Making the Inner Logic Explicit

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MAKING THE INNER LOGIC EXPLICIT

Read quickly through the text below. Do not pay attention to the gaps for the moment.

Nuclear Energy and its risks

There are three separate sources of hazard related to the use of nuclear reactions to supply us with energy. 1) ……., the radioactive material must travel from its place of manufacture to the power station. 2) …… the power stations themselves are solidly built, the containers used for the transport of the material are not. Unfortunately, there are normally only two methods of transport available, 3) ……road or rail. Both of these involve close contact with the general public, 4) ……the routes are bound to pass near, or 5) …… through, heavily populated areas.

6) ……, there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes which in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of year. It is impossible to de-activate these wastes, and 7) ……they must be stored in one of the ingenious but cumbersome ways that scientists have invented. 8) ……, they may be buried under the ground, dropped into disused mineshafts, or sunk in the sea. 9) …… these methods do not solve the problem. They merely store it 10) …… an earthquake could crack open the containers like nuts.

11) ……, there is the problem of accidental exposure due to a leak or an explosion at the power stations. As with the other two hazards, this is extremely unlikely and 12) ……does not provide a serious objection to the nuclear programme, 13) …… it can happen, as the inhabitants of Harrisburg or Chernobyl will tell you.

Separately, and during short periods, these three types of risk are no great cause for concern. Taken together, 14) …………., and especially over much longer periods, the probability of a disaster is extremely high.

2) Now answer the questions.

What is the text about?

How many supporting ideas does it give to defend its position

What position does it take on this topic?

What are they?

Underline the sentence that indicates that position?

6. What conclusion does the text make? Where?

3) Read the text again more carefully and complete the outline:

OUTLINE

Topic: the hazards of nuclear energy

Main idea or thesis: ______

Supporting ideas:

Transport

a)must travel from manufacture to ______

b)power stations solidly built, ______

c)two means: ______

d)close contact ______: near or in ______

______

a)radioactive materials cannot ______

b)must be stored: eg ______

c)not a solution: risk of ______

III. ______

a)accidents: eg leaks or ______

b)unlikely but ______

Conclusion: three hazards not dangerous in themselves but ______

______

1. / a) hence / b) firstly / c) rather
2. / a) secondly / b) nevertheless / c) although
3. / a) for example / b) such as / c) namely
4. / a) because of / b) although / c) since
5. / a) even / b) for instance / c) also
6 / a) secondly / b) thirdly / c) In that case
7. / a) because / b) therefore / c) after
8. / a) besides / b) for example / c) however
9) / a) by the way / b) lastly / c) however
10) / a) though / b) since / c) although
11) / a) thirdly / b) also / c) for instance
12) / a) consequently / b) instead / c) even
13) / a) although / b) nevertheless / c) if
14) / a) although / b) however / c) therefore

Organizing your writing

Skim through the essay about the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet.

Answer the following questions.

A. The overall structure:

1)How many paragraphs does it contain? How did you recognize each paragraph?

2)How long are the paragraphs on the average?

3)Where does the introduction end and the development, or body of the essay start?

4)What information is given in the introductory paragraph? Which sentence presents the focus of the essay?

5)How many major sections are in the development?

6)How many supporting ideas are there? What are they?

7)Underline the expressions used to link paragraphs. What kind of link do they show?

8)Where does the concluding paragraph start?

B. The paragraphs

1)Underline the topic sentence in each paragraph. Where is it often placed?

2)How is the rest of the paragraph developed in relation to the topic sentence?

3)What expressions are used to link ideas within the paragraph?

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet

Virtually unheard of twenty years ago, the Internet was used by a handful of computer science experts. Today, it is one of the most powerful and commonly-used tools for communicating worldwide. The Internet can be defined as a collection of various services and resources whose main components include E-mail and the World Wide Web. The wide majority of households in the developed world boast an Internet access. However, before people connect to the Internet, they need to be aware of its disadvantages and advantages.

Many fear the Internet because of its disadvantages. First, children using the Internet has become a big concern. They can easily come across a site which is non-educational or even dangerous. In addition, children may also access pornography online by mistake. Therefore, parents need to be aware of these risks before allowing their children to access the Net.

In addition, musicians are concerned with disadvantages to the Net such as, accessibility and freedom. They are upset because the Internet provides their music online at no charge to consumers. File-sharing services, such as Napster, provide copyrighted songs to all Internet users. The main concern is that the music is free. Musicians feel they are not getting paid for their work. Legal cases have developed across the country with copyright owners declaring that their music is being plagiarized by people on the Internet.

Another major disadvantage of the Internet is privacy. Electronic messages sent over the Internet can be easily snooped and tracked, revealing who is talking to whom and what they are talking about. As people surf the Internet, they are constantly giving information to web sites. People should become aware that the collection, selling, or sharing of the information they provide online increases the chances that their information will fall into the wrong hands. Consequently, they will become victims of identity theft, one of the worst privacy violations with potentially devastating financial consequences. In other words, the most common Internet crimes are frauds and con games .

Today, not only are humans getting viruses, but computers are as well. The main source of these today is the Internet getting these viruses from the Internet. Some of these dangerous viruses destroy the computer’s entire hard drive, meaning that the user can no longer access the computer. Therefore, virus protection is highly recommended

Nevertheless, despite all of the terrible disadvantages of the Internet, there are numerous advantages to be taken into consideration. First of all, the most common thing the Internet is used for is research. Today, not only do most students use the Internet for their studies, but the World Wide Web has become one of the biggest sources for scientific research.

Furthermore, entertainment is another popular reason why many people surf the Internet. Downloading games, going into chat rooms, or just surfing the Web are some of the uses people have discovered. There are numerous games that may be downloaded at no charge. Finally, chat rooms are popular because users can meet new and interesting people.

Finally, shopping online has become a huge success, generating billions in revenue. Almost everything can be bought and sold on the Internet. While clothing is probably one of the most commonly bought items, it is also possible to go grocery shopping online. Therefore, whether it be for B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to customer) trade, every multinational company has its own Web site.

To sum up, it has been seen that today’s society is in the middle of a technological boom and that the Internet is a very powerful tool which brings both advantages and risks. However it can be stated without a doubt that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. In conclusion, those who choose to take advantage of this cutting-edge form of communication will no doubt have an advantage over those who simply let it pass them by.

ORGANISING YOUR COMPOSITION

Your composition should be organised into paragraphs. Each paragraph should have a topic sentencewhich expresses the controlling idea of the paragraph, and 4 to 6 more sentences which develop this idea by explaining, giving examples, etc.

Use the following outline as a tool to organize your paper. Each box represents one paragraph.

INTRODUCTION:
Lead-in to topic plus focus or purpose of paper. (analyse strengths and weaknesses)
FIRST STRENGTH: state and develop with explanation, examples, etc
SECOND STRENGTH:state and develop with explanation, examples, etc
THIRD STRENGTH:state and develop with explanation, examples, etc
/ TRANSITION from advantages to disadvantages thenFIRSTWEAKNESS:state and develop with explanation, examples, etc
SECOND WEAKNESS:state and develop with explanation, examples, etc
THIRD WEAKNESS:state and develop with explanation, examples, etc
CONCLUSION: SUM UP major points then one final CONCLUSION

BRAINSTORMING: The Advantages and Drawbacks of Tourism

I. There are two sides to every coin, even tourism. Make a list of all the possible advantages and disadvantages of Tourism. These do not reflect your own opinion. They are simply arguments in favour and against.

Advantages / disadvantages

II. Organizing your ideas: Now try to classify these ideas into natural “umbrella” groups (e.g. economic, social, environmental, cultural, etc). The arguments that don’t fit into these groups will be eliminated.

II. An Outline of your structuring: At this point, you should have 2-3 supporting arguments for each section of your development. Complete the following outline with as much detail as possible.

STRUCTURING A COMPOSITION:THE ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS OF TOURISM

INTRODUCTION (one paragraph)

a)lead-in: ______

b)focus statement: pros and cons of ______

DEVELOPMENT

A) ADVANTAGES: (one paragraph for each advantage)

1) first advantage: ______

Supporting ideas:

a) ______

b) ______

c) ______

2)second advantage: ______

Supporting ideas:

a) ______

b) ______

c) ______

3) third advantage: ______

Supporting ideas:

a) ______

b) ______

c) ______

B) DISADVANTAGES: (one paragraph for each disadvantage)

1) first disadvantage: ______

Supporting ideas:

a) ______

b) ______

c) ______

2)second disadvantage: ______

Supporting ideas:

a) ______

b) ______

c) ______

3) third disadvantage: ______

Supporting ideas:

a) ______

b) ______

c) ______

III. CONCLUSION: (one paragraph)

a)summary of main points

b)final conclusion

Practice: Read the statement first to understand the logic. Then choose the best alternative.