PRACTICE WRITING
Practice 13
Chronological
Transition Signal
How
to Reduce the Danger of Smoking
The Department of Health, Education and Welfare
(HEW) has outlined some stapes to take some of the danger out of smoking for
those people who are unable to quit smoking outright. First choose
a cigarette with less tar and nicotine to reduce your intake of these
pollutants. Second,don't
smoke your cigarette all the way down. Smoke halfway and you will inhale only
about 40 percent of the total tar and nicotine. Remember, 60 percent of these
substances are
contained in the last half of the cigarette. Third, lake fewer draws on each cigarette that
is reducing the number of puffs on each cigarette. This will cut down on your
smoking. Fourth,
reduce your inhaling. Don’t open your lungs by inhaling deeply. Take short,
shallow puffs. Fifth,smoke fewer cigarettes
each day. This may be the most difficult step of all. However just follow these directions:
1. Pick
a time of day to start, and don't smoke before that time.
2. Don't
think of it as cutting down: think of it as postponing.
3. Carry
your cigarettes in a different pocket, or put them in a different place so that
you can't reach for them automatically.
After that, think
about the terrible diseases you are opening yourself up to each each time you
smoke a cigarette. Finally, if
you follow each of these steps without cheating you should be able to at least
control the number of cigarettes you smoke daily. Who knows, this might be the
beginning of the end—of your smoking, that is.
Practice 14
Chronological Topic
Sentences
STEP 1 Put a check in the space to the left of every topic
sentence suggesting that a chronological paragraph will follow.
STEP 2 Circle the word or words in the sentences you have checked
that indicate chronological order.
Example :( In the past twenty-five years) (development)
in the field of electronics have revolutionized the computer
industry.
… 1. (The worst day in my
life) was the day I left my
family and my friends lo
… Come
to the United States.
… 2. (In my opinion), (television programs
can be divided into three types): excellent, mediocre, and poor.
… 3. (The
life cycle of the Pacific salmon) is one of nature's most fascinating
Phenomenon.
… 4.
Gold is prized for two important characteristics.
… 5. (In the event of an
earthquake),
you should follow certain procedures in
Order to
minimize the danger.
… 6. (The
tensions) that led to the race riots of 1964 had been building for years.
… 7. (The
election of) a U.S. President is a very long and complex process.
… 8.
Smoking damages not only your lungs, but also your heart.
… 9. (There
are three reasons) I believe that women should be drafted along
with men.
… 10. (The rise of terrorist
groups) in
the past few years is an indication of the spread of anarchistic tendencies in
the world.
Practice 15
Outlining a
Chronological Paragraph.
Outline the paragraph,
“How to Reduce the Danger of Smoking” on page 37. Include only the topic
sentence, the six main steps and the concluding sentence in your outline: do
not write every sentence. Underline the topic and concluding sentences.
Put the transition
signals that you added in parentheses to the left of each supporting point, as
in the example above.
How
to Reduce the danger of smoking.
1. The
department of health, Education and Welfare (HEW) has outlined some steps to take some of the
danger out of smoking for those people who are unable to quit smoking outright.
A. Choose
a cigarette with less tar and nicotine to reduce your intake of these
pollutants. Second
B. Don’t smoke your cigarette all the way down.
C. Take
fewer draws on each cigarette-that is, reduce the number of puffs on each
cigarette. This will cut down on your smoking.
D. Reduce
your inhaling. Don’t open your lungs by inhaling deeply. Take short, shallow
puffs.
E. Smoke fewer cigarettes each day.
F. Think about the terrible diseases you are
opening yourself up to each time you smoke
G. If
you follow each of these steps without cheating, you should be able to at least
control the number of cigarettes you smoke daily.
Practice 16
Practice 16: Transition
Signals for order of Importance
Reread
the model paragraph for order of importance and draw a circle around. All the
transition signals .if you find any that are not in the table, add them.
The
Causes of Inflation
Inflation
is an economic condition in which prices for consumer goods increase, and the
value of money or purchasing power decreases. There are three important causes
of inflation. The first and most important cause may be
excessive government spending. For example, in order to finance a war or carry
out social programs. The government may spend more money than it has received
through taxes and other revenue, thus creating deficit. in order to offset this
deficit, the treasury department can simply expand the money supply by issuing
more paper money to meets the debts of government. This increase in the money
supply will cause the value of the dollar to automatically decrease. The second
cause of inflation occurs when the money supply increases faster than supply of
goods. If people have more money, they will run out to buy. Popular goods like
televisions and computers, for example, and a shortage will result. Industry
will then produce more, at higher prices, to satisfy demand. Furthermore, if
people think that the prices of popular goods are going up, they will buy and
even borrow money at high interest rates to pay for them. Finally, if labor
unions demand that workers’ wages be increased to cover the high cost of
living, industry will meet this demand and add other costs of production on to
the customer. In summary, all of these causes can create inflationary problems
that can affect the welfare of a nation. However of these three causes,
excessive government spending may be the most important.
Practice 17
1.
(My twenty-first birthday) was a day i will never forget.
2.
(In terms of salary), power and status, women are behind men in most occupations.
3.
Some meteorologists believe that (another ice age is approaching).
4.
Living in dormitory offers (three advantages to a newly arrived foreign
students).
5.
Photisyine thesis is (the process by which plants
manufacture their own food).
Practice 18
Inflation is an economic condition in which prices for
consumer goods increase
A. The
first and most important cause may be excessive government spending
B. The
second cause of inflation occurs when the money supply increases faster than
supply of goods.
C. if
people think that the prices of popular goods are going up, they will buy and
even borrow money at high interest rates to pay for them
D. all
of these causes can create inflationary problems that can affect the welfare of
a nation
Practice 19
Complete
the following essay by choosing the correct word from those given in
parentheses and writing it in the blank refers
to these two graphs for information.
The Hazards of Driving
Small Cars
Small cars may be hazardous to your health,
according to a recent study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. The number of Americans dying. In automobile accidents is increasing (Increasing, decreasing, gaining, reducing) again after rising (rising. falling,
inclining, declining sharply in 1974, when the national 55
mile per hour speed limit was imposed. Safety authorities warn that as drivers
increasingly shift to fuel-saving smaller. Lighter cars the rise in the death toll
will accelerate geometrically
(Geometrically, arithmetically).
In 1079, the last year for which full statistics are
available, small cars were involved in 55 percent (rate,
ratio, Percentage, percent)
of all fatal crashes
even though they constituted only 38 percent (rate, ratio.
Percentage, percent) of the cars on the road,
acording to the Nation
Highway. Traffic Safety
Administration. Projecting from current trends, the agency and other safety
officials predict (Estimate, guess, predict) that
automobile traffic deaths will increase from (to,
from, of, by) 30 percent by 1989, or (to,
from. of. by) about 27.000
a year, of (to,
from. of. by) about 35.000 a year, almost
exclusively because
of the inherent vulnerability of smaller cars.
Perhaps more significantly, the death rate per
hundred million miles driven has begun to
increase over the last
three years, reversing a fifty-year downward trend. According to the
safely council, the rate increased (increased, decreased, raised,
rose) from a record
low of 3.33 deaths per (per. Pro, of, from) hundred million
miles in 1978 to (to, from, of, by) 3.40 in 1279 and 3.53 in 1980.
Based on its analysis of
highway deaths, the highway safety council says occupants of subcompactact car are 3.4 times (times, double, triple) more likely to die than
those in a compact if two such
cars collide 6.3 ratio (ratio, times, lose) more
likely to die in a crush with a midsize car and 8.2 rate (Times, quadruple, rile)
more likely to
die in a collision with a large car.
Practice 20
Punctuating and Writing Direct and Indirect Quotations
STEP 1 Add punctuation marks to the following direct quotations.
Change the capitalization if necessary.
STEP 2 Rewrite them as indirect quotations. Shift the
verb tenses if necessary.
The sentences in this practice arc all about black
holems, which are invisible masses in space larger than giant stars. The
discovery of black holes is causing enormous excitement in the fields of
astronomy and physics.
1. Dr.
John Miller, a well-known astrophysicist who has been studying black holes,
said it is the greatest challenge we astrophysicists have ever faced.
Direct :
Dr. John Miller, a well-known
astrophysicist who has been studying black holes, said,
“it is the greatest
challenge we astrophysicists have ever faced”.
Indirect :
Dr.
John Miller, a well-known astrophysicist who has been studying black holes,
said that it is the greatest
challenge we astrophysicists have ever faced.
2. He
further explained in black holes the long-held laws of nature simply do not
apply
Direct :
He
further explained,
“in black holes the
long-held laws of nature simply do not apply”.
Indirect :
He
further explained that in
black holes the long-held laws of nature simply do not apply
3. A
black hole is a huge, great, enormous, big nothing. explained Miller's
associate, Kathleen Parker, it is an invisible vacuum cleaner in space, she
added.
Direct :
A
black hole is a huge, great, enormous, big nothing explained, “Miller's
associate, Kathleen Parker, it is an invisible vacuum cleaner in space, she
added”.
Indirect :
A
black hole is a huge, great, enormous, big nothing explained that Miller's associate,
Kathleen Parker, it is an invisible vacuum cleaner in space, she added.
4. Black
holes are created by the death of a very large star she stated.
Direct :
“Black holes are created
by the death of a very large star”,
she stated.
Indirect :
Black
holes are created by the death of a very large star she stated that.
6. Since
they cannot be seen, even with the most powerful telescopes she continued their
existence can only be proven mathematically.
Direct :
She said, “Since they cannot be
seen, even with the most powerful telescopes she continued their existence can
only be proven mathematically”.
Indirect :
She said that since they
cannot be seen, even with the most powerful telescopes she continued their
existence can only be proven mathematically.
Practice 21: Detailed
Paragraph Outlining I
A.
Complete the outline for the following paragraph.
The
Confusing English Spelling System
One of the most difficult and
confusing aspects of the English language is it spelling system. There is often
a discrepancy between the pronunciation of a word and its spelling. One cannot
always tell how to spell a word by its pronunciation nor how to in pronounce it
by its spelling. For example, there are twelve different ways to spell the sound
sh in English: shoe, nation, schist, occan,
sure, mission, machine, special, mansion, nauseous, conscious, and anxious. To
give an opposite example, the vowel combination on can be pronounced in at
least five different ways, as in the words through, although, thought, tough,
and out.
In order to understand the discrepancies in the English
spelling system, it is good to know something about the history of the
language. First, it is helpful to realize that English was originally the
spoken language of people in England who could neither read nor write. While
the uneducated people spoke English, the educated upper classes spoke in French
and wrote in Latin. Later, when English became a written language, there was no
system for spelling English words. Moreover, the first writers of English were
French-speaking scribes who knew English only slightly: therefore, they carried
many French spelling habits into English. In addition, these scribes, who were
used to writing in Latin, often inserted letters into words even when they were
not pronounced because the corresponding word in Latin was spelled that way.
The b in debt and doubt, for example, came from Latin debitum and dubiturc.
Finally, the confusion increased when the pronunciation of certain words
changed while the spelling remained the same. This is the case witli the words
light and night, where the gh
originally represented a distinct sound.
In conclusion, although it may not improve your
spelling, it may soothe your feeling of frustration to know that English
spelling is just as difficult for native speakers as it is for foreign
learners.
Outline
I.
One of the most
difficult and confusing aspects about the English language is its spelling
system.
A. Cannot always tell how to spell a word by its
pronounciation.
B. Cannot always pronounce by its sound.
1. For examples
II.
In order to understand
the discrepancies in the English spelling system, it is helpful to know
something about the history of the language.
A. English
was originally the spoken language of people in England who could neither read
nor write.
1. Uneducated
people spoke English.
2. Educated upperclasses spoke in french and wrote in latin.
B. English became a written language, there was no system
for spelling English words.
C. The first writers of English were french-speaking seribes
who knew English only slightly.
1. They carried many French spelling habits into speaking.
2. These
seribes who were used to write Latin.
a. Scribes added
the b in debt from the Latin Debitum.
b.Scribes added
the b in doubt from the Latin dubitare.
D. the confosion
increased when the pronounciation of certain words changed while the spelling
remained the same.
III. In conclusion, although it may
not improve your spelling, it may soothe your feeling of frustration to know
that English spelling is just as difficult for native speakers as it is for
foreign learners.
B. Complete
the outline for the following paragraph.
Public
Transportation in San Francisco
San Francisco has one of the worst
public transportation systems in the United States. The first problem
is that the buses and streetcars are never on schedule. You often have to wait
thirty minutes or more for your bus. Frequently, several buses going in the same
direction arrive at the same time, and then,
another may not come for thirty more minutes. Second, maintenance is very poor. The buses and street cars
often break down, causing long delays. City officials admit that there is an
average of five such breakdowns every day. Furthermore, the
buses and street cars are in terrible condition. They are always dirty, the
windows are frequently broken, and the seals are torn. The third problem is the poor attitude of many of the drivers.
They refuse to give information about transfer points, they drive like mad, and
they show little consideration for the comfort and safety of their passengers. Recently, a friend mine was actually
injured when the driver of a streetcar closed the doors on his fingers. When
you are riding a bus, you feel as if you are being tossed around like a bowl of
jello because of the sudden stops and starts.
A fourth, and by far the
most serious problem is the increase in crime. A report from the San Francisco
Police Department sews that thefts and assaults have increased forty-three
percent over the three previous months. A few days ago, an old man was killed
when he tried to resist a thief. In
conclusion, because of all these problems, it is becoming increasingly
inconvenient and even dangerous to ride public transportation in San Francisco.
Outline
San Francisco has one of the worst public
transportation systems in the United States.
A. Schedule problems
1. Long waiting time
2. Simultaneous bus arrivals
B. Maintenance problems
1. Breakdowns
a. Buses and streetcars
b. Average of five
breakdowns per day
2. Bad condition of buses and
streetcars
a. Dirty
b.
The windows are broken
c. The seats are
torn
C. Bad attitude
of the drivers.
1. They refuse to give
information.
2. They drive like mad
3. They show litle
consideration comfort and safety of the pasengers.
a. accidents
b. suddent stops and starts
D. the most
serious problems is the increase the crime.
In conclusion,
because all of these problems, it is becoming increasingly inconvenient and
even dangerous to ride public transportation in San Fransisco.
Practice 22: D
etailed Paragraph
Outlining II
A. Organize
the items in the list below into a logical outline. Remember to give the items
with equal importance the same kind of letter or number.
Europe France Thailand
England Saudi
Arabia Texas
Southeast Asia Turkey Malaysia
Canada China North America
The United Stales The
Middle East Asia
Mexico California Cambodia
New York State Los
Angeles Sans Francisco
The Far East Iran Vietnam
Japan Quebec Ontario
P.63
B.
The sentences below are in scrambled order. Arrange them into a logical outline
American high schools are facing problems on
four fronts.
A. Teachers
who have had to Lake Teacher certification examinations show very low scores.
B. Students
aren’t learning anything.
C. Traditional
methods of financing the schools are breaking down.
D. On
the national Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), a national test for high school
seniors, the average scores in verbal ability have fallen by ten percent.
Teachers are also creating problems for the schools.
Vandalism
in the schools is increasing.
A. In
1975, according to an N.E.A. report, acts of vandalism and theft cost the
schools $200 million.
B. A
large school in Chicago, Illinois, reported that one window is broken and two
typewriters are stolen every week.
The
schools in Cleveland, Ohio, wore closed for three months last winter because
they simply ran out of money.
A. Taxpayers
are protesting the increasing costs by voting against tax increases to pay for
schools.
B. During
the last ten years, there have been numerous strikes by teachers demanding higher pay
and less work.
C. Collages
report that some new freshmen read and write at the sixth-grade level.
D. Math
scores on the SAT have declined by six percent since 1962.
