Jan+22+Mod+1+Les+3

= Written work is divided into paragraphs in a meaningful way. A paragraph is a group of sentences that develop one topic or idea. The topic of one paragraph should follow logically from the topic of the last paragraph and should lead on to the topic of the next paragraph. The paragraphs have different functions, but all develop an idea - that is, they add information, explanation, examples and illustrations to the central theme or idea until the theme is fully developed. =

Exercise 1. Divide the following text into paragraphs. Remember that each paragraph should develop a particular theme.

How to stop yourself snoring.

Snoring is caused when the airway at the back of the nose and throat becomes partially obstructed. This is usually due to the loosening of the surrounding oropharyngeal muscles, but the reasons why this should occur are varied. The most common are smoking, obesity and the consumption of relaxants such as alcohol and sleeping pills. As with any common ailment, there are a host of "miracle" cures advertised - but you should first try a few simple steps to see if you can halt the snoring before adopting more drastic measures. Lifestyle changes can be the most effective. If you are overweight, a loss of weight will help to reduce the pressure on your neck. You should also stop smoking and try not to drink alcohol at least four hours before you go to bed. Beyond this, try to change your regular sleeping position. Raise the head of your bed with a brick, or tie something uncomfortable into the back of your pyjamas to encourage you to sleep on your side. Both of these will help to alter the angle of your throat as you sleep, and may thus make breathing easier for you. It is also important to keep your nasal passage clear and unblocked. Allergies, colds and hay fever can temporarily cause you to snore; nasal decongestants may help, but you are not advised to use such remedies for long periods. Nasal strips, as worn by sportspeople, have been proven to reduce nasal airway resistance by up to 30 per cent, so consider these as a long-term alternative. If this fails, then you may wish to look at the varied snoring aids that are on the market. They range from neck collars that stop your neck tilting, through to mandibular-advancement devices (such as gumshields) which reduce upper airway resistance, and tongue-retaining devices. You can also buy essential-oil products that are added to warm water and infused or consumed before bedtime. They claim to tone up your palate and unblock your nasal passage. Finally, if your symptoms persist, visit your GP or contact the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association (01737 557 997) for advice. If you do not, your partner might. (Mark Irving, Esquire, March 1999)

Exercise 2. Look at the following text about growing cotton in India. The paragraphs have not been printed in the correct order. Arrange the paragraphs in the correct order. Remember that the topic of one paragraph should follow logically from the topic of the last paragraph and should lead on to the topic of the next paragraph.

Pesticide suicide

Most of the farmers are extremely poor. Attracted by cheap loans from pesticides traders and the prospect of a quick buck, they borrowed heavily to raise cotton on small plots of land. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the crop losses and destruction in Andhra Pradesh arose from the repeated application of excessive amounts of chemicals - a practice actively encouraged by pesticides traders. The suicide of Samala Mallaiah in Nagara village grabbed media headlines. He owned one acre of land, leased two more and grew cotton on all three. After making a loss in the first year, he leased yet more land in an attempt to recover. Confronted with falling prices, mounting debts and pest attacks, he committed harakiri. ‘Cotton has given us shattered dreams,’ said one old farmer in Nagara village. As many as 60,000 small farmers in the region of Andhra Pradesh, southern India, have taken to farming cotton instead of food crops. Some 20 of them have recently committed suicide by eating lethal doses of pesticide. Whitefly, boll weevils and caterpillars multiplied and destroyed their crops, despite the constant application of pesticides. The average yield of cotton fields in Andhra Pradesh fell by more than half in just one year. Now the farmers are in no position to repay the loans or feed their families. Nearly half the pesticides used in India go into protecting cotton, the most important commercial crop in the country. However, pests have shown increased immunity to a range of pesticides. Last year there were heavy crop losses due to leaf-curl, which is caused by the dreaded whitefly. This nondescript, milky-white fly sucks sap from the cotton leaves, making them curl and dry up. The fly struck first in Pakistan and north-western India. Then it turned south. (New Internationalist, June 1998, p. 13)

= Topic sentences = This main idea of each paragraph is usually expressed somewhere in the paragraph by one sentence (the main or topic sentence). This sentence is usually found at the beginning of the paragraph, but can come at the end or even in the middle of the paragraph. The rest of the paragraph generally expands the theme contained in the main sentence, and each idea round the main theme is supported by information and evidence (in the form of illustrations and examples), and by argument.

Exercise 3. Find the topic sentence in the following paragraph

Anthropology is the study of humankind, especially of Homo sapiens, the biological species to which we human beings belong. It is the study of how our species evolved from more primitive organisms; it is also the study of how our species developed a mode of communication known as language and a mode of social life known as culture. It is the study of how culture evolved and diversified. And finally, it is the study of how culture, people, and nature interact wherever human beings are found. (Marvin Harris, (1975), Culture, People Nature, p. 1)

Exercise 4 Put the following sentences in the correct order in produce well organised paragraphs. a. Time may indicate the importance of the occasion as well as on what level an interaction between persons is to take place. b. The same applies for calls after 11:00 P.M. c. Different parts of the day, for example, are highly significant in certain contexts. d. Our realisation that time talks is even reflected in such common expressions as, "What time does the clock say?" e. In the United States if you telephone someone very early in the morning, while he is shaving or having breakfast, the time of the call usually signals a matter of utmost importance and extreme urgency. f. A call received during sleeping hours is apt to be taken as a matter of life and death, hence the rude joke value of these calls among the young. (Edward Hall, (1973), The silent language, p. 2)

Exercise 5 Write the topic sentences for the following paragraphs. Paragraph 3 ________________________________________ That it might be experienced in any other way seems unnatural and strange, a feeling which is rarely modified even when we begin to discover how really differently it is handled by some other people. Within the West itself certain cultures rank time much lower in over-all importance than we do. In Latin America, for example, where time is treated rather cavalierly, one commonly hears the expression, "Our time or your time?" "Hora americana, hora mejicana?" (Edward Hall, (1973), The silent language, p. 6)

Paragraph 4 ________________________________________ From the late 1870s onwards, cheap American corn began to arrive in the country in large quantities, along with refrigerated meat and fruit from Australia and New Zealand, and in a period when both farmers and businessmen were complaining of depression, standards of living rose higher than they had ever done. The change began each day, as Victorian writers frequently pointed out, with the food on the breakfast table - with eggs and bacon as staple fare for the middle classes - and went on through tea, high or low, to multi-course dinners or fish-and-chip suppers. The poor were eating better as well as the rich. The annual per capita consumption of sugar, which had increased from 18 lb. to 35 lb. between the Queen's accession and 1860, rose to 54 lb. in 1870-99 and 85 lb. in 1900-10; that of tea, which along with beer had now become a national drink, went up from 1½ lb, first to 4¼ lb and then to 6 lb. (Asa Briggs, (1983). A social history of England, p. 246)

= Flow of information in paragraphs = In order for a paragraph to be easy to read, the information in it must flow easily from one sentence to the next. To do this it is important to structure your information clearly and signal exactly what you want to say by the use of signalling words. Information structure. Most sentences in English have two parts a theme (or topic) and a rheme (or comment) (McCarthy, 1991, p. 55). The theme is what you are writing about - it is shared information and it has been introduced to your reader. The rheme is what you are saying about the theme - it is new information, what you want to tell your reader. Look at the following sentences: 1. The M1 goes from London to Leeds. 2. The motorway from London to Leeds is called the M1. The theme in sentence 1 is "the M1". The reader has been introduced to the M1 but does not know where it goes and therefore needs to be told. In sentence 2, the theme is "the motorway from London to Leeds". The reader knows there is a motorway from London to Leeds but does not know what it is called. In English the theme usually comes at the beginning of the sentence and the rheme at the end. The decision about which part of the sentence to make the theme and which part to make the rheme depends on the information that needs to be communicated. This depends on the sentences that come before. Look at the following short paragraphs: 3. I was born in Glasgow. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. 4. I was born in Glasgow. The largest city in Scotland is Glasgow. All the sentences are grammatically correct but in example 4, the information to be communicated, the rheme - the largest city in Scotland, is at the beginning of the sentence. Example 3 is preferred in English.

There are two basic choices in organising information texts:
1. The rheme of one sentence becomes the theme of the next sentence. Example The inventor of the diode valve was Fleming. He made use of the fact, first noticed by Edison, that an electric current could be made to flow across the empty space between the hot filament of an electric lamp and another metal electrode placed inside the evacuated bulb. This effect depends upon the thermionic emission of electrons from the heated metal filament. (W. P. Jolly, (1972). Electronics, p. 61) 2. The theme of one sentence is the same as the theme of the next sentence. Example Anthropology is the study of humankind, especially of Homo sapiens, the biological species to which we human beings belong. It is the study of how our species evolved from more primitive organisms; it is also the study of how our species developed a mode of communication known as language and a mode of social life known as culture. It is the study of how culture evolved and diversified. And finally, it is the study of how culture, people, and nature interact wherever human beings are found. (Marvin Harris, (1975), Culture, people nature, p. 1) A mixture of the two is also possible.

Exercise In the following paragraph, the first and last sentences are correct. Rewrite the middle sentences of to put the theme at the beginning and the rheme at the end of the sentences

The most striking example of value rigidity I can think of is the old south Indian Monkey Trap, which depends on value rigidity for its effectiveness. A hollowed-out coconut chained to a stake makes the trap. A monkey can put its hand though a small hole in the coconut and grab some rice inside. The monkey can put its hand into the hole but cannot take its fist out with rice in it. The monkey's value rigidity traps it when it reaches in. The rice cannot be revalued. He cannot see that freedom without rice is more valuable than capture with it. (Robert Pirsig, Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance)

= Signalling = It is the responsibility of the writer in English to make it clear to the reader how various parts of the paragraph are connected. These connections can be made explicit by the use of different signalling words. For example, if you want to tell your reader that your line of argument is going to change, make it clear.(However) If you think that one sentence gives reasons for something in another sentence, make it explicit.(because ) If you think two ideas are almost the same, say so.(Similarly). If you intend your sentence to give extra information, make it clear.(In addition) If you are giving examples, do it explicitly.(For example)

=Signalling words=

1. Time/order
at first, eventually, finally, first, firstly, in the end, in the first place, in the second place, lastly, later, next, second, secondly, to begin with

2. Comparison/similar ideas
in comparison, in the same way, similarly

3. Contrast/opposite ideas
but, despite, in spite of, even so, however, in contrast, in spite of this, nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, whereas, yet

4. Cause and effect
accordingly, as a consequence, as a result, because, because of this, consequently, for this reason, hence, in consequence, in order to, owing to this, since, so, so that, therefore, thus

5. Examples
for example, for instance, such as, thus, as follows

6 Generalisation
as a rule, for the most part, generally, in general, normally, on the whole, in most cases, usually

7. Stating the obvious
after all, as one might expect, clearly, it goes without saying, naturally, obviously, of course, surely

8. Attitude
admittedly, certainly, fortunately, luckily, oddly enough, strangely enough, undoubtedly, unfortunately

9. Summary/conclusion
finally, in brief, in conclusion, in short, overall, so, then, to conclude, to sum up

10. Explanation/equivalence
in other words, namely, or rather, that is to say, this means, to be more precise, to put it another way

11. Addition
apart from this, as well as, besides, furthermore, in addition, moreover, nor, not only...but also, too, what is more

12. Condition
in that case, then

13. Support
actually, as a matter of fact, in fact, indeed

14. Contradiction
actually, as a matter of fact, in fact

15. Emphasis
chiefly, especially, in detail, in particular, mainly, notably, particularly

Exercise In the following article on Nuclear Hazards the signalling words and phrases are missing. Replace them and check your answers. There are three separate sources of hazard related to the use of nuclear reactions to supply us with energy. __________, the radioactive material must travel from its place of manufacture to the power station. __________ the power stations themselves are solidly built, the containers used for the transport of the material are not. __________, there are normally only two methods of transport available, __________ road or rail, and both of these involve close contact with the general public, __________ the routes are bound to pass near, or even through, heavily populated areas. __________, there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes which in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It is impossible to de-activate these wastes, and __________ they must be stored in one of the ingenious but cumbersome ways that scientists have invented. __________ they may be buried under the ground, dropped into disused mineshafts, or sunk in the sea. __________ these methods do not solve the problem; they merely store it, __________ an earthquake could crack open the containers like nuts. __________ there is the problem of accidental exposure due to a leak or an explosion at the power station. As with the other two hazards, this is extremely unlikely and __________ does not provide a serious objection to the nuclear programme, __________ it can happen, as the inhabitants of Harrisburg will tell you. Separately, and during short periods, these three types of risk are no great cause for concern. Taken together, __________, and especially over much longer periods, the probability of a disaster is extremely high.