Have 3 different highlighters ready to be used for this exercise.

Follow the
instructions below and look for a pattern.
1) Highlight the 2 meaning words (not function words) that are repeated
throughout the paragraph with one color. List the words in the margins.
2) Highlight the numbers with another color. Look for a pattern about the
numbers. What do the numbers deal with/represent?
3) Highlight other words that express similar meaning as the numbers with
the third color.
4) What idea do you come to conclude after looking at the data? Write it in
one sentence.

5) What words do you find fairly objective? What do you find less objective?
What do you find subjective?

6) How is this paragraph organized?

Considering that the average price per pack of cigarettes in this state is at
least $8.00, people who smoke two packs of cigarettes a day spend $16.00 per
day on their habit. At the end of one year, these smokers have spent at least
$5,840.00. But the price of cigarettes is not the only expense cigarette
smokers incur. Since cigarette smoke has an offensive odor that permeates
clothing, stuffed furniture, and carpeting, smokers often find that these items
must be cleaned more frequently than those of nonsmokers. Additionally,
smoking affects one’s health and productivity, so health and life insurance cost
more for smokers than for nonsmokers. There is also some evidence that
smokers generally earn less at work than nonsmokers, possibly because they
are perceived as being less productive and successful. Although it is difficult
to estimate these additional costs, one can see that these hidden expenses do
contribute to making smoking an expensive habit.