ACADEMIC FOCUS: COMPARISON AND CONTRAST LEARNING OBJECTIVES This unit covers Ustening + Using Venn diagrams to take and organize notes + Analysing descriptions of similarity and difference © Recognizing and using comparative acjectves. Speaking * Comparing and contrasting different pieces of research * Preparing for, participating in, and evaluating a seminar discussion Reading + Analysing madels and theories in a text Understanding comparison in text * Identifying and evaluating authorial stance Writing * Introduction to essay writing * Writing an effective conclusion * Planning and organizing comparison essays Vocabulary * Identifying comparing and contrasting language * Using comparative and contrasting structures Discussion 1 Work in pairs. Read the statisties and discuss questions ‘The richest 20% of the world’s population are responsible for over 75% of the world’s consumption, whereas the poorest 20% are responsible for consuming only 1.5% of the world's resources (World Bank, 2008). b 12% of the world's population live in North America and Western Burope, and account for 60% of personal spending, while the one-third living in South Asia and sub-Saharan. Africa account for only 3.2% (worldwatch, 2011). © 1m 2008 the bottled water industry was worth $60 billion and sold 241 billion litres of water (Assadoumlan, 2010). ‘There are estimated to be 1 billion people without access to ‘lean water (worldwatch, 2011), Which statistic surprises you the most? Do youve in a country where consumption is high? What ‘do most people spend their money on? Has consumption changed much in your country in the last 50 years? Think about what people buy. 2 Work in pairs. Discuss questions 1-3 with reference to consumption of resources like food, water, energy, and consumer goods. 1 What, ifanything, worrles you about your own consumption? What changes could you make? 2 What are the possible risks of people continuing to ‘consume so much? 2 Are high levels of consumption always a bad thing? a9