Unit 1 Structure Of The Written Text 1

A. INTRODUCTION – Topics and Paragraphs

A topic is a word or phrase (a few words) which tells what something is about. The topic is the key
to understanding what you read. For example, a friend may ask you, “What is that book about?” and
you could reply, “The topic is academic reading.” A paragraph, on the other hand, is a group of
sentences about a topic.

A paragraph, on the other hand, is a group of sentences about a topic. Read the paragraph below.
What is the topic?

An elephant is the biggest living animal on land. It is quite huge in size. It is usually black or grey in
colour. Elephants have four legs, a long trunk and two white tusks near their trunk. Apart from this,
they have two big ears and a short tail. Elephants are vegetarian. They eat all kinds of plants
especially bananas. They are quite social, intelligent and useful animals. They are used to carry
logs of wood from one place to another.

If you answered elephants you are correct. The sentences describe elephants' size, body, diet,
personality, and use by humans. Each sentence in the paragraph works together to describe
elephants. Importantly, a paragraph should only have one topic.

B. DISCUSSION AND EXERCISES

I. Which word is the topic?

football baseball tennis sports skiing basketball

The answer :
The topic is sports. (The other words are names of sports)

red purple color green yellow blue

The topic is ....................................

France Germany Italy Europe Belgium Austria

The topic is ....................................

II. Circle the topic in each group of words.

1. mother father brother aunt family uncle grandfather grandmother

2. nine sixteen eight number seven nineteen thirty twenty-seven
3. dog cat elephant lion camel animal horse mouse lizard
4. bedroom bathroom kitchen basement cellar living room house
5. subway train airplane car bus ship taxi boat travel

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III. Think of words for these topics. Write the words on the lines below.
Then talk to another student about his or her words. Are they the same as yours?

1. Topic : important places in Semarang

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

2. Topic : Jobs
.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

3. Topic : .....................................................................................(now you write the topic)

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

IV. Read all the words in each group. What is the topic? Write it on the line.
Work with another student.
Example :
knife fork spoon cup bowl glass dish chopsticks

Things for eating

Topic: ..............................................................................................................................................

1. Colombia South Africa Mexico China Canada Germany

Topic: ..............................................................................................................................................

2. cheese milk ice cream butter cream yogurt

Topic: ..............................................................................................................................................

3. table of contents index title page chapters pages

Topic: ..............................................................................................................................................

4. Amazon Ganges Danube Tigris Nile Yangtze

Topic: ..............................................................................................................................................

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V. You can divide each group of words into topics. Write the two topics.
Then write the words under the topics.

Example :
ladder concert opera movie stairs TV elevator p lay escalator

Topic A: Ways to go up Topic B: Things to watch for fun

ladder elevator movie play opera
stairs escalator TV concert

1. Zimbabwe Buddhist Eth iopia Catholic Nigeria Christian

Muslim Jew Kenya Zambia

Topic A: .................................................... Topic B: .......................................................

2. California Austria Arizona Ireland Washington

Oregon Scotland England Nevada

Topic A: .................................................... Topic B: .......................................................

VI. Read each group of sentences and decide whether all the sentences in the group are about
one topic. Is the group of sentences a paragraph? Check yes or no.

1. It is easy to make a good cup of tea.

The first people to grow coffee beans lived in the Middle East.
Most of the oranges for juice grow in Florida.
That is how people in other parts of the world learned about rice.
Cover the pot and wait a few minutes.

Paragraph? Yes...... or No....... If no, why? If yes, what is the topic?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

2. A doc tor’s job is not eas y.

Doctors often spend m any hours with patients.
There are usually more patients waiting.
So doc tors do not hav e much free tim e during the day.
They often have to work all night in the hospital, too.

Paragraph? Yes...... or No....... If no, why? If yes, what is the topic?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

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3. In the United States, sports stars m ake a lot of money

It is not unusually for a bas ketball player to get $6 million a year.
Some baseball players are also paid m illions of dollars .
These sports stars also get extra m oney from sporting equipm ent companies .
For example, sneaker manufacturers pay sports s tars to ear the s neakers they
make.

Paragraph? Yes...... or No....... If no, why? If yes, what is the topic?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

VII. Choosing the best topic. A good reader always asks, “What is this paragraph about?
What is the topic? Read this paragraph. What is it about?
Example
Mexico City is a popular place for tourists. Every year thousands of [people go to Mexico City.
They visit old and beautiful buildings. In Mexico City' museums, they learn about the history of
Mexico. In the restraunts, they enjoy the spicy and delicious Mexican food.

What is the topic? Circle it. Then write “too specific” or “too general” after
the other two topics.
a. Mexican food Too specific __________________________
b. Mexico Too general __________________________
c. Mexico City Correct topic _________________________

Read each paragraph. Ask yourself, “What is this about?” Circle the topic.
Then write “too specific” or “too general” after the other two topics.
Work with another student.

More about Mexico City

1. Mexico City is growing quickly. In 1970, the city had about 9 million people. Now it has over 17
million people. All these people are causing problems for the city. There are not enough jobs.
Also, there is not enough housing. Large families have to live together in small homes. Many
homes do not have water. They also do not have bathroom or electricity. The Mexican
government is worried about all these problems. It is working hard to make life better in the city.
a. Mexican government ________________________
b. Large cities ________________________
c. Mexico City's problems ________________________

2. Why is Mexico City growing so fast? Where are all these people coming from? They are coming to
the city from the country. Life is hard on the farms in Mexico. Most people on farms have to live a
very simple life. They have no extra money for modern things. People think life in the city must be
better. So they leave their farms to move to Mexico City.

a. Why people are moving to Mexico City _________________________

b. How Mexicans live in the country _________________________
c. Life in Mexico today _________________________
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VIII. Read each paragraph. Working with another student, decide on the best topic. Be sure
your topic is not too general or too specific. Write the topics below the paragraphs.

The Use of Water

1. In the United States, drinking water comes from a few different places. Many cities get their
drinking water from special lakes called reservoirs. Other cities get their drinking water lakes and
rivers. For example, the drinking water for New Orleans comes from the Mississippi River. In
some areas, people get their water from the mountains. The water from mountain snow is delicious
and clean. In other areas people dig deep holes in the ground for water. These holes are called
wells. Outside of cities, most people get their water this way.

Topic: ..............................................................................................................................................

2. Many American scientists are worried about the drinking water in the United States. They think that
soon there may be no more clean drinking water. Dirt, salt, and chemicals from factories can get
into the water, making it unsafe to drink. This is already true in some places. One example is a
small town in Massachusetts. Many children in this town became sick because of chemicals in the
water. Another place with water problems is California. The water near old Air Force airports is not
safe to drink. Many other cities and towns have water problems, too.

Topic: ..............................................................................................................................................

C. THINKING SKILL
Choose the best ending for each paragraph.

1. Tina is in bed. The doctor says she is very sick. She must take some medicine. She can't get out of
bed, and she can't go to
a. television c. work
b. home d. children

2. Donna's father is a doctor. Donna also wants to be a doctor. She wants to a be a children's doctor.
She likes children, and she wants to help
a. them c. students
b. animals d. her

3. Frank doesn't like to visit hospitals for children. He says they are sad places. In these hospitals
there are many sick boys and
a. doctors c. mothers
b. girls d. medicines

4. You can't go to Tom's house today. He is very sick. The doctor is there now. He is looking at Tom,
and he is asking Tom's mother a lot of
a. money c. questions
b. medicine d. answers

5. Dr. Kapoor gets up at 6:00 every day and goes to the hospital. In the afternoon, he goes to his office.
He gets home at 8:00 in the evening. He has a very long
a. work c. office
b. drive d. day

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6. Many people have computers at work. Business people have computers in their offices.
Teachers have computers at school, and doctors have computers in
a. rooms c. hospitals
b. restaurants d. cars

7. Harold works for a computer company. It is a big company. It has offices in many parts of the
world. Harold often must go to visit the offices
a. in other companies c. before lunch
b. at home d. in other companies

8. Many schools have computers. The children learn about computers in their classes, and the
teachers use the computers for the
a. lessons c. homework
b. schools d. offices

9. Dan is an English teacher. He works for a big Japanese company. Some people in the
company must speak English at work. Dan teaches them
a. to understand in Japanese c. about business
b. Japanese d. business English

10. There are three people in Mohammed's office. They all want to use the computer often, but
there is only one computer! Mohammed says they must get another
a. car c. office
b. computer d. person

11. Surya is in another city for some business meetings. She must call her office every day. Her
manager wants to talk with
a. her c. them
b. him d. me

12. The teachers at school often have meetings. They have meetings with the other teachers, and
they have meetings with the
a. school c. classes
b. company d. mothers and fathers

13. Sandra doesn't like her job. She has meetings every week with her manager, and Sandra does
not like the
a. business c. meetings
b. work d. mornings

14. Chen has a new job in a store. He sees a lot of people. He must talk with them and help them,
and he must
a. never smile c. not open his mouth
b. smile a lot d. look at the floor

15. Bus drivers are often very friendly. They sit in their bus for a long time. They like to talk to the
people
a. in the car c. on the telephone
b. on their bus d. in restaurants

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