon. By administering it, doctors will know whether a patient needs a different dose of a drug, or another medicine altogether. Tests for other genes involved in drug metabolism also exist but are more expensive and complicated to administer and so are currently used in only a few teaching hospitals and specialist academic centers. Nevertheless, many scientists believe the future of medicine lies in establishing and recording each patient’s genetic code on a DNA chip, so that all treatments with drugs, either in emergencies or in routine visits to the GP, can be safely tailored to the patient’s genetic make-up.

 

Text 2

Clinical trials of new medicines do not identify problems that may occur in a tiny minority of people. In Britain, a system of yellow cards and black triangles is intended to form a safety net to alert the authorities to unexpected harmful effects of medicines. A yellow card is the form a doctor sends to the Medicines Control Agency if he is concerned that a patient has had a serious side-effect from a particular drug. A black triangle appears on the information sheet sent to doctors by the manufacturer if a drug is less than two years old. Doctors are supposed to report all side-effect of black triangle drugs – not just the serious ones.

In fact, there are major problems with the safety net. A recent survey found that a quarter of information sheets on new drugs did not in fact carry the black triangle symbol. As doctors cannot be expected to know by heart which among the thousands of medicines available are new, the blame for non-reporting of side-effects from these drugs lies fair and square with the manufactures.

There are other weaknesses. Filling in a yellow form is voluntary. Some doctors fill in stacks, some hardly any - the average is less than one a year per doctor. It was recently suggested that patients themselves fill in yellow cards and send them to the MCA. This eminently sensible idea was rejected by the Department of Health, who responded that doctors were better placed than patients to make judgments on side-effects. If they or the MCA have a better solution for improving reporting procedures and thus safeguarding patients’ health, they should implement it now.

Task 2.1 Read the draft summary. The four content points have been correctly identified, but the draft is too long and exhibits some other faults.

 

Patients could be given a new test to see if they are deficient in the gene CYP2D6
which produces a liver enzyme that helps the body to process many commonly-
prescribed drugs. If this enzyme is deficient, a drug may not be processed at all and
can cause adverse reactions. In future, everyone’s genetic code will be recorded on
a DNA chip so that all treatments with drugs can be tailored to the patient’s genetic
make-up. In addition, companies which produce drugs should be stricter about
informing doctors that the medicines which they are selling are new, and the
procedures that are used for reporting side-effects should be improved.

 

Task 2.2 Choose Yes or No for each fault below. If you choose Yes for a fault, write in the numbers of the lines where this problem occurs.

1 Parts have been copied straight from the texts Yes No line(s) _______

2 More detail than necessary has been included Yes No line(s) _______

3 There are grammatical errors Yes No line(s) ______

4 Ideas could be put more succinctly Yes No line(s) ______

 

Task 2.3 Lines 1 to 3 of the draft are too similar to the text and it is not necessary to give so much detail. Answer these questions

1 What kind of test is it? (use noun + noun compound)

2 What does the test show a patient may or may not be able to do?

3 Find a synonym in Text 1 for the verb ‘process’.

4 Which of the following would be the best synonym for ‘commonly-prescribed’?

often prescribed normally prescribed frequently prescribed

 

Task 2.4

a) Rephrase ‘everyone’s genetic code will be recorded on a DNA chip’ by changing ‘code’ to a verb, and using the gerund of that verb: ‘genetic …… on DNA chips’

b) Rephrase ‘all treatments with drugs’ into two words only using a noun + noun compound

c) Find a synonym for the verb ‘tailored’

 

Task 2.5 In lines 6 to 8 several words could be cut out. Answer these questions.

1 What noun + noun compound means ‘companies which produce drugs’?

2 Cut out the superfluous words from the phrase ‘the medicines which they are selling are new’ and ‘the procedures that are used for reporting’.

 

Task 2.6 Insert your answers from tasks 2.4, 2.5, and 2.6 into the paraphrased summary below. You should end up with a total of 63 words.

 

Patients could be given a new ………………. Which shows whether they may be unable to …………. many ………….. drugs. In future, genetic ……… on DNA chips will allow ………….. to be ……….. to a patient’s genetic make-up. In addition, …………… should be stricter about informing doctors that ………and …………. side-effects should be improved.

 

Task 2.7 Write a summary of two passages from any articles you have to read on your research.

 

Unit 7

The Essay

A bit of theory! An essay is a piece of writing several paragraphs long instead of just one or two paragraphs. It’s written about one topic, just as a paragraph is. However, the topic of an essay is too complex to discuss in one or two paragraphs. Therefore, you must divide the topic into several paragraphs, one for each major point. Then you must tie all of the separate paragraphs together by adding an introduction and conclusion.

An essay has three main parts:

1. An introductory paragraph
2. A body (several paragraphs)
3. A concluding paragraph

 

A The introductory paragraph consists of two parts: a few general statements about your subject and a thesis statement to state the specific subdivisions of your topic and/or the “plan” of your paper. A thesis statement for an essay is like a topic sentence for a paragraph: it names the specific topic and major subdivisions of the topic. General statements introduce the topic of the essay and give background information on the topic. The first sentence in an introductory paragraph should be a very general comment about the subject. The thesis statement is the most important sentence in the introduction. It states the specific topic and lists the major subtopics that will be discussed I the body of the essay. Furthermore, it indicates the method of organization such as chronological order or order of importance.

 

Notice the two parts of the introductory paragraph in the following model.

 

Any person who has lived in the twentieth century has seen a lot of changes take place in almost all areas of human existence. Some people are excited by the challenges that these changes offer; others want to return to the simpler life-style of the past. The twenty first century has certain advantages such as a higher standard of living for many, but it also has some disadvantages such as a polluted environment, the depersonalization of human relationships, and the weakening of spiritual values.

 

Task 1 Analyze the following thesis statements. Locate the main topic and the subtopics in each of the following statements.

 

1 Capital punishment should be abolished not only because it deprives another person of life but also because it does not stop crime.

2 Women generally live longer than men for two main reasons: they tend to take better care of their health and they have better resistance to stress.

3 Drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers can be traced to the following causes: lack of parental supervision, lax enforcement of drug laws, and the social and psychological problems of teenagers themselves.

 

Task 2 Write the thesis statement for the topic of your research.

 

B The Concluding Paragraph is a summary of the main points discussed in the body of the essay or a restatement of your thesis in different words. Then you add your final comments on the subject – food for thought, based on the information you have provided.

Be sure to introduce the concluding paragraph with a conclusion transition signal.

 

Reread the model introductory paragraph. Then study the following concluding paragraph for the same essay. Is the concluding paragraph a summary of the main points of the essay, or is it a paraphrase of the thesis statement?

In short, although the twenty first century has indeed given some of us a lot of advantages by making us richer, healthier, and freer to enjoy our lives, it has, in my opinion, not made us wiser. The twenty first century has also made our earth dirtier, our people less humane, and our spiritual lives poorer. We wish to continue to enjoy the benefits of technological advancement because they free us to pursue our other interests and goals. However, we must take a concerted effort to preserve our natural environment for future generations. Moreover, we should take the time now to make our lives more meaningful in our increasingly impersonal and mechanized world.

Introductory paragraph

New technology creates new opportunities for good and for ill. Anyone with a computer, access to the Internet, and an E-mail address has probably received unsolicited, unwanted E-mail at least. There seems to be no way to avoid “spam”, as junk E-mail is now called. Worse, the anonymity of cyberspace has created opportunities for E-mailers to send rude, even abusive messages without having to take responsibility for their words. In my opinion, there is a need to develop some rules of etiquette especially for this new means of communication.

 

C The Essay Body. Because an essay is long and complex, it is important to organize your thought and to plan the body of your essay before your begin to write. The best way to do it is to make an outline. You are required to produce a formal outline. The number/letter system for a formal outline is illustrated in the model outline that follows. Notice that subtopics that from the body of the essay are intended to the right. As you move to the right, the ideas become more and more specific.

Study the model outline for an essay on modern technology. In this outline, the introduction contains only the thesis statement, and the conclusion is abbreviated. The body of the essay, however, is developed in detail.

 

Modern Technology

I. Introduction

Thesis statement: The most recent significant discoveries to benefit humankind in modern times are in the fields of television and computer technology.

 

II. Body

A. A popular form of instant communication all over the world is television.

1. Witnessing important events.

a. Destruction of Berlin Wall

b. Launching of spacecraft

2. Long-distance medicine by two-way video

a. Patient and doctor conferences

b. Special equipment to monitor patient

B. In the last few decades, computer technology has made tremendous progress in the world of communication to benefit humankind.

1. Long-distance communication

2. Information superhighway

3. Global computer networks

Electronic mail

C. Technology has contributed enormously to advances in computer medicine, which has benefited both doctors and patients.

1. Rural doctors and medical information

a. Less access in past

b. Immediate access today

2. Rural doctors and urban medical centers

Use of computers to prescribe medic