Page 1 of 15

Lessondownloads>IELTSAcademicModulepreparation>Writing>Lesson3
Introduction
Inlesson2welookedmoreathowtodescribetablesfortask1oftheIELTSwritingtest.Youalso
learnedsometipsonhowtoorganiseanadvantagesanddisadvantagestypediscursive
composition.Inthislesson,welltakeafirstlookatanothercommonkindoftask1:describingcharts.
Thenwellexaminemorewaysofdevelopinganargumentfortask2compositions.
Inthislessonyouwill
learnaboutdifferenttypesofchart.
practisegettinginformationfromcharts.
learntorecognisestaticanddynamiccharts.
reviewsimpleverbtensesfordescribingcharts.
learnhowtoorganiseabalanceddiscussion.
becomemoreawareofformallanguageforcompositions.
IELTSWRITINGTASK1:CHARTS
Activity1>Typesofchart>8minutes
Numbersandstatisticscanbeshowninmanydifferenttypesofchart.Dontworrytoomuchifyouare
notusedtoreadingcharts.Thechartsinthetestwillnotbecomplicated.However,youdoneedto
knowhowtoreadandunderstandthesebasiccharttypes:
1Barchart
2Proportionalbarchart
3Piechart
4Linegraph
a)Matchthefourtypesofchartwiththechartsshownhere.
b)Whichofthechartsshow(s)
1thesituationatonepointintime.
2changeovertime.
3howatotalfigureisdividedintoparts.
4comparisonsfordifferentgroups.
5howonevaluechangesovertime.
6howseveralvalueschangeovertime.
Page 2 of 15
Activity2>Understandingcharts>10minutes
ThefirstthingsyoushoulddowhenyouattemptIELTStask1are
readthequestiontwiceverycarefully.
lookatthetableorchartverycarefullyuntilyouaresurewhatitshowsandwhatitdoesnt
show.
Therearethreeimportantthingstolookatinachartbeforeyouwrite
thetitleofthechartthiswilltellyouwhatisbeingshownoverall,anditusuallygivesthetime
periodthatitrepresents(e.g.19802000)
thetitlesoftheverticalandhorizontalaxesthesewilltellyouwhattheunitsofmeasurement
are(e.g.centimetres,kilos,euros)andwhatgroupsarebeingcompared
thekeyorlegend(ifthereisone)thiswilltellyouwhatgroupsortimeperiodsareshown.
[Tip:Thetitlesandlabelsonthechartalsogiveyouusefulvocabularytouseinyourdescription]
Lookatthischartanddecideifthestatementsbelowaretrue(T)orfalse(F)accordingtothe
informationshown,orifitisimpossibletotell(I).
Page 3 of 15
InflowofforeignworkersintoAustralia19922001
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
T
h
o
u
s
a
n
d
s

Permanentsettlers
Temporaryworkers
ThisinformationisfromtheOECDstatisticswebsite:
http://www.oecd.org/statsportal/0,2639,en_2825_293564_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Specifically:http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/default.aspx?DatasetCode=CSP6
1ThechartshowshowmanyAustralianstravelledabroadforworkbetween1992and2001 T/F/I
2ThechartshowsthenumbersofworkersimmigratingintoAustraliabetween1992and2001 T/F/I
3ThetotalnumberofimmigrantsintoAustraliain1992wasabout54thousand T/F/I
4Thechartcomparestwotypesofforeignworker. T/F/I
540percentofforeignworkerswhocametoAustraliain1992werepermanentsettlers. T/F/I
6ThetotalnumberofpermanentforeignworkersinAustraliain1995wasabout34thousand. T/F/I
7Justunder15thousandtemporaryforeignworkersenteredAustraliain1992. T/F/I
8In2001fewertemporaryworkersarrivedthanworkerswhowerepermanentsettlers. T/F/I
Activity3>Understandingcharts>10minutes
Describingachartissimilarinlotsofwaystodescribingatableoffigures.Rememberthatyouhave
todothefollowingwhenyoufirstlookatatable:
checkdatestoseewhatthetimeperiodis
checkwhattheunitsofmeasurementare
decidewhatthemostimportantinformationis
decidewhatdetailsarenotsoimportant
makecomparisonsbetweenimportantfigures
roundfiguresupordownwhenpossible
Youshoulddothesamethingswhenyoustudyachart.
a)Lookatthepiechartbelowandlookforallthethingsinthelistabove.
Page 4 of 15
ImmigrantlabourforceinAustraliabyregionorcountryof
birth,1991(thousands)
62%
17%
9%
4%
3%
5%
Europe
Asia
NewZealand
NorthAfricaandtheMiddle
East
America
Other
ThisinformationisfromtheOECDstatisticswebsite:
http://www.oecd.org/statsportal/0,2639,en_2825_293564_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Specifically:http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/default.aspx?DatasetCode=CSP6
b)Nowcompletethetextwithphrases,wordsandnumbersfromthebox.
1991 afifth atenth four majority secondlargest smallersmallest thethirdlargest three
(x2) twothirds
ThechartshowsthedifferentnationalitiesthatmadeuptheimmigrantworkforceinAustraliain
1.. .Itsclearfromthechartthattherewere2.maingroupsofworkers:Europeans,
AsiansandNewZealanders.Onlyarelativelysmallnumberofworkerswerefromotherregions.
The3.offoreignworkerscamefromEurope.Infact,nearly4.ofallimmigrant
workerswereofEuropeanorigin.The5..groupofforeignworkersinthelabourforcewere
Asians.Theyrepresentedjustunder6..oftheimmigrantlabourforce.NewZealanders,who
madeupalmost7oftheforeignworkforceinthatyear,were8group.
Thenumberofworkersfromothernationalitieswasmuch9.WorkersfromNorthAfrica
andtheMiddleEast,forexample,wereonly10..percentofthewholeforeignlabourforce.
The11..nationalitygroup,however,wereAmericans.Theserepresentedonly12..
percentofallforeignworkersinAustraliain1991.
Activity4>Staticanddynamiccharts>10minutes
Thepiechartinactivity3showedthesituationatonepointintime.Thiskindofchartiscalledastatic
chart.Whenyoudescribeastaticchart,youonlyneedtousesimpletenses(presentsimpleorpast
simple,forexample).
a)LookagainatthedescriptionyoucompletedinActivity3andunderlinealltheverbsinpastsimple.
Nowlookatthechartbelow.ItcomparesthesizeoftheimmigrantworkforceinAustralia1991with
thatof2001.Inotherwords,itshowschangeovertime.Thiskindofchartissometimescalleda
dynamicchart.Todescribedynamiccharts,youneedtouseavarietyoftenses,suchas:
Page 5 of 15
simplepast Between1991and2001,thepopulationincreased.
pastperfectBy2001,thepopulationhadincreased
ImmigrantlabourforceinAustraliabyregionorcountryof
birth(19912001)
1332.1
1142.1
378.0
582.1
187.3
251.1
94.4
119.6 75.6
99.9
101.6
172.5
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
1991 2001
T
h
o
u
s
a
n
d
s

Other
America
NorthAfrica
NewZealand
Asia
Europe
ThisinformationisfromtheOECDstatisticswebsite:
http://www.oecd.org/statsportal/0,2639,en_2825_293564_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Specifically:http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/default.aspx?DatasetCode=CSP6
b)Nowcompletethedescriptionofthechartbelowbyputtingtheverbsinthecorrecttense.
ThebarchartcompareshowtheimmigrantlabourforceinAustralia1(change)between
1991and2001. Thefirstthingtonoteisthatthetotalnumberofimmigrantworkers2
(increase)overthisperiodbyabout200,000.However,there3(be)otherimportantchanges
inthemakeupoftheimmigrantworkforce.By2001,forexample,thenumberofEuropeanimmigrant
workers4(fall)byalmost200,000.Incontrast,thenumberofallothernationalitiesinthe
workforce5(rise).In1991thenumberofAsianworkers,forinstance,6(stand)at
around380,000.Tenyearslater,thisfigure7(go)uptoover580,000.
Activity5>Moreaboutdynamicchartsandverbtenses>10minutes.
Somedynamiccharts,liketheoneinActivity4,showachangeinvaluesfromonetimeinthepastto
anothertimeinthepast.Othercharts,however, maycomparethepastwiththepresent.
Occasionally,chartsevenshowpredictionsaboutthefuture.Ineachcase,youneedtomakesure
thatyouareusingthecorrectverbtensestodescribethechart.Forexample,youcoulduse
Page 6 of 15
Presentperfect:Thepriceofoilhasrisenby0.10everymonthsinceJanuary.
Presentperfectcontinuous:Averagetemperatureshavebeenincreasingsincethebeginningofthe
century.
Futureperfect:Thepopulationwillhavereachedsixtymillionby2030.
a)Rememberthatitisimportanttousethecorrecttimephraseswiththetenseyouareusing.
Choosethephraseswhichcangointhegaps(theremaybemorethanone):
1.pricesfell.
AIn2005
BBy2005
CAfter2005
DSince2005
2..priceshadfallen.
AIn2005
BBy2005
CAfter2005
DSince2005
3.priceshavefallen
AIn2005
BBy2005
CAfter2005
DSince2005
4.priceshavebeenfalling.
AIn2005
BBy2005
CAfter2005
DSince2005
5.priceswillhavefallen.
AIn2015
BBy2015
CAfter2015
DSince2015
b)Nowlookatthechartbelowandcompletethedescriptionwiththecorrectverbtense.
Page 7 of 15
Ratioofthepopulationaged65andovertothelabourforce
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
T
u
r
k
e
y

K
o
r
e
a

C
a
n
a
d
a

A
u
s
t
r
a
l
i
a

U
n
i
t
e
d

K
i
n
g
d
o
m

S
l
o
v
a
k

R
e
p
u
b
l
i
c

C
z
e
c
h

R
e
p
u
b
l
i
c

P
o
l
a
n
d

J
a
p
a
n

F
r
a
n
c
e

I
t
a
l
y

H
u
n
g
a
r
y

2000
2020
ThisinformationisfromtheOECDstatisticswebsite:
http://www.oecd.org/statsportal/0,2639,en_2825_293564_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
Specifically: http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/default.aspx?DatasetCode=CSP6
Thechart1..(show)theratioofthepopulationaged65andovertothelabourforceoftwelve
differentcountries,andhowthis2.. (change)by2020.
Itisclearfromthechartthatin2000somecountriesalreadyhadahighratio.InItaly,forexample,the
populationaged65andover3.. (be)over40%ofthesizeoftheworkingpopulation.Hungary
also4.. (have)ahighratioin2000.Itsretiredpopulationwasover30%thesizeofitsworking
population.However,thefigurevariedalotbetweencountries.InTurkeyandKorea,forexample,it
5.. (be)onlyjustover10%.
Thechartalso6.. (make)predictionsabouthowthisratio7.. (change)inthefuture.It
isclearthatallthecountriesshownhaveanagingpopulation.Hungary8.. (have)thebiggest
change.By2020theratioofretiredpeopletoworkers9..(reach)almost60%.Thisisan
increaseofalmost25%.EveninKoreatheratio10..(increase)toover30%by2020.
Page 8 of 15
IELTSWRITINGTASK2:DEVELOPINGANARGUMENT
Activity6>Analysingthequestion>7minutes
Inpart2oftheIELTSwritingtestyoumaybeaskedtoexpressyouropinionaboutacontroversial
issueordebateinotherwords,asubjectforwhichpeopletendtohavestronglyopposingopinions.
Heresanexample:
Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthe
followingtopic.
Relyingonfossilfuelssuchasoilandcoalforourenergyneedsisbecomingincreasingly
impractical.Therisingcostanddecreasingsupplyofthesefuels,alongwithconcerns
abouttheglobalwarmingtheycause,meanswemustfindanalternative.Theonlyrealistic
alternativeisnuclearenergy.
Towhatextentdoyouagreeordisagree?
Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswith
examplesandrelevantevidence.
Asalways,beforeyoustartwriting,spendafewminutesthinkingaboutwhatthequestionasks,and
whatthebestwaytoansweris.Readtheexamplequestionaboveonemoretime,andthendecide
whetherthestatementsbelowaretrueorfalse.
1Thequestionaskswhetherornotfossilfuelsareimpractical. T/F
2Youshouldgiveadetaileddescriptionofhowfossilfuelscauseglobalwarming. T/F
3Thequestionaskswhethernuclearenergyisagoodalternativetofossilfuels. T/F
4Youshoulddiscusstheargumentsforandagainstnuclearenergy. T/F
5Youshoulddiscusstheargumentsforandagainstfossilfuels. T/F
6Youshouldmentionotheralternativeenergyresources. T/F
7Youshouldgivedetailedhistoricalaccountsofnucleardisasters. T/F
8Youshouldonlymentionyouropinions. T/F
9Youshouldexpressyouropinions,butshowawarenessofothers. T/F
10Youshouldincluderelevantfactsthathelptosupportyouropinions. T/F
Activity7>Gettingideas>5minutes
Theexamplequestionyousawinthepreviousactivityinvitesyoutoexpressyouropinionabout
nuclearenergy.Onewaytodothisistodiscussargumentsforandagainstthisenergysource.
a)Takeafewminutestojotdownargumentsforandagainsttheuseofnuclearpower.
Page 9 of 15
b)Herearesomeideaswethoughtof. Whichofthesepointsareforandwhichagainst?WriteF
(for)orA(against) nexttoeachpoint.
Allwasteiscontainedinsteadofgoingdirectlyintotheatmosphere.
Theminingofuraniumcausesenvironmentaldamage.
Modernnuclearpowerstationsaredesignedwithmanysafetyfeatures.
Thereisalwaysadangerthathumanerrorornegligencecouldcauseanaccident.
Nationsthathavenooilandgasreservescanproducetheirownenergyindependently.
Nuclearpowerstationscouldbetargetedbyterrorists.
Nuclearpowerisamuchmoreeconomicalwaytoproduceenergy.
Safelydisposingofradioactivewasteisexpensive.
Thereareotheralternativestofossilfuels,suchaswindandsolarpower,whichposefewerrisks.
Nuclearpoweroffersanalmostlimitlesssupplyofenergy.
Nuclearpowerstationsaresaferplacesforpeopletoworkthancoalfiredpowerstations.
Thereisthedangerofahugeenvironmentaldisaster.
Nuclearpowerstationsdonotproducegreenhousegases.
Radioactivewasteposesadangerforcenturies.
.
Activity8>Organisingabalanceddiscussion>10minutes
Onewaytoorganiseabalanceddiscussionissimplytodividetheargumentsforandthearguments
againstintotwoseparatecentralparagraphs.Youwouldneedtoconnectideasusingwordsand
expressionssuchasthoseyoulearnedinLessons1and2.
a)Connecttheideasintheexampleparagraphbelowwithwordsfromthebox.
AsaresultFinallyFirstofallFurthermoreInsteadSecondly
Whatarethefactorsinfavourofnuclearpowerasanenergysource?[1].,itisan
economicalsourceofenergy.Thepowergeneratedbynuclearpowerstationscostsmuchlessto
producethanfromcoaloroilfiredstations.[2].,unliketraditionalpowerstations,nuclear
powerplantsdonotpollutetheatmospherewiththeirwaste.[3].,thewasteisstoredinsafe
containersdeepunderground.[4].,amovetonuclearpowerwillreducegreenhousesgases
thatareresponsibleforglobalwarmingintheatmosphere.[5].,statisticsshowthatpower
stationsareactuallysaferplacesforpeopletoworkthancoalfiredpowerstations.[6].,
nuclearpowercanpotentiallysupplyallourenergyneedsformanycenturiestocome.
However,anothereffectivewaytoorganiseyourdiscussionistomatchargumentwithcounter
argumentinthesameparagraph.Thiscanoftenbeamorepersuasivewaytopresentyourviews.
Youdemonstrateawarenessofothersopinions,butatthesametimeyoushowwhytheseare
mistaken.Again,connectingwordsandphraseshelptoholdtheparagraphtogether.
b)Connecttheideasintheexampleparagraphbelowwithwordsfromthebox.
causingdespiteforinstance moreimportantlymoreover while
Theclaimsmadebythoseinfavourofnuclearpowerdonotstanduptocloseexamination.Itisoften
said,[1].,thatnuclearpowerdoesnotdamagetheenvironment.[2].itistruethat
greenhousegasesarenotproduced,miningforuraniumcausesrealdamagetotheenvironment.
[3]., manyreactorsuseriversforcooling.Thisraisestemperaturesintheriverwater,
Page 10 of 15
[4].harmtolifeinandaroundthoserivers.Itisalsoarguedthatthetechnologyofmodern
reactorsmakesaccidentsalmostimpossible.[5].theseclaims,accidentshavehappened
mostfamouslyatChernobyl.Noamountoftechnologycanpreventhumanerror,carelessnessor
laziness.Allofthesecancausedeadlyaccidents.[6].,nuclearpowerplantscouldbecome
thetargetofterroristattacks.Technologycoulddoverylittletopreventsuchanattack,andthe
consequencesareunthinkable.
Activity9>Developingamoreformalstyle>10minutes
Noticethatintheexampleparagraphabove,whichcontrastsargumentwithcounterargument,the
writerusesthepassivetointroduceideas:
Itisoftensaid.
Itisalsoarguedthat
Thisisonewaytogiveyourwritingamoreformalstyle.
a)Rewriteeachofthesesentencesbyputtingthemainverbinthepassive.
1Peoplesaythatwindpowerturbinesarecompletelyharmless.
Itissaidthatwindpowerturbinesarecompletelyharmless.
2Therearepeoplewhoarguethatsolarpowerwillneverreplacefossilfuels.
________________________________________________
3ExpertspredictthatverysoonChinawillbetheworldsleadingeconomicandpoliticalpower.
_______________________________________________
4ManypeopleregardtheInternetasagreatforcefordemocracyandfreedomofspeech.
_______________________________________________
5Researchershopethattheywillsoonfindavaccineforavianflu.
_______________________________________________
6Everyoneknowsthatheartdiseaseisthehighestcauseofdeath.
_______________________________________________
Thereareanumberofotherwaystomakeyourwritingmoreformalinstyle.Asageneralrule,
rememberthatformalwritingisdifferentfromspokenlanguage,andyourcompositionshouldnt
soundtoochatty.Hereanumberofthingsyoushouldavoid.
b)Matchtherulesontheleftwiththeexamplesontheright.
1Donotusecontractions aOfcourse,weallknowwhatbignatureloverscarmanufacturesare.
2Avoidusingphrasalverbs bNobodywantswar,dothey?
3Avoidusingidioms cItisntonlythegovernmentwhoaretoblame.
4Donotusetagquestions dIfyouaskme,whatweshoulddois
5Donotuseironyorsarcasm eIfwekeeponlikethis,wewillhaveusedupallourresources.
6Avoidconversationalstyle fThereareloadsandloadsofreasonswhythiswillnotwork
7Avoidexaggeration gThatideaisjustapipedream.
Page 11 of 15
c)Nowrewritethesentencesfromexercisebinamoreformalstyle.
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Activity10>Examplequestion>10minutes
Finally,hereisachancetoputwhatyouhavelearnedinthislessonintopractice.
Readtheexamplequestionbelowtwicetomakesureyouknowwhatitisasking(andisnt
asking).
Brainstormideasandopinionsorganisethemintoaforandagainstlist.
Decidehowyouwanttoorganisethewholecompositionmakeaparagraphplan.
Writeonlyoneparagraph,butusetheargumentandcounterargumentformat.
Checkthatyourparagraphusesappropriatelyformallanguageandstyle.
Whenyouvefinished,compareyourparagraphwiththeexampleanswerintheanswerkey.
Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthe
followingtopic.
TheteachingofInformationTechnology(computers)hasbecomeastandardpartofthe
curriculuminmostsecondaryschools.Thesameisnowhappeninginprimaryschools,
wherechildrenasyoungassixarelearninghowtousecomputers.However,thereisa
dangerthatITskillsarebeingtaughtattheexpenseofmorebasicskills.
Towhatextentdoyouagreeordisagree?
Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswith
examplesandrelevantevidence.
LessonReview
Inthislessonyouhave:
learnedaboutdifferenttypesofchart.
practisedgettinginformationfromcharts.
learnedtorecognisestaticanddynamiccharts.
reviewedsimpleverbtensesfordescribingcharts.
learnedtwowaystoorganiseabalanceddiscussion.
becomemoreawareofformallanguageforcompositions.
Page 12 of 15
Lessondownloads>IELTSAcademicModulepreparation>Writing>Lesson3>Answerkey
Activity1
a)
1Barchart B
2Proportionalbarchart D
3Piechart C
4Linegraph A
b)
1B,C
2A,D(however,barcharts(B)canalsobeusedtoshowchangeovertimebutnotinthisexample)
3C,D(wecouldalsoincludeBifthechartshowsalltypesoffruitsoldthatyear.)
4B,C,D
5A
6D
Activity2
1FThechartshowsworkerscomingintoAustralia
2T
3IThechartonlyshowsimmigrantworkerstheresnoinformationaboutotherimmigrants
4T
5FTheverticalaxisisthousandsnotpercentage
6IThechartdoesntgiveinformationabouttotalnumbersofforeignworkersinAustralia
7T
8FMoretemporaryworkersarrivedthanworkerswhowerepermanentsettlers.
Activity3
11991
2three
3majority
4twothirds
5secondlargest
6afifth
7atenth
8thethirdlargest
9smaller
10four
11smallest
12three
Activity4
a)
Thechartshowsthedifferentnationalitiesthat madeuptheimmigrantworkforceinAustraliain1991.
Itsclearfromthechartthattherewerethreemaingroupsofworkers:Europeans,AsiansandNew
Zealanders.Onlyarelativelysmallnumberofworkerswerefromotherregions.
ThemajorityofforeignworkerscamefromEurope.Infact,nearlytwothirdsofallimmigrantworkers
wereofEuropeanorigin.Thesecondlargestgroupofforeignworkersinthelabourforcewere
Asians.Theyrepresentedjustunderafifthoftheimmigrantlabourforce.NewZealanders,whomade
upalmostatenthoftheforeignworkforceinthatyear,werethethirdlargestgroup.
Page 13 of 15
Thenumberofworkersfromothernationalitieswasmuchsmaller.WorkersfromNorthAfricaandthe
MiddleEast,forexample,wereonlyfourpercentofthewholeforeignlabourforce.Thesmallest
nationalitygroup,however,wereAmericans.Theserepresentedonlythreepercentofallforeign
workersinAustraliain1991.
b)
1changed
2increased
3were
4hadfallen
5hadrisen
6stood
7hadgone
Activity5
a)
1A,C
2A,B
3D
4D
5B,C
b)
1shows
2willhavechanged
3was
4had
5was
6makes
7willchange/willhavechanged
8willhave/willhavehad
9willhavereached
10willhaveincreased
Activity6
1F Thequestionassumesthatthisisafact thisisnotthedebate..
2F Thisisnotnecessary.Thequestionisabouttheimpactofnuclearenergyasanalternative.
3T
4T
5F Again,thisisnotthedebatehere.Thequestionisabouttheprosandconsofthealternativesto
fossilfuels.
6TItisappropriatetomentionotheralternatives,becausethequestionsuggeststhatnuclearisthe
onlyrealisticalternative.However,themainfocusofyouranswercouldbetheprosandconsof
nuclearenergyinmoredetail.
7FSupportyourargumentswithhistoricalevidenceifyouknowany,butjustabriefcommentis
enough.
8FItisgoodtohaveaclearopinionofyourownontheissue,andyoucanorganiseyour
compositionaroundthisopinion.However,yououghttomentionotherviewsalso.
9T
10T
Activity7
For
Nuclearpowerstationsdonotproducegreenhousegases.
Nuclearpowerisamuchmoreeconomicalwaytoproduceenergy.
Page 14 of 15
Nuclearpowerstationsareactuallysaferplacesforpeopletoworkthancoalfiredpowerstations.
Nuclearpoweroffersanalmostlimitlesssupplyofenergy.
Modernnuclearpowerstationsaredesignedwithmanysafetyfeatures.
Allwasteiscontainedinsteadofgoingdirectlyintotheatmosphere.
Nationsthathavenooilandgasreservescanproducetheirownenergyindependently.
Against
Safelydisposingofradioactivewasteisexpensive.
Radioactivewasteposesadangerforcenturies.
Thereisthedangerofahugeenvironmentaldisaster.
Theminingofuraniumcausesenvironmentaldamage.
Nuclearpowerstationscouldbetargetedbyterrorists.
Thereisalwaysadangerthathumanerrorornegligencecouldcauseanaccident.
Thereareotheralternativestofossilfuels,suchaswindandsolarpower,whichposefewerrisks.
Activity8
a)
1Firstofall
2Secondly
3Instead
4Asaresult
5Furthermore
6Finally
b)
1forinstance
2while
3moreover
4causing
5despite
6moreimportantly
Activity9
a)
1Itissaidthatwindpowerturbinesarecompletelyharmless.(Example)
2Itisarguedthatsolarpowerwillneverreplacefossilfuels.
3ItispredictedthatverysoonChinawillbe
4TheInternetiswidelyregardedasagreatforcefor
5Itishopedthatavaccineforavianfluwillsoonbefound.
6Itiswidelyknownthatheartdiseaseis
b)
1c
2e
3g
4b
5a
6d
7f
c)
aCarmanufacturershaveshownlittleconcernfortheenvironment.
bNobodywantswar.
cItisnotonlythegovernmentwhoaretoblame.
dInmyview,peopleoughtto
Page 15 of 15
eIfthiscontinues,wewillhaveexhaustedallourresources.
fThereareanumberofgoodreasonswhythiswillnotwork.
gThisideaissimplynotfeasible.
Activity10
Exampleparagraph
TheargumentsthatareusedtosupporttheteachingofITskillsatprimaryschoolsarenotvery
convincing.Forinstance,itisoftenclaimedthatITskillsareessentialforsurvivalintodaysworld.
Thismaybetrueintheworldofwork,buttheseskillsareeasilylearnedlateroninlifewhenneeded.
Thereisnoneedtosacrificevaluabletimeatprimaryschoolforthis.Learninghowtousecomputers
isalsobelievedtobeanengagingandcreativeactivityforyoungchildren.Despitethepopularityof
thisbelief,nothingcouldbelessmotivatingorcreativethansittingpassivelyinfrontofacomputer
screen.Thisisnotwhatthespiritofprimaryschoolisallabout.Schoolisaboutbuildingrelationships
withothersandlearninghowtocommunicate.ITtrainingdoesneitherofthese.