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剑桥国际英语写作教程 论文写作 扉页-2.indd 1 2019/12/6 上午11:19

 Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

Essay Writing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1 Explanatory Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 2 Problem-Solution Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Chapter 3 Comparison-Contrast Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Chapter 4 Persuasive Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Chapter 5 Responding to a Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Chapter 6 Timed Essays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

iii
 Introduction

Audience
Writers at Work: The Essay is ideal for intermediate to high-intermediate ESL or EFL
students who are ready to write fully developed essays with an introduction, body
paragraphs, and a conclusion. This text is appropriate for adults and young adults,
college and university students, high school students preparing to write at the college
level, or anyone who wants to sharpen standard English writing skills for use in an
academic or professional setting. It is also appropriate for native speakers of English
who are developing their competence as independent writers in English.

Approach
Writers at Work: The Essay is organized around the writing process and guides students
through this process in easy-to-follow steps. Numerous student sample essays,
along with the presentation of clear organizational patterns, give students a helpful
foundation to refer to in developing essays that are not only expressive and rich in
content, but also clear and cohesive.
As you progress through Writers at Work with your students, you will undoubtedly enjoy
seeing the students become engaged in the content and student-centered activities. For
us, one of the greatest satisfactions in using Writers at Work is watching the students
develop a warm, supportive camaraderie with one another, revealing how much they
have connected with each other as partners in the learning process.
The writing tasks in this text focus on common organizational patterns and types of
writing used in formal essay writing: explanatory, problem-solution, comparison-
contrast, persuasive, and responding to a reading. All of the activities in a chapter relate
to the particular pattern or type of writing. In this way, students are able to apply what
they learn in their own writing. The final chapter prepares students to write timed
essays such as they might encounter in classroom situations, in writing examinations,
or when they apply to college or graduate school.
Writers at Work: The Essay makes it easy for you to serve as an effective guide or
facilitator. Student-centered activities in the text imply that the students naturally take
an active role in the learning process. But as the teacher, you always play the most vital
role in any classroom situation. Your presence, your guidance, and your encouragement
make the course ultimately successful for your students. You are the dynamic presence
that inspires your students toward achievement.

iv
Organization of the text
The book contains two major parts:

Essay Writing Basics

In this short introductory section, students review the basic conventions used by essay
writers in English. They define an essay and learn how to follow standard formatting
for an essay. They also study the types of essays in academic life. Students also focus
on the importance of audience and on how to select a topic. Finally, they examine the
writing process, not only as a process for writing, but also as a process for thinking and
developing ideas.

Chapters 1– 6
Each chapter opens with a page designed to stimulate students to think about the topic
of the chapter and the type of writing they will be learning. Chapters are organized into
five sections, each corresponding to a step in the writing process. (The final chapter,
Timed Essays, follows a slightly different pattern.) These sections are described in the
following notes.

Chapter structure
Each chapter has five sections:

I Getting Started
Students start out by looking at a graphic or statistical representation of a given topic.
This information is designed to stimulate students’ interest in the topic of the sample
student essay. The sample essays are written by real ESL writing students. While they
have been edited, the content remains true to what the students themselves originally
wrote. It’s a good idea for you to point out to your students that the sample essays
don’t represent an absolute standard that they must attain, but rather serve as a goal
to work toward. After reading the sample essay, students work through a series of
questions which focus attention on the structure and ideas in the essay. After answering
these questions, students work to select a topic that they will write about in their own
essay, generating ideas and working with peers to define their work.

II Preparing the First Draft

In this second section, students compose their thesis statement. They think about ways
to organize their main ideas and they write their first drafts. Students are introduced to
outlining as a tool for planning their first drafts. Information and activities throughout
Section II assist the students in filling in their outlines. You can assign the first draft as
a homework assignment.

III Revising Your Writing

Students learn about the key elements of good writing, practice checking and revising
for these key elements in pieces of writing, and then apply these principles to the
revisions of their drafts. In Benefit from peer feedback, students receive input for revising

Introduction v
 their drafts. This activity also gives students valuable practice in analysis as they analyze
their partner’s draft for revision. Of course, students are expected to make their own
final decisions about the changes to make in their own drafts. Ideally, you can do
Section III, Revising Your Writing, and Section IV, Editing Your Writing, on the same day.

IV Editing Your Writing

Students learn about selected aspects of grammar and style, do activities to practice
editing pieces of writing, and then apply this grammar information to editing their
drafts for accurate grammar and usage. Some instructors are in favor of peer editing for
grammar, while others prefer to skip it or do it only from time to time. Omitting peer
editing does not compromise the writing process, so you should do what works best
with your class. You can assign writing the final draft as a homework assignment.

V Following Up
The first activity of this section, Share your writing, is to be done after students have
written their final drafts, but before they turn them in to you. Here, through a variety of
activities, students have the opportunity to read and enjoy each other’s essays.
Each chapter ends with Check your progress. After students have gotten back their marked
essays from you, they should fill out the Progress Check, a form that has them consider
the strengths and weaknesses of their essays. The Progress Check will also help them see
the improvements that they make and reflect on their writing throughout the course.

An Invitation to Write
We welcome your questions, comments, and suggestions. You can e-mail us at
[email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
Warmest wishes,
Dorothy Zemach and Lynn Stafford-Yilmaz

vi Introduction
 Essay Writing Basics

In this introductory chapter, students will review or learn the definition and
format of an academic essay in English. They will discuss the importance of
defining the purpose for writing, of identifying your audience, and of choosing
an appropriate topic. In addition, they will learn the stages of process writing
and the importance of each one.
With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 1. Ask, What is an
essay? Elicit answers from volunteers, but do not correct wrong answers at this
point. If you like, write students’ comments and definitions on the board, and
leave them up while students work through Practice 1.

I WHAT IS AN ESSAY?
A Define an essay page 2
The purpose of this “quiz” is both for students to realize what they already
know about essays and to learn the proper terms for the features of an essay.
In addition, it serves as an icebreaker for students to get to know one another.
For this reason, you may wish to have students do the exercise in small groups
instead of pairs. The answers are intended to be obvious, but it is still a good
idea to go over them with the whole class.
Answers
1 c 5 a 9 a
2 b 6 c 10 b
3 b 7 b 11 b
4 b 8 b 12 c

B Notice essay format page 3

Read through the information box, Essay Format, with your students by reading it
aloud yourself, by calling on a volunteer to read it aloud, or by having students
read it silently to themselves, raising their hands to show you when they are
finished. Tell them that the gray boxes found throughout the book contain
useful information. As you read this box, tell the class about specific preferences
you have for the formats of their essays, including whether you will accept
handwritten or only typed essays. Remind students that different instructors
will have different requirements, and that they should always check with a new
instructor if they are not sure what is required. The recommendations given here
are standard to North American English academic essays.

1
 Practice 1 page 4
After going through the directions, make sure that students understand that there
are three body paragraphs to label and three topic sentences, so they will have to
use the letters a and n three times each.
Answers
1 h 4 n 7 f 10 a 13 g 16 n
2 e 5 l 8 a 11 a 14 n 17 j
3 k 6 m 9 b 12 c 15 d 18 i

C Understand the purpose page 6

Read through the information box, Purposes for Essays, with your students.
Explain that an essay assignment is usually some kind of a “test” for a student –
of critical thinking, of the student’s understanding of an issue raised in class, or
of a student’s ability to research. Clear writing and accurate language will help
students successfully demonstrate their intellectual abilities.

Practice 2 page 7

Answers
1 b
2 a
3 a
4 c
5 c
6 b

II AUDIENCE AND TOPIC

A Identify your audience page 8
Read through the information box, Audience, with your students. Tell your
students whom you consider their primary audience to be – you? Their
classmates? Someone else? If you will have different audiences throughout your
course, let them know that you will always tell them the audience in advance.
If their audience is you and/or their classmates, point out that they will get to
know more about the audience as the class progresses.

Practice 3 pages 8–9

Point out to students before they begin that there are several possible answers,
depending on the focus a writer wants to take. However, some elements will
more naturally lend themselves to some audiences.

2
 Possible Answers
1 • People who have no knowledge about vegetarianism: b, any of the others
• People who are concerned about the environment and health: a, c, d, i, j
• People who are interested in world cultures: a, g, h
• People who don’t have much time for cooking or money for food: a, e, f
2 Answers will vary.

Practice 4 page 9

Answers
1 c
2 a
3 a
4 a
5 b

B Choose a topic page 10

Read through the information box, Topic Selection, with your students. Let
students know if in general you will be assigning topics or letting them choose
their own. Point out that while a personal interest in a topic makes the essay
more interesting to write, there are other criteria that must be considered during
topic selection. In this book, the criteria are pointed out in each chapter.

Practice 5 page 10
If you like, have pairs share some of their topics and write them on the board for
the whole class to see. Point out that a great variety of topics can be drawn from
a general idea.
Answers will vary.

III PROCESS
Practice 6 page 11
Read through the information box, The Writing Process, with your students. It’s
important that they understand that all successful writers follow this process, not
just students.
Practice 6 draws an analogy between the process of writing and another artistic
process. You may choose to solicit examples of other activities students know
that follow a similar process; for example, planting a garden, planning and
cooking a meal, arranging or decorating a room, and so on.

Essay Writing Basics 3

 Answers
1 The artist gets ideas from her own life and from seeing other people’s
paintings.
2 She generates ideas for her painting by making some rough sketches.
3 She chooses the parts of her sketches she likes best and organizes them.
4 She paints the painting.
5 She shows the painting to her friend. He gives his opinion and make
some suggestions.
6 She makes some changes based on their comments.
7 She displays her painting.

Practice 7 page 12
Answers
a 4
b 7
c 3
d 2
e 1
f 6
g 5

Practice 8 page 12
Possible answer
A writer goes through several steps to create an essay. First comes choosing
a topic from reading, talking to other people, listening to lectures, personal
experience, and so on. Next comes brainstorming ideas onto paper and then
organizing the notes. After writing the first draft, the writer gets some feedback
from a reader, makes some changes and writes a second draft, and then hands in
the final paper for others to read and enjoy.

Learn from writing page 12

Read through the information box, Learning from Writing, with your students.
As your course progresses, share with your students examples of how you use
writing in your own life; for example, to write reports, papers, and articles.
Explain how you go through the various stages of the writing process and what
you learn from your writing. This will help students see that the skills they learn
and practice in this book will apply to their lives beyond the classroom.

4
Chapter
Explanatory Essays
1
For Chapter 1, students will read and analyze a sample explanatory essay and
then write a five-paragraph academic essay that explains the significance of a
person, activity, or event in their lives. The chapter leads them through the steps
of the writing process as they gather ideas, compose a thesis statement, organize
their ideas into an outline, write a first draft, exchange and analyze drafts with a
classmate, and then revise and edit their drafts to submit final polished essays.
Students also learn and practice common transitions to help their writing flow
smoothly and sound more sophisticated. They focus in this chapter on the
introduction and conclusion, including different types of effective hooks, the
placement of the thesis statement, and how to tie a conclusion back to the
introduction. In the editing section students work on writing short but expressive
essay titles, and they check their essays to make sure that their explanations
are clear and complete. They learn to punctuate sentences correctly with the
transitions presented in the earlier part of the chapter.
With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 13. Ask, What people
and events have been important in your life? Call on volunteers to share answers or
let students give answers in small groups. At this point, they do not need to go
into detail about the people or the events; they are just bringing these ideas to
mind.

I GETTING STARTED
A Think about the sample essay topic page 14
Tell students that they are going to read a student’s essay about her school years.
In preparation, they will learn some vocabulary for talking about school and
discuss general ideas related to the topic.
The chart shows information about the educational system in the United
States. If it seems relevant or interesting, point out to students that grades are
sometimes divided differently in different cities, depending on the population of
the area. (For example, in some cities, elementary school comprises grades 1–6,
students in grades 7–9 attend a junior high school, and high school is only three
grades, 10–12.) Have students work in small groups to discuss the questions.
Mix students from different countries or areas if possible. Call on volunteers to
share information that surprised or interested them about their partners with the
whole class.

5
 B Read the sample essay pages 15–16
Read or have a student read aloud the focus question before students read the
essay. They can jot down their ideas in the margins or on a separate piece of
paper as they read. Have students nod or raise their hands to let you know when
they are finished reading. Then have them briefly answer the focus question with
a partner. As a class, discuss their answers.
If you wish, students can discuss these additional questions in small groups or as
a class. Write the questions on the board.
1 Do you think most students would learn the same lessons from boarding
school? Why or why not?
2 Do you think the writer could have learned the same lessons from a day
school? Why or why not?
3 What would be some benefits and challenges for you of attending
boarding school?

C Notice the essay structure page 16

Read through the information box, Explanatory Essays, with your students.
Emphasize that even an explanatory essay usually gives the writer’s opinion or
judgment about the topic; this opinion is usually the writer’s reason for writing
the essay.

Practice 1 pages 16–17

Have students answer the questions alone and then compare answers with a
partner or group, or do the exercise in pairs. Ask students to mark the sample
essay when directed with a pencil, not a pen, in case they need to change their
answers. The task guides students to discover the essay’s purpose, structure, and
key features. Since these elements are important for each student’s writing, go
over answers with the whole class. Point out how the topic sentences of the body
paragraphs are located in different places (at the end, in the middle, and at the
beginning).
Answers
1 b
2 She believes that attending boarding school benefited her.
3 Even though these things were not easy to learn, the lessons from my
boarding school experience made me an independent woman and a
productive member of society.
4 c
5 how to make true friends, obey rules, and return her parents’ love
6 Even now, the friends I made there are my treasures; However, I slowly
learned that the rules of the school helped me to live easily and well;
While staying at school, I learned to be thankful for my parents.
7 c

6 Chapter 1
D Select a topic page 17
Read through the information box, Topics, with your students. Point out that it’s
important to choose a good topic before going further with the writing process, if
possible.

Practice 2 page 18
Have students work with partners to analyze the topics. Make sure they
understand that most poor topics can be improved. Then have each pair join
another to share their answers, or call on volunteers to share their answers with
the whole class.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 19

Remind students to choose a topic they are interested in. If students choose their
own topics, make sure they show them to you before they begin the next section.

E Brainstorm page 19
Read through the information box, Listing, with your students. Emphasize that
their purpose when brainstorming is to collect as many ideas as they can. They
will evaluate their ideas later.

Practice 3 page 20
Have students work in pairs. One student can open the book to the essay, and
the other student can open the book to the exercise. Point out to students that
the list contains single words as well as short and long phrases.
Answers
Ideas not used: expensive for parents; best friend was Sachiko; classes were
difficult; prepared me for college; class president; tennis team.
These ideas were not directly related to the writer’s topic and opinion.

Your turn page 20

Give students five minutes to write. If they need more time, give them an
additional five minutes. Tell them that since they will refer to their ideas in
future classes, they should keep their lists.

F Discuss your ideas with others page 20

Have students take turns in a small group sharing their topics and brainstormed
ideas. Other group members should ask questions to help the writer think of
details or explanations. The writer should take notes on any new ideas that come
up. If a group does not seem to be successful, exchange some of its members
with a different group.

Explanatory Essays 7
II PREPARING THE FIRST DRAFT
A Compose the thesis statement page 21
Read through the information box, The Thesis Statement, with your students.
Point out that the thesis statement comes at the beginning of the essay, usually
at the end of the introduction, and signals to the reader the topic and the writer’s
opinion. In academic writing, clarity is extremely important, and the thesis
statement should clearly indicate the writer’s position.

Practice 4 page 22
Have students explain why each “a” thesis is weaker. Make sure students see how
the second “b” answer in each pair (items 1–2, 3–4, and 5–6) is a stronger thesis
statement than the first “b” answer because it is more detailed.
Possible Answers
1 “a” doesn’t name the topic (we assume that what the writer learned will be
the topic) and is too broad; “b” specifies what the brother taught (how to
be a better person)
2 “a” is broader than “b”; “b” specifies three aspects of being a better person
3 “a” isn’t clear enough; “b” specifies why it was a great vacation (it changed
the person)
4 “a” is broader than “b”; “b” specifies what the person realized (the value of
an education)
5 “a” doesn’t give the writer’s opinion; “b” specifies how the person
perceived the failure (as lucky)
6 “a” isn’t as clear as “b”; “b” specifies in what way the failure was lucky
(found a new career)

Practice 5 page 22
Students can do the exercise in pairs, or do it individually and then compare
answers with a partner. Call on volunteers to read their revised thesis statements
to the whole class, or write them on the board.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 23

You may wish to model analyzing a thesis statement before students work in
pairs. Call on a volunteer to write a thesis statement on the board. Go through
the questions listed with the whole class. If the thesis statement is not strong,
guide the student through a revision. Then have students work in pairs. Tell
students they will be using the thesis statements for the essay, so they must keep
a copy of it to bring to future classes.

8 Chapter 1
B Edit your brainstorming page 23
Students should consider their thesis statements as they reread their lists of
ideas. Remind students of the kinds of information the student writer of “Life
Lessons from Boarding School” crossed out (ideas that did not directly support
her thesis statement).

C Order ideas page 23

Read through the information box, Emphatic Order, with your students. Point
out that it’s easiest for a reader to remember the final idea in an essay, so many
writers choose to put the most important idea last. Explain that ordering the
importance of ideas is subjective, and there isn’t necessarily a “right” order; in
addition, sometimes a writer might not consider one idea to be more important
than another. However, the writer should still consider which idea should be the
final one the reader encounters.

Practice 6 page 23
Point out to students that the order they choose will depend on what points
they consider the most important. Each student’s answer may be different, but
students need to explain why they have chosen a specific order.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 24

Have students work in pairs. Remind them that the final decision about order
is their own, and they do not need to follow the order their partners suggest.
However, if partners choose a different order, they should discuss their reasons.

D Make an outline page 24

Read through the information box, Outlining, with your students. Sometimes
students feel that outlining is more time-consuming than just beginning to write
the first draft. Explain that a clear outline actually helps students write faster,
because they will know which ideas to write when. It also prevents problems
with organization that could cause significant rewriting later on.

Practice 7 pages 24–25

Point out to students that the ideas in the outline are worded slightly differently
from the sentences that the student writer used; however, the ideas are the same.

Explanatory Essays 9
 Answers

Basic Outline
I. INTRODUCTION: Thesis statement: I learned how to make true friends,
obey rules, and return my parents’ love.
II. I made friends with different kinds of people.
III. I learned why and how to obey rules.
IV. I was thankful for my parents’ encouragement and tried to do my best.
V. CONCLUSION: In boarding school, I learned that I could grow by
facing challenges.

Practice 8 page 25
After students complete this exercise, have them compare the outlines in Practice
7 and Practice 8 and imagine writing an essay from each one. They should see
that a writer working from the outline in Practice 8 would have an easier and
faster time writing a first draft. If you like, you can show how each level of the
outline is numbered or lettered in a different way; however, students should
not worry too much about numbering or lettering, but rather concentrate on
the ideas. They can simply indent to show further levels of detail. For further
practice, have students outline another one of the body paragraphs in the same
way, or have the whole class help you do it on the board.
Answers
A. 2. hobbies
B. 1. required patience and thoughtfulness
C. 1. a. being homesick; b. disliking certain classes

Your turn page 26

Encourage students to make a detailed outline, but if they don’t feel ready, let
them start with a more basic one. They can also add ideas to the outline as they
discuss it with their groups.

E Use transitions page 26

Read through the information box, Transitions, with your students. Explain that
combining sentences helps their writing sound more sophisticated and smooth.
There are only seven coordinating conjunctions, and they connect sentences
in the same way and are punctuated in the same way. Encourage students to
remember the seven coordinating conjunctions. (They will learn the punctuation
rules in Section IV).

10 Chapter 1
Practice 9 page 27

Answers
1 so 3 so 5 but 7 In addition/so
2 yet 4 so 6 nor 8 for
Read through the information box, Because and Therefore, with your students. Point
out that these are not coordinating conjunctions, and are used somewhat differently.

Practice 10 page 27
Point out to students that they need only circle the word and when it connects
two clauses. For example, in these two sentences in the first paragraph, students
would circle the following: Those years were challenging and full of problems,
but still, I gained a lot from them. After I graduated from elementary school, I left my
family and went to live at a boarding school because my hometown was very far from
my middle school.
Answers
Paragraph 1: however, but, and, because, but
Paragraph 2: Therefore, However, so,
Paragraph 3: because, because, however, because, However, and,
because, and, and, and
Paragraph 4: and, In addition, because, because, because, but, so
Paragraph 5: and, In addition

Practice 11 pages 27–28

Go over the directions together with students. Point out that they don’t
necessarily have to combine the two sentences into one sentence. A transition
can join two sentences.
Possible answers
1 Professor Hayden gives a lot of homework. However, he is a popular instructor.
2 A part-time job teaches responsibility, and it gives you spending money.
3 My parents both worked when I was in school, so I had to learn to take
care of myself.
4 Playing team sports is supposed to build cooperation and group spirit.
However, I don’t like feeling responsible for letting my team down if I
make a mistake.
5 In the middle of seventh grade, my family moved to a new city. I was sad
to leave my friends behind, but I quickly made new friends.
6 On Labor Day, people in the United States honor workers, so workers get a
day off to rest on that day.
7 Learning a language is like playing a sport because you have to practice a
lot in order to improve.
8 Learning new software applications will help me find a better job.
Therefore, I’m going to take a class at the computer center.

Explanatory Essays 11
 Your turn page 28
Check that students have underlined transitions. Remind students to keep their
body paragraphs with other pieces of the essays that they have written so far.

F Write an introduction page 28

Read through the information box, The Structure of an Introduction, with your
students. Tell students that they will be examining the different parts of an
introduction in more detail in this chapter and in subsequent chapters.

Practice 12 pages 28–29

Answers
hook

I hated school! Now, however, when I feel discouraged by my problems, I

overcome this by trying to remember my years at boarding school. Those years
were challenging and full of problems, but still, I gained a lot from them. After
I graduated from elementary school, I left my family and went to live at a
boarding school because my hometown was very far from my middle school. I
stayed there until I graduated from high school. It was very difficult for me at
background first, but eventually I learned how to make true friends, obey rules, and return
my parents’ love. Even though these things were not easy to learn, the lessons thesis
from my boarding school experience made me an independent woman and a statement
productive member of society.

Read through the information box, Hooks, with your students. Point out that
a hook can be the last thing that they write. Students should not fail to begin
writing just because they cannot at first think of a catchy hook.

Practice 13 page 30

Possible answers
Hooks 3 and 5 are not effective; hooks 1, 2, 4, and 6 are effective. Students will
have different favorites.
1 Effective: It is interesting and catchy.
2 Effective: It is interesting and imaginative.
3 Not effective: Hooks should not announce the topic of the essay in this
fashion.
4 Effective: It uses questions to draw the reader in.
5 Not effective: It asks a question the reader might answer with “no” and
then lose interest.
6 Effective: It begins with an interesting quotation.

12 Chapter 1
 Your turn page 30
Students may write more than three hooks if they can. Invite a few volunteers to
read their favorite hooks.

G Write a conclusion page 30

Read through the information box, The Conclusion, with your students. Tell
students that if they find they want to discuss an additional idea in their
conclusion, they can go back and add that idea to their outline and body.

Practice 14 page 31

Answers
a, b, e

Practice 15 page 31

Answers
Conclusion 1 is the weakest, because it isn’t detailed enough. Conclusion 3
is also weak because it adds new information.
Conclusion 2 is the strongest. It matches hook 2 from Practice 13.

Your turn page 31

Students do not have to tie their conclusions back to the hook, although if it’s
possible to do so, encourage them to try.

H Write the first draft page 32

Let students know that as they write their first drafts, they can make changes
to the pieces they have already written, if they wish. However, they should not
completely revise their thesis statements or outlines without checking with you
first. Students can write their first drafts in class, or they can write or type them
as homework.

III REVISING YOUR WRITING

A Benefit from peer feedback pages 32–33
Read through the information box, Using and Giving Peer Feedback, with your
students. Make sure students understand that they are not grading their partner’s
paper, but rather responding to it. Tell them that it’s just as important (if not
more so!) to give positive, encouraging comments as it is to point out potential
problems. In addition, tell students that a writer won’t always agree with the
comments from a peer reviewer, and that the writer is not obligated to change
the paper based on the reviewer’s comments. However, the writer should always
consider the comments carefully.

Explanatory Essays 13
 Have students exchange papers with a partner. If you don’t have an even number
of students in your class, have one group of three exchange papers. Give students
sufficient class time to read their partner’s essay carefully. When both students
in a pair have completed their feedback forms, they should go over the forms
together, one at a time.

B Title your essay page 34

Read through the information box, Titles, with your students. Like the hook, the
title does not need to be written before the rest of the essay, and in fact, is often
written last.

Practice 16 page 34

Possible answers

Answers will vary. However, Title 1 could be considered too boring. Title 3 is
definitely too long, and should not be a complete sentence. Title 6 could be
considered too broad, although opinions will vary.

Your turn page 34

Have students check their title for correct capitalization.

C Critical thinking page 35

Read through the information box, Revising, with your students. Encourage
students to read their essays out loud at home, either alone or to a friend, to
hear their writing in a different way. They should consider each sentence. Is every
sentence in the essay necessary? Is every necessary sentence present in the essay?

Practice 17 page 35
Students can also do this exercise in small groups.
Possible answers
1 The paragraph is trying to explain how hard the writer’s brother works.
However, the point is just repeated over and over in slightly different ways
and is not truly explained. Some of the repetitive sentences should be
deleted, and explanations and examples should be added.
2 The paragraph explains how the writer’s brother set a good example. The
explanation is clear and thorough.
3 The paragraph is trying to explain how the writer’s brother is also the
writer’s friend. However, the sentences about other people’s relationships
with their brothers are not relevant and should be deleted. Explanations
and examples should be added.

14 Chapter 1
 Your turn page 35
Have students check to make sure that their explanations are thorough. They can
consider the feedback from their peer reviewers as well.

D Make revision decisions page 36

Students should consider their partner’s comments and their own ideas.

E Write the second draft page 36

Students should use their notes to write the second draft. This can be done in
class or as homework.

IV EDITING YOUR WRITING

A Punctuate transitions page 36
Read through the information box, Punctuation with FANBOYS, with your
students. Point out that one reason students memorize these transitions together
is because they are punctuated in the same way.

Practice 18 pages 36–37

Answers
1 My family hosted a foreign exchange student, so I wanted to study abroad,
too.
2 I had to quit the team or improve my grades.
3 I couldn’t follow what he was saying, for he was talking too quickly.
4 My father lost his job, yet he didn’t become discouraged.
5 My parents told me I looked fine, but I had no confidence in my
appearance.
6 My father found out I had told a lie and punished me for it.

Practice 19 page 37
Read through the information box, Punctuation with Other Transitions, with your
students. Point out that while a comma is not required before because when it
comes in the middle of a sentence, occasionally they will see a comma there
when the sentence is very long. After completing Practice 19, for further practice,
students can also go back and check the sentences they wrote in Practice 11 for
correct punctuation.

Explanatory Essays 15
 Possible answers
1 Everybody liked my uncle because he was funny and kind.
2 Movies taught me a lot about far-off places. In addition, they taught me
about different kinds of people.
3 I didn’t have any experience, yet I wanted to find a job in sales.
4 Some computer games teach children how to think. Therefore, these
games should be considered educational.
5 Because there have been many accidents at that intersection, the city
should install a traffic light.
6 Many students study computer programming in college. However, there
are not enough jobs for all of them.
7 I want to study French or German, so I can travel easily in Europe.

Practice 20 page 38

Answers

A second advantage of attending a public school was meeting many

different kinds of people. The children in my neighborhood were similar to me.
Our parents had similar types of jobs, and,_ we lived in similar houses. However,
^ ^
at my school, I met children from richer,_ and poorer families. Some children
^
lived in apartments,_ or on farms. I learned to get along with many different
^
kinds of children, so I can get along with many kinds of people today. Because,_
^ ^
private schools in my country cost a lot of money, only rich children can go
there. Therefore, children at private schools don’t interact with poorer children.
^
However, it is important to learn to interact with all kinds of people, for you will
^ ^
meet them at some point in your life.

Your turn page 38

Students can also exchange essays with a partner. However, be sensitive to cases
where weaker students may feel criticized by stronger students.

B Write the final draft page 38

This is a good time to make sure that students understand any special
requirements you have for essay format, such as what information should go
on the first page, whether they are to use a pencil, pen, or computer, and so on.
Make sure students know when the final draft is due.

16 Chapter 1
V FOLLOWING UP
A Share your writing page 39
Sharing writing with others is a valuable activity. It emphasizes writing as
communication, develops community, and provides closure. This activity should
take place before the final draft is turned in, so that the sharing will take place
before you have marked and graded the essays. Remind students that at this
point, they are only making positive comments about the essays they hear.

B Check your progress page 39

The Progress Check is the final step in each chapter. It is essential for students to
evaluate their progress as they complete each essay. For this first time, however,
you may want to provide some help. One way to do this is to photocopy page
39 and have students turn it in (uncompleted) with their essays. Then you can
fill in the Progress Check for each student. Another way is for you to have a brief
conference with each student to discuss the Progress Check and how it can be
filled in. One additional way is for you to give students time in class to look
over the returned essays, to determine their strengths and weaknesses based on
your comments, and then to fill out their own Progress Checks. If you choose the
third way, you can circulate around the room during the activity, checking the
students’ responses and providing assistance. The value of having students fill
out the form in the book is that they won’t misplace it, and it will be easier for
them to refer to it throughout the course.

Explanatory Essays 17
 Chapter
Problem-Solution Essays
62
For Chapter 2, students will look at some statistics and read a student essay
about how sleep affects school performance. The chapter inspires students
to identify a problem that is worth writing about and to brainstorm
some possible solutions. Students will learn to organize an essay around
the solution(s) they are proposing. They will study how to write an
introduction, thesis, and conclusion, specifically for a problem-solution
essay. They will learn to include their readers in their essay. They will learn
ways to avoid making overgeneralizations, especially by using modals in
conditional sentences.
With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 41. Ask, What
problems have you read or heard about lately in the news? What problems have
you dealt with in school? Prompt students as needed to elicit answers.

I GETTING STARTED
A Think about the sample essay topic page 42
To open the topic of sleep and school performance, ask students how much
sleep they got last night. Write their numbers on the board. As a class, discuss
how much sleep is enough. Again, write students’ opinions on the board. Then
look at the bar graph on page 42. As a class or in small groups, have students
discuss the questions at the bottom of the page.
Answers
1 70 percent of such students will have trouble waking up in the morning;
64 percent will feel tired during class; 48 percent will daydream in class; and
15 percent will fall asleep in class.
2–5 Answers will vary.

B Read the sample essay pages 43–44

Read or have a student read aloud the focus question before the class reads
the essay. After students have read the essay, put them in pairs to discuss the
problem and the solution discussed in the essay. After the discussion, get
an overview of students’ responses to the two focus questions, Has the writer
convinced you that the problem is serious? and Is the solution reasonable? Encourage
students to explain their answers.

18
 If you wish, students can discuss these additional questions in small groups or as
a class. Write the questions on the board.
1 In addition to lack of sleep, what else might cause you to daydream in class?
2 In addition to lack of sleep, what else might cause you to feel tired?
3 When you don’t get enough sleep, what is usually the reason?

C Notice the essay structure page 44

Read through the information box, Problem-Solution Essays, with your students.
This box introduces the main content of a problem-solution essay.

Practice 1 page 44
Have students answer these questions individually according to their
understanding of the student essay. Then have them compare answers with a
partner or in a small group. As students discuss their answers, encourage them to
share ideas, rather than simply to figure out who is “right” and who is “wrong.”
Instruct students to refer specifically to the contents of the essay in order to
explain their thinking. The task guides students to discover the essay’s purpose,
structure, and key features. Since these elements are important for students’ own
writing, go over answers with the whole class.
Possible answers
1 a
2 The problem is that sleepy students bother others.
3 Thesis statement: To solve these problems, I think that teachers should make
sleep a part of the class requirement.
It proposes making sleep a part of the class requirement.
4 Yes, the explanation helps me to understand how sleep would be recorded,
tracked, and graded.
5 b
6 Yes, the writer convinces me by pointing out how rules about language and
dress put forth a higher standard in those areas.
7 Conclusion: Teachers should motivate students to get enough sleep by
making a sleep requirement and by making sure that students obey it.
Body: Teachers can also use other grading policies to strengthen the sleep
requirement. Conclusion: This is no different from many other types of
rules that students routinely follow in order to get a high level of academic
performance. Body: The sleep requirement should be like any other activity
that students are graded on, such as homework, attendance, tests, or
participation. Conclusion: If teachers show that they value rested students,
it is probable that students will value their rest more, too. Body: If a school
sets high expectations about behavior, students will be more likely to work
to reach those expectations.
8 This solution might help to solve the problem, because students care about
their grades. However, it wouldn’t completely solve it, because students are
busy and some of them like to go to bed late.

Problem-Solution Essays 19
 D Select a topic page 45
Read through the information box, Choosing a Topic, with your students. Talk about
why it is important for students to think of a problem they or somebody they
know has had. List the reasons on the board. (Examples: Their experience gives
them some knowledge. Their experience gives them some passion about the topic.
They will likely already have ideas about how to solve the problem. It is easier to
write about something specific than something hypothetical or not of personal
concern.)

Practice 2 page 45
Model the process of filling out this chart for the first possible essay topic,
“Some students bully other students at school.” As you answer the question in
each column, ask yourself Why? (Is the problem relevant to you? Why?) Answer
each why question in order to model how you would think through each
question. Give students about 10–15 minutes to complete this chart. Then go
over their answers, discussing their thoughts and reasons.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 46

Make sure every student chooses or writes a topic. Point out that students
may be able to slightly reword these topics to make them more interesting for
themselves. For example, discuss how item 3 could be changed to read: Nervous
people can find it difficult to meet or socialize with others, or Shy people can find it
difficult to find a job.

E Brainstorm page 46
Read through the information box, Freewriting, with your students. If students
are unfamiliar with freewriting, model your own freewriting on the chalkboard.
For example, you could freewrite about the topic of learning vocabulary or
speaking in front of a class. In order to be effective, your model should include
abbreviated words, lists, random grammar, and so on. Freewriting is best done
with a time limit, as it focuses and pushes students. Time your modeling for two
minutes. Make sure to include solutions.

Practice 3 pages 46–47

As they read this freewriting, remind students to focus on possible solutions.
The problem, naturally, is mentioned several times throughout this freewriting.
However, more than the problem, the potential solutions are important, as these
will be the basis for the organization of the essay.

20 Chapter 2
 Answers

Children in America are getting really fat. It’s a shameful problem. Some
people in the world are starving, and Americans are eating too much. Many
reasons for their weight problems. First, they eat too much. They should eat less.
At restaurants in America, they serve huge portions. Nobody can finish it. Need
smaller portions, eat until full. What is the prize for eating a big meal? Dessert.
Dessert, sweets, candy, cookies. Should eat less sugar!
Candy is a prize in a lot of situations. Ex: Some schools give candy as a
prize for doing homework or winning a competition. Food shouldn’t be a prize.
Another big problem is snacking. Kids always snack . . . home, school, camp.
Too many snacks! American kids snack all of the time – libraries, bus stops,
parking lots, cars, movies, watching TV. Bad eating habits. Need meals, not
snacks. When they get older, they will continue with these bad habits. Start
good eating habits young. Should sit down and eat healthy meals. Americans
eat while they walk down the street. In my country, this is socially unacceptable.
Eating is one problem, but no exercise is the next reason. Kids sit around too
much. Watch TV. Drive everywhere. No walking or biking. When we visit my
parents’ country, everybody is walking or biking. In America, most of my friends
have video game systems, computers, and TVs in their bedroom. Even keep
snacks in their bedroom! Schools don’t help. Gym class is only once or twice a
week. Need more sports!

Your turn page 47

Time students as they brainstorm for five minutes. Encourage students to do
their freewriting in their notebook or on paper that they can keep. Discourage
freewriting on scratch paper, as students will repeatedly refer back to their
freewriting for ideas as they produce their essays. After students freewrite, have
them check to make sure that they have included one or two solutions.

F Discuss your ideas with others page 47

Encourage students to use this opportunity to explore new ideas, new ways of
thinking about the problem, and new solutions. Remind students that their
freewriting is not a final product. While some ideas may end up in the final
essay, others may not.

Problem-Solution Essays 21
II PREPARING THE FIRST DRAFT
A Organize the essay page 48
Read through the information box, The Structure of a Problem-Solution Essay,
with your students. Think of a problem that immediately affects your class of
students, however small. For example, there is never enough chalk, or the room
gets too hot in the afternoon. As a class, brainstorm several possible solutions
to the problem. Then write on the board two outlines for two different possible
problem-solution essays.
• Type 1: Several solutions
Introduction Room is hot in afternoon: many ways to solve
Paragraph Close blinds before sun reaches room
Paragraph Open windows during class
Paragraph Get a fan
• Type 2: One solution
Introduction Room is hot in afternoon: one way to solve
Paragraph Get a different room: east side of building is cooler at that time
Paragraph No need to mess with curtains, blinds, windows, fans, etc.

Practice 4 pages 48–49

You may want to help students get started by reading through the two outlines
together. Then, rather than telling them the correct answers, point out the
information in the outlines that will help them to find the answers.
Answers
1 a
2 a – IV (third body paragraph)
b – II (first body paragraph)
c – III (second body paragraph)

Your turn page 49

Have students look again at their freewriting and at their notes from their group
discussions about their freewriting to decide whether their essays will focus
on one or several solutions. Remind students that their essays do not need to
include every solution that was named in their freewriting. For example, if a
student has one main solution, and a small, optional side solution, the student
may want the essay to focus only on the main solution, leading to a Type 2 essay.

B Plan the introduction page 50

Read through the information box, Introduction to a Problem-Solution Essay, with
your students. Explain to students that the introductory paragraph is usually
the only paragraph in a problem-solution essay that focuses primarily on the
problem, and it does this only to lead to the thesis statement. Explain that if an
entire problem-solution essay focused primarily on the problem, then it could

22 Chapter 2
 be seen as a “complaint essay.” This would be a non-standard essay and is not
being taught in this chapter.
As a class, refer to the sample essay, “Eight Hours a Night,” on pages 43–44.
Together, reread the introduction. Discuss these topics:
Is there a hook?
What is the problem?
When and where is it a problem?
Who and what causes the problem?
Who is affected by the problem?
What is the solution?

Practice 5 page 50
Give students time to examine the introductory paragraph. Encourage students
to mark it up by underlining or highlighting. This will help them to focus on the
key material in the paragraph. Ask each pair or group to answer one question.
Answers
1 “ . . . they may not want you.”
2 The local shopping mall is considering kicking out its teenage shoppers.
3 It’s a problem in the mall, especially on weekend evenings.
4 Teenagers cause the problem.
5 “Other mall-goers” are affected.
6 The solution is to bring teen patrols into the malls on weekend evenings.

Your turn page 50

As students plan their introductory paragraphs, remind them that they are just
planning its contents now. Later, when they actually draft the paragraph, they
will pick and choose from the ideas they now generate. Later still, when they
write, they will decide on wording and the organization of their ideas.

C Compose the thesis statement page 51

Read through the information box, Offering a Solution, with your students.
Once again, help students to focus on the fact that the thesis statement for a
problem-solution essay focuses on the solution, not the problem. When people
think about problems, they often feel passionate and frustrated, and this can
cause them to focus on the problem. However, such a focus is not the thrust of a
problem-solution essay.

Practice 6 page 51
Answer
3 In order to maintain a healthy weight, American children need to change
many lifestyle habits related to when they eat, how much they eat, and how
much physical activity they get. This thesis is the only one that covers the
three main solutions mentioned in the freewriting.

Problem-Solution Essays 23
 Your turn page 51
Students can write the paragraph in class or as homework.

D Make an outline page 51

Read through the information box, Outlining, with your students. Emphasize
that the outlining process gives students another chance to generate and consider
new ideas.

Practice 7 page 52

Answers
1 The third paragraph is not included in the essay.
2 The writer decided to keep point B, that students would lose points, and she
put it instead into the second paragraph of the essay.
3 The writer softened point B, which says that students follow rules. Instead,
her essay says that when schools set high expectations, students are more
likely to reach them.

Your turn page 53

As students begin work on their outlines, remind them that outlining is often a
messy process. Outlines often include lots of crossed-out words, arrows, question
marks, and so on. A draft of an outline would rarely look as neat as the outline
for “Eight Hours a Night.” Encourage students first to draft an outline, and later
to write it out neatly.

E Plan the conclusion page 53

Read through the information box, The Conclusion, with your students. In
a problem-solution essay, the conclusion often repeats essentially the same
information as the introductory paragraph. As with other parts of the essay, its
ultimate focus must remain on the solution, not the problem.

Practice 8 pages 53–54

After students have answered the question, discuss their responses.
Possible answers
1 Not a good closing sentence: too general
2 May be okay, comments optimistically about the likely success of the
solution
3 Not a good closing sentence: doesn’t relate to the solution
4 Good closing sentence: optimistic, focuses on readers and others

Your turn page 54

Students can write this in class or as homework.

24 Chapter 2
 F Discuss your ideas with others page 54
As a class, read through the questions. Encourage students to focus their
discussion on these specific questions. Remind them that they will likely find
wording and grammar issues that may seem wrong, but at this point, such issues
are not the focus of the discussion.

G Write the first draft page 54

Writing the first draft is likely to be a time-consuming step, despite the thorough
groundwork students have already done. This is an excellent homework step,
though it can also be done in class. Facilities permitting, it makes good sense for
students to write the first draft on a computer. Remind them to print the draft
for use in class, labeled “first draft.”

III REVISING YOUR WRITING

A Benefit from peer feedback page 55
Circulate around the room during this activity and make sure students only
check for what is on the checklist. Make sure students have adequate time (at
least 20 minutes) to read and review their partner’s essay, and also sufficient
time to meet with each other to go over the feedback forms (about 10 minutes).

B Include your reader page 56

Read through the information box, Including Your Reader, with your students.
The box names four common techniques for involving readers, with examples
for each. As a class, try to generate an additional example of each of the four
techniques. Then, as a class, try to think of one or two additional ways that a
writer can include his or her reader.

Practice 9 page 57

Possible answers
1 Introduction B includes the reader more.
2 The writer starts with a question for the reader, uses the second person (if
you, you may), and describes how the problem relates to a large group of
people (most people, many people).
3 The writer could write not only about herself, but also about others. Also,
the writer could explain how the problem relates to others. The writer could
ask questions. The writer could mention the emotions, hopes, and fears of
the reader.

Your turn page 57

Remind students that in order to judge their essays, they must look specifically,
word-by-word, at what they’ve written. They must consider each statement as it

Problem-Solution Essays 25
 will affect the reader. In other words, scanning their writing for its overall gist is
insufficient.

C Think critically page 58

Read through the information box, Evaluating Solutions, with your students.
Discuss the sample sentences about the correlation between smoke and cancer.
Point out to students that it is difficult to prove a causal relationship. Remind
students that just because something has happened once does not mean that it
will always happen that way. Just because a student has had a given experience
with some problem does not mean that every person with the same problem
would have the same experience.

Practice 10 pages 58–59

After students have completed these questions, discuss their answers.
Answers
1 Inaccurate. If you get good grades in school, you are more likely to get a
good job.
2 OK
3 Inaccurate. Driving more slowly can lead to fewer road accidents.
4 Inaccurate. If students don’t play video games, they may have more
opportunities to make friends.
5 Inaccurate. Cutting up your credit cards can help keep you out of debt.
6 Inaccurate. Rested students may have a better chance of getting higher
grades.
7 Inaccurate. Many boys on sports teams are popular.
8 Inaccurate. Smoking may cause cancer.
9 OK

Your turn page 59

Circulate around the class, sitting with individual students to look at their essays.
Try to find at least one sentence per essay that could benefit from more critical
thought. In offering this feedback to the student, ask the student a question
about his or her idea. Rather than telling the student the problem with the
sentence, asking a question can inspire the student to identify the problem.

D Make revision decisions page 59

Remind the class that each student must make his or her own decision about
using the suggestions given during the peer feedback.

E Write the second draft page 59

Students can write their second drafts in class or as homework. Make sure that
the second draft includes the label “second draft.”

26 Chapter 2
IV EDITING YOUR WRITING
A Use hedging to avoid overgeneralization page 60
Read through the information box, Hedging, with your students. Review the prior
information box and exercise on critical thinking (pages 58–59). To teach the
idea of overgeneralization and to show the benefits of hedging, have students
work in pairs to create sentences with broad generalizations. Have them put their
sentences on the board. As a class, talk about the sentences and work to soften
their claims. Start with your own example, such as All ESL teachers have experience
living overseas.

Practice 11 page 61

In my classes, sleep-deprived students tend to disturb other students, and this

can make it hard to learn. No matter what class they are in, sleep-deprived
students are likely to cause problems. For example, they rarely contribute to
the classroom topic. If they do say anything in the class, it’s usually just to
answer a question that was already answered. Such sleepy students can even
kill motivation for students who are awake. When I see five people sleeping
with their heads on top of their desks, it is possible that I will feel sleepy too,
especially if it is a boring or an early morning class. Another problem with many
students who don’t get enough sleep is that it is not unusual for them to arrive
late to class, interrupting whatever is happening. To solve these problems, I think
that teachers should make sleep a part of the class requirement.

Practice 12 page 61
You may want to have volunteers write answers on the board so that you can
discuss errors and talk about alternative wording.
Possible answers
2 After giving birth, a large number of women may face challenges in
controlling their weight.
3 Many students who carry heavy backpacks are likely to experience back
trouble.
4 Quite a few people in my company frequently work overtime.
5 Most of my classmates say that they tend to listen to music while doing
their homework.
6 It is possible that some climbers at those altitudes will run out of breath
and need to breathe from an oxygen tank.
7 Many experts believe that diet soda is probably just as bad for your heath as
regular soda.
8 It seems that shy students rarely contribute to class discussions.
Problem-Solution Essays 27
 Practice 13 page 62

Possible answers
1 Eating a large breakfast can improve students’ performance during the day.
2 Drinking more than three cups of coffee a day is probably bad for your
health.
3 Most students who can’t get parking permits on campus should take the bus.
4 Putting at least five copies of each course book on reserve in the library is
likely to help students save money on textbooks.
5 Many students complain about the complicated course registration process.

Your turn page 62

As students check their drafts, circulate around the class, looking at students’
papers. If you see a word in an essay that could be softened, point to it or circle
it in the student’s paper.

B Use conditionals to hedge page 62

Read through the information box, Using Conditionals to Hedge, with your
students. Students at this level have often studied the basic conditional, “If
X, then Y.” Point out that this form is rarely taught with the option of using
modals. As a class, you should be able to generate a variety of conditional
sentences, rewriting them with various modals to weaken the degree of certainty.

Practice 14 page 63

Answers
1 If those students turn in identical essays, the teacher may want to talk to
them after class.
2 Students might be late to the assembly if the bus arrives late to school.
3 If you can’t commit to team practice on Thursdays, you may not be able to
compete in all of the games.
4 If Anna forgets her password again, the bank could simply refuse to give her
another ATM card.
5 You may get a better grade if you do the extra credit assignments.
6 If you don’t eat breakfast, you may feel tired in the afternoon.

Practice 15 page 63
Possible answers
2 If you recycle all your glass and plastic containers, you could save money on
your garbage bill.
3 If you buy your computer online, you might have to pay a shipping cost.
4 If you review new vocabulary regularly, even when you don’t have a test, you
will remember more words.
5 If you carry an extra sweater in your backpack, you may be happy to have it.
6 If you read one book a month, you may improve your writing.
28 Chapter 2
 Practice 16 page 63

Possible answers
The second and third sentences contain hedging. The first does not. The sentence
without hedging is trying to make its point optimistically.
2 If a school sets high expectations about behavior, students will be more
likely to work to reach those expectations.
3 If teachers show that they value rested students, it is probable that students
will value their rest more, too.

C Punctuate conditionals page 64

Read through the information box, Punctuating Conditionals, with your students.
Put more samples of conditionals on the board, or have students generate their
own samples as the basis for more class practice with conditionals.

Practice 17 page 64

Answers

Second, if high school students will learn more about U.S. history, they will
^ ^
likely be more active citizens when they are older. If they understand the events
will
and trials that have led to universal suffrage, students value their right to vote.
^
If they appreciate the historical development of voting rights in the United
States , it is possible that they will even feel honored by their right to vote. They
^
will surely go to the polls and cast their vote. Voting is just the beginning of
their participation as citizens, and it’s an important step, because it makes them
feel a part of the political process. If they will feel that they are members of this
^
process, many of them will surely be inspired to participate even more. They will
^
want to follow issues and get to know candidates if they realize that they are
part of the decision-making process.

Your turn page 64

Have students check and mark their second drafts.

D Write the final draft page 64

When students turn in their final drafts, you may also want to collect their first
and second drafts again as well. This can help you to comment on the changes
and improvements across drafts.

Problem-Solution Essays 29
V FOLLOWING UP
A Share your writing page 65
Read through the information box, Small-Group Read-Aloud, with your students.
After all the group members’ essays have been read, choose the one essay that
you think could be shared with a broader audience. With the class, discuss who
that audience is. A problem-solution essay might logically be shared with the
person or group responsible for or affected by the problem. For example, an
essay about long cafeteria lines at school might be shared with the person who
runs the cafeteria. If appropriate, encourage the students to share the chosen
essay with a broader audience.

B Check your progress page 65

When completing this progress check, students will have the benefit of your
feedback. However, encourage students to consider not only your input, but also
their own feelings about their writing. The progress check should reflect their
current understanding of their writing.

30 Chapter 2
Chapter
Comparison-Contrast Essays
3
For Chapter 3, students will consider different aspects of a similar issue and
then write an essay highlighting their similarities and/or differences. Students
will organize their ideas by using a Venn diagram and will write a sentence
supporting the thesis statement that shows the scope of the essay by listing its
main points. They will also learn and practice specific language to emphasize
similarities and differences, evaluate their ideas and sentences for relevancy, and
use language appropriate for an academic context.
With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 67. Ask, What are
some reasons people compare products or ideas? What have you compared recently?
Elicit answers from volunteers.

I GETTING STARTED
A Think about the sample essay topic page 68
Go over the chart briefly with the whole class to make sure students understand
all of the vocabulary and what the chart shows (how many million adult
Americans did these activities on a typical day in 2004). Then have students
answer the questions in small groups. If possible, mix groups by age, gender, and
nationality. If you like, ask one student in each group to take notes and to be
responsible for sharing some of the group’s answers with the whole class.
Answers
1 Most popular: use e-mail. Least popular: participate in an online auction.
2 People go online more for social reasons (assuming that e-mail is social and
not work-related – students can disagree about this).
3–7 Answers will vary.

B Read the sample essay pages 69–70

Read or have a student read aloud the focus question before students read the
essay. Ask students to think about the question, as well as the author’s purpose
for writing the essay, as they read. After they finish reading, have them briefly
answer the focus questions with a partner. As a class, discuss their answers.
If you wish, students can discuss these additional questions in small groups or as
a class. Write the questions on the board.
1 Do you communicate differently online? If so, how?
2 Have you ever played an online game? If so, which one(s)?

31
 C Notice the essay structure page 70
Read through the information box, Comparison-Contrast Essays, with your
students. Make sure students understand that typically writers compare
seemingly different things and contrast seemingly similar things. Point out that
there probably isn’t a strong reason to describe the differences between things
that are obviously different (for example, between an SUV and a bicycle), or the
similarities between things that are clearly similar (for example, a laptop and
a desktop computer). In addition, the purpose for comparing or contrasting
should be clear from the start.

Practice 1 page 71
Have students work through Practice 1 with a partner, or first answer the
questions individually and then compare answers with classmates.
Answers
1 Thesis statement: In fact, online friends have several advantages over face-to-
face friends.
2 Topic sentences:
First body paragraph: The Internet offers special methods of communication.
Second body paragraph: The feelings you have communicating online are
special, too.
Third body paragraph: The most important advantage of online friends
for me is the possibility of finding friends without any geographical
restriction.
3 Mostly contrasting.
4–7 Answers will vary.
8 He encourages readers to consider making some online friends.

D Select a topic page 71

Read through the information box, Topics, with your students. To get them thinking
about potential topics, ask them to remember a decision they recently made (or
will soon make) by comparing or contrasting, such as which computer to buy,
where to go on vacation, or what subject to study in college. Use one example to
discuss whether students would compare or contrast.

Practice 2 pages 71–72

After you check answers, ask students to notice how their choice to compare or
contrast depends on their purpose for writing.
Answers
1 a 4 a
2 b 5 a
3 b 6 b

32 Chapter 3
 Your turn page 72
Circulate while students are working to check their topics and offer help if
necessary.

E Brainstorm page 73
Read through the information box, Venn Diagrams, with your students. If any
students find it awkward to write their ideas in circles, they can instead use three
columns, with one column on the left for the first topic, one column on the
right for the second topic, and a middle column for ideas about both topics.

Practice 3 pages 73–74

Students can copy and fill in the Venn diagrams on a separate sheet of paper, if
they need more space.
Answers
Topic: online friends versus face-to-face friends
Purpose: to recommend making online friends

• play sports, do
• more honest and open activities in person
• can live anywhere • communicate • see facial expressions
• can meet people from with one person and body language
anywhere (girlfriend) at a time or in a • have to be awake at
• play MMORPG small group the same time
• can lie more easily • play games • have to be in the
• can communicate • express ideas and same place
with large numbers opinions • can spend time just
of people at the • value both kinds being together, not
same time communicating

Online Friends Face-to-Face Friends

Practice 4 page 74

Answers
The writer didn’t use see facial expressions and body language or can lie more easily
because they aren’t advantages of online friends. The writer also didn’t include
have to be awake at the same time, a disadvantage of communicating with friends
face-to-face.

Comparison-Contrast Essays 33
 Your turn page 74
Students should brainstorm by themselves. They can do this in class or for
homework. Remind students that they will keep and refer to their Venn diagrams
throughout this chapter as they write their essays.

F Discuss your ideas with others page 74

Make sure students have pencils with them when they discuss their ideas, so they
can add more information to their diagrams if appropriate.

II PREPARING THE FIRST DRAFT

A Compose the thesis statement page 75
Remind students to look back at their brainstormed ideas as they write their
thesis statements. The thesis statement should express the purpose for writing
the essay; that is, it should indicate why they are comparing or contrasting their
subjects. If possible, check and approve each student’s thesis statement before
continuing to the next activity.

B Edit your brainstorming page 75

Remind students that they should ask themselves whether each idea in their
brainstorming relates to the thesis statement. They can either cross out ideas
in their diagrams that do not support their thesis statement, or, if they find
themselves crossing out too many ideas or ideas that they want to keep, they can
reevaluate and change their thesis statements. You may want to quickly check
each student’s diagram to see that edits have been made.

C Add a sentence that shows scope page 75

Read through the information box, Showing the Scope of the Essay, with your
students. Explain that since clarity is a major goal of academic essays in English,
a sentence that shows scope strengthens an essay by letting the reader know
the writer’s main points in advance. In academic English, there are rarely
any “surprise endings,” and a reader should know the main ideas as soon as
possible. A phrase showing the scope can be part of the thesis statement, rather
than a separate sentence that comes before or after. However, this can also make
a thesis statement too long or complex, so sometimes it is preferable to divide
the information into two sentences.

Practice 5 page 76
After you check the answers to Practice 5, as an extension, you can ask students
to identify the part of the thesis statement in the introduction to the sample
essay (Essay Writing Basics, page 4) that shows scope: adolescents, businesspeople,
and others who can’t control their spending.

34 Chapter 3
 Answers
Chapter 1: It was very difficult for me at first, but eventually I learned how to make
true friends, obey rules, and return my parents’ love. This comes before the thesis
statement.
Chapter 2: There is no sentence previewing the scope.

Your turn page 76

Although it is not necessary to have a sentence showing scope in every academic
essay, tell students that it is an important skill to practice, so such a sentence is
required in their essay assignment in this chapter.

D Organize your essay page 76

Read through the information box, Organizing a Comparison-Contrast Essay, with
your students. Point out that block style will work more easily if students are not
discussing the same number of aspects of A and B, and that alternating style will
be more successful if students are comparing or contrasting the same aspects of
A and B.

Practice 6 pages 76–77

Answers
Paragraph 1: Alternating style
Paragraph 2: Block style

Practice 7 pages 77–78

Go over the example on page 78 with the whole class to make sure that students
understand what to do.
After you go over the answers, point out to students that the block style is not
completely rigid; the topic sentence will still be about B. If you wish, you can analyze
the other body paragraphs, too. Students will notice that the topic sentence is
always from B, and in the case of the third body paragraph, there is a concluding
sentence from B as well. Point out that in most actual writing, a style is mostly block
or mostly alternating, but need not be rigidly one or the other.
B
The feelings you have communicating online are special, too. | A When I am
talking in person with a friend, I am more hesitant and shyer. A I keep some
of my ideas hidden. | B In contrast, when I am writing e-mails or IMing (instant
messaging), I am more honest and open. B Online communication feels safer
and more confidential to me, and I don’t fear people judging or criticizing me.
B
I express my opinions more directly, and I share thoughts that I would never
say out loud. B I can’t explain why this happens, but my friends tell me they
feel the same way. B I know when I receive e-mails and IMs, even from people I
have never seen, they share more personal information than my face-to-face
friends do. B This kind of open and honest expression is a relief to me.
Organization: block

Comparison-Contrast Essays 35
 Your turn page 78
After students have thought about the organization for their essays, have them
write down the type of organization they will use in their brainstorming notes.

E Make an outline page 78

Remind students that the more detailed their outline is, the easier it will be for
them to write the first draft. The outline can be done in class or assigned as
homework.

Practice 8 page 78
While students are discussing their outlines, circulate to answer questions and
check their progress.
Answers will vary.

F Use language for comparing and contrasting page 79

Read through the information box, Language for Comparing and Contrasting, with
your students. Explain that these phrases greatly help the reader in following the
writer’s logic. If your students need review with these structures, elicit examples
from volunteers and write them on the board.

Practice 9 page 79
After you go over the answers, point out to students that in paragraphs 2, 3, and
4, the phrases they underlined show the reader where the writer is switching
from idea A to B.
Answers
In paragraph 2: On the other hand
In paragraph 3: In contrast
In paragraph 4: on the other hand
In paragraph 5: both; unlike

Practice 10 pages 79–80

Answers
1 Unlike 4 On the other hand 7 Neither; nor
2 On the other hand 5 While 8 Like
3 Both; and 6 Unlike 9 In contrast

36 Chapter 3
 Practice 11 page 80
Point out to students that they do not need to combine the sentences but rather
to connect them using a transition word or phrase. In some cases, two sentences
will be combined into one sentence, but in other cases, not.
Possible answers
1 If you live at home while you attend college, you don’t have to worry
about housework and cooking. On the other hand, if you live by yourself
in an apartment, you will have to take care of your home as well as your
homework.
2 Online friends don’t know everything about you. Similarly, face-to-face
friends only know the information you choose to share with them.
3 When you read a book, you move from one page sequentially to the next
page. In contrast, when you read online, you can move from one page to
many different pages just by clicking on different links.
4 When you write with pen and paper, you can easily cross out ideas you
don’t like and add new ideas. Similarly, when you use a computer, you can
delete ideas you don’t want to use and type new information.

Your turn page 80

Students can write in class or as homework. Remind them to check their thesis
statement and Venn diagram before they write and to follow their outline.

G Write the first draft page 80

Remind students that it may be easiest to write their introduction, hook, or
title last.

III REVISING YOUR WRITING

A Benefit from peer feedback page 81
Circulate around the room during this activity and make sure that students’
responses are complete and clear. Make sure students have adequate time to read
and review their partners’ essays and also sufficient time to meet with each other
to go over the feedback forms.

B Connecting paragraphs page 82

Read through the information box, Connecting Paragraphs to the Introduction,
with your students. Explain that the topic sentences of the body paragraphs will
express the same ideas as were previewed in the scope sentence, but will not be
worded exactly the same way. For another example of this, have them check the
scope sentence and topic sentences in the sample essay in Chapter 1 on page 15.

Comparison-Contrast Essays 37
 Practice 12 page 82
Possible answers
. . . American and British English have different spellings, different grammar, and
different idioms.
1 Some common differences in spelling show that American and British
English are not exactly the same.
2 Both American and British English have many similarities, but there are still
some important differences in grammar.
3 While Americans and British citizens can usually understand each other,
sometimes different idioms lead to confusion.

Your turn page 82

Remind students that they can (and in fact should) vary the wording of their
topic sentences slightly so that they are not copied directly from the sentence
showing scope. Circulate while students are working to help out with this, if
necessary.

C Critical thinking page 83

Read through the information box, Keeping Ideas Relevant, with your students.
Remind students that it is fine to include all ideas in their brainstorming, but
that in the final draft, only ideas that explain and support the thesis statement
belong in the essay. One time to edit out irrelevant ideas is after brainstorming
but before writing the first draft. However, it’s a good idea to check again after
the first draft has been written.

Practice 13 page 83
Students can discuss which sentences are irrelevant and why with a partner or a
small group, or you can discuss the answers together as a whole class. Encourage
students to articulate why the irrelevant sentence does not support the topic
sentence.
Answers
(irrelevant sentences)
Paragraph 1: You might need to buy a carrying case, though. / These days, it’s
easy to find Internet cafés in every city, so that’s also very convenient.
Paragraph 2: It took me a long time to get used to the British accents. / I never
did anything like that again, though.
Paragraph 3: However, I don’t like it when I get on a plane and the movie is
something I’ve just seen recently. / Then I prefer to read a book.

D Make revision decisions page 83

Remind the class that each student must make his or her own decisions about
using the suggestions given during peer feedback.

38 Chapter 3
 E Write the second draft page 83
Students can write the second draft in class or as homework.

IV EDITING YOUR WRITING

A Use academic language page 84
Read through the information box, Academic Language, with your students.
Explain that casual English is not “bad,” and is of course more appropriate than
academic English in other contexts. If you have students who share a common
native language, ask them to think of some examples in their own language of
casual and formal language. One problem for nonnative English speakers, of
course, is that they don’t always know whether a vocabulary word is casual or
formal. The only way to learn is through experience. If they make mistakes with
overly casual vocabulary, a good peer reviewer or a teacher can point it out and
suggest more formal words.

Practice 14 page 84
Possible answers

vocabulary
Most students of English know some of the common differences in vocab
^ British people
between American and British English. Americans ride an elevator, but Brits
^
use a lift. Americans live in an apartment, while British people live in a flat.
important
However, those differences aren’t really a big deal. Ninety-six percent of the
^ significantly
vocabulary in American and British English is the same, so there are way
more Furthermore, television, ^
more similarities than differences. What’s more, because of TV, books, movies,
^ and so on, ^ ^
etc. most people already know the common differences. Even if they read an
^
unfamiliar word, I bet they can guess its meaning from the context. Students
^ interesting be bothered
should think of the differences as cool and not get stressed out by them.
^ ^

Your turn page 84

Circulate while students are working to help out with vocabulary choices if
necessary. When students have finished, ask volunteers to tell which informal
words they changed in their essays.

B Use comparative structures page 85

Read through the information box, Comparing Adjectives and Adverbs, with your
students. You may wish to have students cover the rules and examples in the
book and ask them if they already know the rules. Write them on the board
as students explain them. Remind students to use adjectives when they are
comparing nouns, and adverbs when they are comparing verbs.

Comparison-Contrast Essays 39
 Practice 15 page 85
Read through the information box, Intensifying Comparisons, with your students.
While they are probably already familiar with the meaning of these words,
they may not be using them regularly in their writing. Ask volunteers to make
up sentences using some of the intensifiers. Then have students complete
Practice 15.
You may wish to also ask students to indicate whether the words they found
were adjectives or adverbs.
Answers

Students should circle the following comparative adjectives and adverbs.

First paragraph: more deeply; (more) honestly.
Third paragraph: more hesitant; shyer; more honest; (more) open; safer; more
confidential; more directly. Some students may also find share more personal
information.
Fourth paragraph: most important; more honestly; (more) openly, more quickly;
(more) easily.

Practice 16 page 86

Answers

more than
Business class is more significantly comfortable as economy class. First of all,
wider ^ softer ^ ^ more easily
the seats are more wide and more soft. I can stretch out my legs easier because
^ ^ ^
of the extra space. A second advantage is that the food is far more delicious.
fresher
The meals are more fresh in business class than in economy class, and they’re
^
prepared better, too. The movies that are shown in business class are more
recent
recently and more popular. Even the flight attendants are somewhat friendlier to
^ more politely better
customers in business class. They speak politer and give good service. Even if it
considerably ^ ^
considerably costs more money, I will always fly business class.
^ ^

Your turn page 86

Students can check their essays in class or as homework. If they are comfortable
doing so, they can exchange with a partner and check one another’s essays.

40 Chapter 3
 C Write the final draft page 86
Make sure students know when their final drafts are due. Ask them to turn in the
first draft with the final draft so that you can see their progress. You may also ask
them to attach their brainstorming notes.

V FOLLOWING UP
A Share your writing page 86
As far as possible, have students work in groups with others who wrote on
different topics, so that they will be able to discuss a wide range and variety of
ideas.

B Check your progress page 87

Students can complete the Progress Check in class or as homework. You could
even ask students to e-mail their Progress Checks to you. Students can look
back at their Progress Checks from Chapter 1 as well as Chapter 2 to note
improvements as they go through the chapters.

Comparison-Contrast Essays 41
 Chapter
Persuasive Essays
64
For Chapter 4, students will read a sample essay that persuades readers to
consider ways to change Japanese society so that women will be inspired
to have more children. The chapter encourages students to think of
arguments that support their position, and to consider a reader’s possible
counterarguments. Students will learn how to organize a persuasive essay,
using language to present arguments and counterarguments. Students will
practice writing a catchy hook. They will study various types of support that
can strengthen their essays.
With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 89. As a class,
talk about current, controversial topics in the news, in your town, or in your
classroom.

I GETTING STARTED
A Think about the sample essay topic page 90
Before reading the sample essay, students will look at statistics that show the
declining birthrate in several countries around the world. To open the topic
of declining birthrates, have students talk about births in their own families.
Ask, for example: How many children did your paternal grandparents have? How
many did your maternal grandparents have? How many did your own parents have?
Record students’ answers on the board. Based on your rough class survey, can the
students see any trends?
Next, look at the bar graph on page 90. As a class or in small groups, have
students discuss the questions at the bottom of the page.

B Read the sample essay pages 91–92

Read or have a student read aloud the focus question before students read
the essay. Then have students read the sample essay, “Bringing Babies Back to
Japan.” After students read, put them in pairs to discuss the essay and the focus
question. Have students been persuaded by the writer’s position? If so, what
were they persuaded of? If they were not persuaded, which points did they not
accept?
If you wish, students can discuss these additional questions in small groups or as
a class. Write the questions on the board.

42
 1 In your opinion, who should be mostly responsible for raising children?
2 What are your attitudes about raising children?
3 Are your attitudes different from your parents’ attitudes? Are your parents’
attitudes different from their parents’ attitudes?
4 What do you think has caused any changes of attitude?

C Notice the essay structure page 92

Read through the information box, Organization of Persuasive Essays, with your
students. Point out that this information relates to a common organizational
pattern for the paragraphs in persuasive essays. In this organization, the writer
anticipates the reader’s likely response to the essay’s arguments, addressing it
directly at the beginning of a paragraph.

Practice 1 page 93
As a class, discuss students’ answers and ideas. Encourage students to think of
other arguments in question 6.
Answers
1 Thesis statement: Japan’s entire social structure, including families,
businesses, and the government, must work together to encourage families
to have babies.
2 Topic sentences: Paragraph 2: Now, Japanese women no longer seem
interested solely in raising children, and society needs to accept this.
Paragraph 3: Japanese companies need to recognize their role in shaping
families and think more about supporting them. (Also possible: Usually,
people don’t think of a company as a force in shaping families, but this
attitude should be reconsidered.)
Paragraph 4: Even though the raising of children is not an easy job or a
traditional job for Japanese men, we must accept that it is partly men’s
work, too.
Paragraph 5: It is the government’s job to help make child raising more
affordable.
3 Looking after children is hard work, and most Japanese men don’t have
experience with it. ➞ Men must also participate in raising children.
Nobody wants to pay for another person’s children. ➞ Producing Japan’s
next generation is so important that the nation should offer attractive
financial incentive for this work.
Many people consider child raising the work of women. ➞ Women should
be able to have a career and raise children.
It is not generally considered a company’s job to help raise families. ➞
Japanese companies need to make it easy for working parents to keep their
jobs and have children, too.
4 In the fourth body paragraph, the counterargument comes later in the
paragraph: While it is true that many people don’t want to pay higher taxes
to support other people’s children, producing the next generation of Japan is a
question of our nation’s existence.

Persuasive Essays 43
 5 It summarizes the arguments, and it gives a final comment on the topic.
6 Answers will vary.

D Select a topic page 94

Read through the information box, Choosing a Topic, with your students. Ask a few
students to share their topics with the class. Ask each student directly, Do you like
your topic? Are you excited to write about it? A student who likes a topic is much more
likely to write a good essay about it. Likewise, a student who doesn’t like his or her
topic should be encouraged to consider some alternatives. (Remember, however,
that liking a topic alone is not sufficient basis for an essay.)

Practice 2 page 94

Answers

My sister wants to have two kids. (4) She’s an architect and she wants to keep
her paid job. Child care is so expensive, they can’t afford it. Lots of couples
can’t afford it. It makes me angry. (2) My sister is 37 and still has no children.
This is sad because she really wants kids. Her husband can’t help because of
his company’s rules. My friends and their families have the same problem. My
pen pal in Norway says it’s easier there. (3) They have great ideas. Companies offer
affordable day care. Government gives tax incentives there. Men take leave to
help raise children.
Japanese culture doesn’t train men to help with raising children. It’s a huge
problem. I know not everyone will agree with me, but everybody needs to work
together to solve this problem. (1) Someday I want to have children, but I don’t
want to have to give up my career to do it. I’m not the only one. This affects
everybody. (5)

Your turn page 95

Remind students that they are more likely to write effectively if they like their
topic.

E Brainstorm arguments page 95

Give students five minutes to brainstorm arguments. Some students may already
have specific arguments to support their point. They are free to write these down
directly. However, they should still spend time brainstorming, as this may help
them to develop their support, and it may help them to uncover other support
for their topic.

44 Chapter 4
 F Discuss your ideas with others page 95
As they discuss their ideas with others, students should take notes. The purpose
of the discussion is to generate ideas. Taking notes can help students, not only
to remember what was said, but also to make and see new connections between
ideas. This, in turn, can help them to envision the shape of their essay.

II PREPARING THE FIRST DRAFT

A Compose the thesis statement page 96
Read through the information box, Persuasive Essay Thesis Statements, with your
students. Discuss why these four elements are considered essential in a thesis
statement of a persuasive essay. As a class, look at the thesis statement in the
sample essay and try to find its four main components. Some of the information
overlaps, and this is normal, as the ideas are clearly intertwined.
Thesis statement: Japan’s entire social structure, including families, businesses, and the
government, must work together to encourage families to have babies.

Practice 3 page 96

Answers
1 a Effective because it clearly states the topic, the writer’s opinion, a course
of action, and its purpose.
b Ineffective because it doesn’t express writer’s opinion or a course of
action.
2 a Effective because it states the topic and the writer’s opinion. It implies a
course of action and its benefits.
b Ineffective because it suggests no course of action.
3 a Ineffective because it states a fact rather than an opinion and offers no
course of action.
b Effective because it clearly states the topic, the writer’s opinion, a course
of action, and its purpose.
4 a Effective because it clearly states the topic and the writer’s opinion. It
implies a course of action and explains the reason.
b Ineffective because it states a fact rather than an opinion and proposes
no action.
5 a Effective because it clearly states the topic and the writer’s opinion. It
implies a course of action and explains the reason.
b Ineffective because it states a fact rather than an opinion and proposes
no action.
6 a Effective because it clearly states the topic, the writer’s opinion, a course
of action, and its purpose.
b Ineffective because it doesn’t propose a course of action.

Persuasive Essays 45
 Your turn page 96
Remind students that the first drafts of the thesis statements will not likely be
the last. A good thesis statement often requires several rewrites.

B Plan the introduction page 97

Read through the information box, Catchy Hooks, with your students. Then ask
one student to share his or her thesis with the class. As a class, brainstorm some
possible hooks to match the thesis. Write all ideas on the board.

Your turn page 97

Remind students that this exercise is just meant to generate some options and
discuss them with a partner. They do not have to settle on a hook right now.
Indeed, they may find that new ideas come to them later.

C Organize your arguments page 97

Read through the information box, Organizing Main Ideas, together with your
students. Remind students that it is not always a clear, black-and-white issue to
identify the strongest argument. An argument’s strength rests on many factors,
including the reader’s likely response and how much supporting information the
writer can give. Additionally, some students may feel that their main ideas can be
ordered more persuasively in an order other than emphatic order.
While it is beyond the scope of this book to explore all of the possibilities, allow
students to think through the options. While many options are possible, one
not uncommon alternative to emphatic ordering is reverse-emphatic, where
the strongest argument comes first. This is especially useful when the writer’s
argument rests primarily on one dominant point. Sandwich order is also
sometimes popular, where a strong point opens, followed by a weak point, and
ending with a strong point. Sandwich order may be effective when a writer has
two strong points and one weak point.

D Add counterarguments page 98

Read through the information box, Double Lists, with your students. As a class,
discuss a scenario where a teenager wants to go out late to a concert with friends,
but must first persuade her parents to let her go. List the teen’s arguments, and
the parents’ likely counterarguments, on the board.

Practice 4 pages 98–99

As a class, discuss students’ completion of this chart.

46 Chapter 4
 Answers
Essay title: Fast Food Is Bad for You
Arguments against my opinion Arguments for my opinion

• most fast-food places offer salads as • can cause expensive medical

a choice problems
• convenient • most fast food is very high in
• cheap calories
• salty food tastes good • salt raises blood pressure
• easy to eat too often

Your turn page 99

You may additionally have students circulate their papers so that two or more
classmates can add different counterarguments. This will help to broaden
students’ perspectives on readers’ likely responses.

E Use argumentative language page 99

Read through the information box, Language for Introducing Counterarguments,
with your students. As a class, generate two or three more common phrases that
may be used to introduce counterarguments. (For example: I recently read an
article that argued X, but . . . A popular saying says that haste makes waste, but . . .)

Practice 5 page 100

After students have written their sentences, have them share them with a
classmate.
Possible answers
2 Some people believe that riding the bus can save money. However, it must
also be recognized that time is money, and taking the bus usually takes
much longer.
3 Although many people claim that private gun ownership keeps us safe
because guns may deter criminals from entering homes, one can also
argue that guns are too dangerous for private citizens to keep in their homes
because of the possibility of accidents.
4 While it is true that plastic is bad for the environment, some newer plastics
are readily biodegradable.
5 Change can be very difficult and stressful, yet if we don’t make changes in
our lives, our lives will be very boring.
6 While studying overseas is expensive, it gives invaluable exposure to
another culture.

Persuasive Essays 47
 Your turn page 100
Have students work in pairs to review each other’s sentences. A common
problem with first-time writers of this type of sentence is that the argument
and its counterargument do not really pair. For example, While some people think
that it’s not fun to swim on rainy days, I like swimming in the lake. This could be
improved: While some people think that it’s not fun to swim in the lake on rainy days,
I like swimming in the lake when it rains.

F Choose support page 101

Read through the information box, Types of Support, with your students. Talk
about where you would be likely to find these different types of support. For
example, you would be likely to find personal experience in a personal essay. In
a newspaper article, you might expect to find more expert opinion.

Practice 6 page 101

This activity may be done individually or with a partner.
Answers
2 d 5 e
3 f 6 c
4 b 7 g

G Make a detailed outline page 102

Remind students that outlining is rarely a linear process, because it constantly
generates new ideas and new associations. Encourage students to change their
minds, cross out, draw arrows, and so on, as they draft their outline.

H Write the first draft page 102

Remind students that they are just drafting their essays. While their brainstorm
and outlines have surely stimulated their thinking, and can offer an excellent
resource as they draft, students are not obliged to follow their outlines or to stick
to their earlier ideas. They are free to write according to their thoughts.

III REVISING YOUR WRITING

A Add support page 103
Read through the information box, The Right Support, with your students. Have
students offer some observations about your school. For example, More girls
take calculus than boys. Then consider what type of support would be needed to
support each of these ideas.

48 Chapter 4
 Practice 7 pages 103–104
Before doing this activity, students should read through the entire essay. Next,
they should read through the five statements of support that they will add to the
essay. Finally, they should focus on one support statement at a time, rereading
the entire essay to determine its best location.
Answers
a after sentence 9
b after sentence 3
c after sentence 10
d after sentence 2
e after sentence 8

B Benefit from peer feedback page 105

Circulate around the room during this activity and make sure that students’
responses are complete and clear. Make sure students have adequate time to read
and review their partners’ essays, and also sufficient time to meet with each other
to go over the feedback forms.

C Improve the conclusion page 106

Read through the information box, Concluding Statements, with your students.
Talk about why a concluding statement should be powerful.

Practice 8 page 106

After students have discussed their answers, take a quick vote to see how the
majority weighed in on this issue. Discuss their reasons.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 107

Encourage students to write concluding statements of different types, such as one
question, one quote, and one prediction.

D Make revision decisions page 107

Have students use a different color pen to mark changes on their paper. This may
help them see how much they are changing. Although students may focus on
changes recommended by their peers, remind them that they may want to make
changes of their own, too.

E Write the second draft page 107

Encourage students to try to limit themselves to revising the content and
organization of their second draft, as changing such major elements in a third
draft can be tricky.

Persuasive Essays 49
IV EDITING YOUR WRITING
A Edit for modals page 107
Read through the information box, Modals and Modal Alternatives, with your
students. Point out that modal alternatives are precisely that – alternatives. They
offer variety, especially when a given essay includes a lot of modals.

Practice 9 pages 107–108

Answers

Good dental care will keep your teeth healthy and attractive. First, you should
shouldn’t
eat right. You don’t should eat too many foods that are high in sugar. Next,
^
you must care for your teeth well. Ideally, you should to brush your teeth after
^ to
each meal. However, often this is not practical. At a minimum, you ought brush
^
twice a day: morning and night. In addition to brushing, you should floss your
teeth once a day. You must floss in order to clean between the teeth and to
keep your gums healthy. When you floss, you must to be careful to floss deep
^
at the gum line. Finally, you should to have regular checkups at the dentist’s.
^
In these ways, you can keep your teeth healthy and your smile bright for years
to come.

Practice 10 page 108

Answers

Even though the raising of children is not an easy job or a traditional job
for Japanese men, we must accept that it is partly men’s work, too. Japanese
fathers ought to help more in the home. After all, the children are theirs, too.
Also, the Japanese government and companies should set up a better system of
parental leave so that both parents can care for their families. My brother-in-
law, for example, didn’t take his paternal leave because he thought it would hurt
his career. I have heard many similar stories. Taking paternal leave should not
threaten a man’s job security. In Norway, for instance, men can and do take
paternity leave without concern for their careers. Perhaps Japanese companies
should consider making paternity leave a requirement so that there can be no
question about its impact on one’s career. Paternity leave is important because
it helps families to understand the father’s role sooner, when babies are young.

50 Chapter 4
 Modal changes for variety:
Japanese fathers ought to help more in the home. ➞ It is essential that Japanese
fathers help more in the home.
Taking paternal leave should not threaten a man’s job security. ➞ It is important
that fathers be able to take paternal leave without threatening their jobs.

Practice 11 page 108

Possible answers

it is essential that you

Good dental care will keep your teeth healthy and attractive. First, you should
^
eat right. You shouldn’t eat too many foods that are high in sugar. Next,
it is important to
you must care for your teeth well. Ideally, you should brush your teeth after
^ it is necessary
each meal. However, often this is not practical. At a minimum, you ought to
^
brush twice a day: morning and night. In addition to brushing, you should floss
It is important to
your teeth once a day. You must floss in order to clean between the teeth and to
^
keep your gums healthy. When you floss, you must be careful to floss deep
it is essential to
at the gum line. Finally, you should have regular checkups at the dentist’s.
^
In these ways, you can keep your teeth healthy and your smile bright for years
to come.

Your turn page 108

Encourage students to count their modals as they read, and to keep a running
tally. This will give them a concrete reference for their use of modals. They may
tally according to modal, such as “should = 4,” as people tend to use the same
words over and over.

B Benefit from peer editing page 109

Read through the information box, Peer Feedback, with your students. Have
students limit their editorial input to a circle with a question mark.

C Write the final draft page 109

Final drafts can be assigned as homework.

Persuasive Essays 51
V FOLLOWING UP
A Share your writing page 109
For this activity, it may be best for students to read essays they have not read
before.

B Check your progress page 110

Students can complete the Progress Check in class or as homework. If time allows,
meet with students individually to go over the Progress Check.

52 Chapter 4
Chapter
Responding to a Reading
5
In Chapter 5, students will read a published opinion essay and then a student’s
essay in reaction to it. They will then choose a different opinion article to
respond to; consider whether they wish to respond directly to the article or
to the article’s topic, using the article as support; and decide how to write
an appropriate thesis statement. Students will learn when and how to cite
information from an article, both as paraphrased information and direct quotes.
They will review and add to information in previous chapters about avoiding
overgeneralizations, learn and classify a variety of reporting verbs, and check
their essays to ensure a variety of sentence structures.
With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 111. Ask, Where are
some places that you read opinion essays and articles? What opinions have you read
recently? Did you agree or disagree with them?

I GETTING STARTED
A Think about the sample essay topic page 112
Explain to students that they will read a student’s response to an essay about
concerns over Internet privacy. Before students look at the chart, ask them to
brainstorm as a class some reasons that people are worried about having their
personal information accessed online. If students do not bring up the idea of
identity theft on their own, briefly explain what it is and ask students how they
think identity theft occurs. Then go over the chart briefly with the whole class to
make sure students understand all of the vocabulary and what the chart shows
(top sources of identity theft in the United States in the year 2006). Then have
students answer the questions in a small group. If you like, ask one student in
each group to take notes and to be responsible for sharing some of the group’s
answers with the whole class.
Answers
1 from a lost or stolen wallet, credit card, or checkbook
2–5 Answers will vary.

B Read the sample essay pages 113–114

Before students read the student essay, have them read the magazine article
“The End of Privacy” on pages 159–161. This is an adaptation of a longer article
that originally appeared in Forbes magazine. If students are interested in reading

53
 the entire article, they can visit the author’s Web site at www.penenberg.com/
story_archive.html. To help students with their comprehension of the article as it
appears in the appendix of the Student’s book, use the photocopiable worksheet
on page 73 of this teacher’s manual. Students can answer the questions
individually or in pairs.
After students have read and discussed the article, have them read the sample
essay. Ask students to think about the focus question as they read the essay.

C Notice the essay structure page 114

Read through the information box, Response Essays, with your students. Point out
that students are often asked to respond to articles that contain a strong opinion.
They will therefore need to identify the writer’s opinion and formulate their own
opinion, and accurately convey both in their response essay.

Practice 1 page 114

Have students work through Practice 1 with a partner, or first answer the
questions individually and then compare answers with classmates.
Answers
1 using Penenberg’s evidence to support his own ideas
2 Easy access to personal information is a serious and growing problem. (Students
may feel that the next sentence is part of the thesis as well: We need to tighten
security so that people can enjoy the benefits that technology brings).
3 problem / solution
4 in the first paragraph (the introduction)
5 five pieces of information, of which two are direct quotes
6 The student writer agrees that Internet privacy is a problem. However, he
believes that being careful can keep one safe to enjoy the convenience of the
Internet.
7 Answers will vary.

D Select an article page 115

Give students time in class to skim the two articles in the appendix, “Don’t
Shoot: Why Video Games Are Really Linked to Violence” and “Kids May Be
Right After All: Homework Stinks.” Encourage them to choose the topic that is
more interesting to them, but be aware that “Kids May Be Right After All” is a
shorter and simpler essay. Remind students that they do not need to agree with
the writer of the essay. When students have made their selection, have them
tell you and keep a list, so that you can group students more easily for further
discussions in this chapter.

E Brainstorm page 115

Read through the information box, Using Discussions to Brainstorm, with your
students. Point out that students do not need to agree with one another while

54 Chapter 5
 they are talking, but that they should listen carefully to all ideas that come up.
They should discuss with a pencil in hand so that they can easily take notes.

Practice 2 page 115

Circulate while students are discussing to help out as needed. Make sure students
are taking notes that will help them as they brainstorm ideas for their essay. If
some students are not discussing much, move them to a smaller group or have
them work in pairs.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 116

Students can brainstorm with others who have chosen the same article, or
brainstorm on their own.

II PREPARING THE FIRST DRAFT

A Compose the thesis statement page 116
Read through the information box, Stating Your Position, with your students. It is
important that they understand that even a response essay is still an essay whose
thesis states their own position – either a position on the topic, or a position on
the article to which they’re responding.

Practice 3 pages 116–117

Answers
1 c
2 a
3 b

Your turn page 117

Have students share their thesis statements in small groups, if possible with others
who are writing about the same article. Circulate while students are talking to
check thesis statements yourself.

B Make an outline page 117

Remind students to look back at their brainstormed ideas and thesis statement as
they fill in their outline – and that a more complete outline means an easier time
writing their essay.

C Write your introduction page 118

Show students how they can check the main points in their outline to make sure
that they are all previewed in a sentence in the introduction that shows scope.

Responding to a Reading 55
 D Critical thinking page 118
Read through the information box, Choosing Support from an Article, with your
students. Explain that because they will be choosing only a few pieces of support
for an essay of the length they are writing for this assignment, it is critical that
they choose the strongest pieces of support possible from the article. Deciding
when to paraphrase and when to quote directly can be difficult, and it takes
practice. Students should be prepared to question and defend their choices in
discussions with classmates and with you. Some students choose – disastrously
– to quote those sentences in the article that they do not fully understand. Insist
that students know the meaning of any excerpt from the article that they wish to
paraphrase or quote!

Practice 4 pages 118–119

Answers will vary. Make sure students who have made different choices explain
their reasoning to their partners. If time allows, have students share their ideas
with the whole class after their group discussion is finished.

Your turn page 119

Remind students that they are choosing information that will support the thesis of
their essays, and also that they should be sure that they completely understand the
information they underline.

E Paraphrase an author’s opinions page 120

Read through the information box, Paraphrasing, with your students. Because
many students attempt to paraphrase simply by finding synonyms for key nouns
and verbs, point out that this is usually the least successful strategy. Instead,
students should begin by changing the syntax and grammar of the original
sentence. Students can practice paraphrasing by covering up the original text and
explaining it to a partner.

Practice 5 pages 120–121

After students have finished, go over the wrong answers with the class, and help
them to see which poor paraphrases are a result of too literal an interpretation
and which are the result of merely substituting synonyms for some key words.
Emphasize that it is possible to paraphrase correctly in more than one way.
Answers
1 b and c are acceptable
2 a and b are acceptable
3 a and c are acceptable

56 Chapter 5
F Cite an article page 121
Read through the information box, Citing an Article, with your students. Explain
that because different academic fields have different citing conventions, students
need not memorize the MLA rules. Rather, they should be learning how to copy
from a given example, and how to integrate quotations into entire sentences.
More complete information on this style of citations can be found in the MLA
Handbook and on various Internet sites.

Practice 6 pages 121–122

Possible answers
1 As Penenberg explains, this type of information used to be stored in large
centralized computers not accessible to most individuals (159).
2 These days, however, people’s privacy is at a higher risk because of more
sophisticated search engines and the existence of databases that store
personal information (Penenberg 159).
3 Penenberg feels it’s unlikely that Congress will pass a bill to make pretext
calling illegal, since it has already failed to pass over 100 such bills in the
past two years (161).
4 Schaffer suggests that people who play violent video games were already
violent people before they started playing games, and that that is why they
choose to play such games (162).
5 One problem with playing violent video games, as Schaffer points out,
is that players can get used to seeing violence and therefore won’t be as
bothered by it in real life (163).
6 Kohn argues that there aren’t any studies that have proven that doing
homework helps children (164).
7 No one has ever proven that children will be harmed if they do less or even
no homework (Kohn 165).

G Quote an author page 122

Read through the information box, Quoting, with your students. Again, stress
that students should never include a quotation that they do not completely
understand. If you like, have students go back to the Penenberg article on
pages 159–161 and see the places in which Penenberg chose to quote outside
sources. Discuss with students why Penenberg might have chosen to quote
directly in those cases instead of paraphrasing.

Responding to a Reading 57
 Practice 7 page 123

Possible answers
1 Penenberg claims that the situation is “far worse” than most people know
(159).
2 According to Penenberg, people have “willingly given up some privacy in
exchange for convenience” (159).
3 Penenberg points out how easy it is to order someone else’s personal
information online, comparing it to online shopping. “You click through it and
load up an online shopping cart as casually as if you were at Amazon.com,” he
explains (160).
4 However, what Cohn does is “not illegal,” according to Penenberg (160).
5 Cohn was able to find out a great deal of personal information about
Penenberg’s bank account, including, as he explains, “my account balance,
direct deposits from work, withdrawals, ATM visits, check numbers with dates
and amounts, and the name of my broker” (160).

Your turn page 123

If students found paraphrasing and quoting difficult, have them write out their
paraphrases and quotes fully before they start the rough draft. They can check
them in groups or have you check them.

H Write the first draft page 123

Students can write their rough drafts in class or as homework. If they write in class,
circulate while they are working to answer questions about organization, quoting,
and paraphrasing.

III REVISING YOUR WRITING

A Benefit from peer feedback page 124
Make sure students have adequate time (at least 20 minutes) to read and process
their partners’ essays, and also sufficient time to meet with each other to go over
the feedback forms (about 10 minutes). You may want to have students who chose
the same article work together, but it is not necessary; their explanation of the
topic should be clear enough for a reader who has not read the original article to
understand it.

B Check for generalizations page 125

Read through the information box, Revising Generalizations with Hedging, with your
students. If necessary, review the information in Chapter 2 on page 160. Also point
out that using too many hedging devices can make writing seem weak; students
should be thinking about each sentence and how sure they are about their claims,
and then choosing language accordingly.

58 Chapter 5
 Practice 8 page 125

Possible answer

can be often
It is dangerous to use the Internet for shopping. Sites always ask for credit
^ some ^
card information and all of your other personal information such as your
^ Occassionally,
address and telephone number. Computer experts “hack,” or illegally break into,
could ^
companies’ Web sites and steal their customers’ information. Then customers
might some of ^ a few
not only lose all their money but risk identify theft. I know people who have had
^ ^ some ^
problems with information stolen in this way. Companies should collect personal
^
information over the phone, not on their Web sites.

Your turn page 125

If they are comfortable doing so, students can also exchange essays with a
partner and check each other’s essays for possible overgeneralizations. However,
caution students not to make their sentences overly weak, either.

C Use a variety of reporting verbs page 126

Read through the information box, Reporting Verbs, with your students. There
are hundreds of possibilities for reporting verbs, but these are some of the most
common. Encourage students to use a variety of them and not to depend just on
a few. While many words in English are similar, no two words mean exactly the
same thing, so students should be sensitive to differences in shades of meaning.

Practice 9 page 126

When they have finished the exercise, ask students if they feel the author used
enough different reporting verbs. Are there any places where they could suggest
changes?
Possible answer
First paragraph: points out
Second paragraph: reports
Third paragraph: explains
Fourth paragraph: advises
Fifth paragraph: (none)

Responding to a Reading 59
 Practice 10 page 126

Possible answer

complain
High school students these days say they have too much homework. They
claim ^
say they don’t have enough time for other activities, such as sports and
^ agree describe
music, because they are too busy. Many parents say the same. They say their
^ ^
children don’t get enough sleep and are even skipping meals. Some teachers,
assert
however, say that homework is essential for students. In fact, recent studies
prove ^
say that most teachers assign only two to three hours of homework per week.
^ maintain that
Some teachers say students are too busy because they do too many outside
^
activities or do not know how to budget their time wisely.

Your turn page 127

Circulate while students are working to help with vocabulary. If students want to
use their dictionaries to find other reporting verbs, ask them to check with you
or another native speaker to make sure that the verbs have the intended shade of
meaning.

D Write a bibliography page 127

Read through the information box, Citing an Article, with your students. As with
in-text citations, this book does not attempt to cover all kinds of bibliographic
entries, just those relevant to the articles in the appendix about which students
will be writing. Students should copy the format given in the book, and not try to
memorize the patterns. (Note that to help students practice citations, we are asking
them to pretend in a sense that they are accessing the original source, not reading
the article in a textbook.)

Practice 11 page 127

When students have finished, go over the answers with the whole class, and
write the correct format on the board. Make sure that every student has the
answers written correctly. Remind them that they will need the bibliography
entry for their essays.
Answers
1 Schaffer, Amanda. “Don’t Shoot: Why Video Games Really Are
Linked to Violence.” Slate (27 April 2007). 15 July 2007
<http://www.slate.com/id/2164065>.
2 Kohn, Alfie. “Kids May Be Right After All: Homework Stinks.”
USA Today (14 September 2006). 15 July 2007
<http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/kmbraa.htm>.

60 Chapter 5
 E Make revision decisions page 127
Remind the class that each student must make his or her own decisions about
using the suggestions given during peer feedback.

F Write the second draft page 127

Students can write the second draft in class or as homework.

IV EDITING YOUR WRITING

A Check for variety of sentences page 128
Read through the information box, Sentence Variety, with your students. Explain
that varying sentence types is the mark of a high-level writer. The more they
practice this skill, the easier it will become.

Practice 12 pages 128–129

Possible answers
Answers will vary. However, Paragraph A has the most sentence variety. Students
should point out differences such as the opening question and the sentences that
begin with a subordinating clause.

Practice 13 page 129

Answers
Although credit cards are convenient
not only
but also
More expensive than
If you don’t want
consider using

Your turn page 129

If students complete this in class, circulate while they are working to help out
with offering alternate sentence structures.

B Edit for punctuation page 130

Read through the information box, Using quotation marks, commas, and periods,
with your students. These rules are specific to MLA style, and there is no
reason for students to memorize them. Remind students that style guides
exist for different documentation systems and that these guides give all of the
punctuation rules. Writers of essays and research papers consult the appropriate
style guide for the type of paper they are writing and then copy the formatting
exactly. Students will be practicing this skill as they follow the examples in the
information box on page 130 while they complete Practice 14.
Responding to a Reading 61
 Practice 14 page 130

Answers
1 “Computers now hold half a billion bank accounts,” reports Penenberg
(page 159).
2 Penenberg poses the question, “Why should we care if our personal
information isn’t so personal anymore?” (page 159).
3 Penenberg explains, “Docusearch’s clients include lawyers, insurers, private
detectives, and businesses” (page 160).
4 “Docusearch’s clients include lawyers, insurers, private detectives, and
businesses,” explains Penenberg (page 160).
5 Penenberg claims that Cohn got the author’s bank account number “directly
from the source” (page 160).

Your turn page 130

If they are comfortable doing so, students can also exchange essays with a
partner and check each other’s essays for punctuation.

C Write the final draft page 131

Make sure students know when their final drafts are due. Ask them to attach
their first drafts to the bottom of the final drafts so that you can see their
progress. You may also ask them to attach their brainstorming notes.

V FOLLOWING UP
A Share your writing page 131
As far as possible, have students work in groups with others who wrote on the
same essay. Keep groups to three or four students.

B Check your progress page 131

Students can complete the Progress Check in class or as homework. You could
even ask students to e-mail their Progress Checks to you. Students can look back
at their Progress Checks from previous chapters.

62 Chapter 5
Chapter
Timed Essays
6
For Chapter 6, students will think about some of the common tests and testing
situations they may encounter. They will read a sample timed essay written by
a student and examine some of its standard features. They will compare the
processes of writing untimed and timed essays, practicing each step by writing
the various pieces of an essay under a time limit. Students will consider the
opportunities for editing and revision of timed work. They will look at some
useful transition words and ways to avoid run-on sentences. Students will study
ways to manage stress. Finally, they will write an entire timed essay.
With your students, read the chapter introduction on page 133. Encourage
students to share their experiences with high-stakes, timed writing. For example,
have any of your students, or their family members, ever needed to write an
essay in order to get a job?

I GETTING STARTED
A Think about timed essays page 134
To open the topic of timed writings on standardized exams, talk about a specific
exam that may affect many students in your class. Then look at the chart on
page 134. Read aloud the name of each test, so that students can pronounce it
confidently. Then have students discuss the chart and the questions that follow.

B Read the sample timed essay page 135

Read or have a student read aloud the focus questions. Before students read the
essay, have them read and talk about the test question. Next, have students read
the student’s essay, “Grades Motivate Students.” After they finish reading, have
them briefly discuss the focus questions with a partner.

C Notice features of a timed essay page 136

Read through the information box, Timed Essays, with your students. Ask
students to think about times and situations in the past when their writing has
been graded. Write their ideas on the board.

63
 Practice 1 pages 136–137

Possible answers
1 Grades encourage students for several reasons. They help students see
their learning progress, reward students, and show a student’s position
compared to classmates.
2 The introduction states the writer’s thesis and shows the scope of the
essay by introducing the main ideas.
3 First, grades help students see their progress in learning, because grades
reflect students’ efforts in class.
In addition to inspiring them to work harder, grades may help students
to find interest in a subject.
Most importantly, students like to know that their work is recognized.
Yes, each topic is mentioned in the introduction. Also, each topic is
well supported.
4 Transition words: first, in addition, most importantly. Yes, the
organization is logical, though many other organizations would also be
effective.
5 It is short, and this may be OK in a timed essay.
6 There is a good variety of sentence types, and the vocabulary and
grammar are appropriate.
7 Yes.
8 Yes. It is a good idea so that the person grading the essay can make
editorial marks.

D Follow the writing process page 137

Read through the information box, The Writing Process for a Timed Essay, with
your students. Ask students if they know of other differences in the writing
process between a timed and untimed essay. Discuss their answers.

Practice 2 pages 137–138

Answers
1 b 3 c 5 b 7 a
2 c 4 b 6 c 8 c

Practice 3 page 138

Go over students’ answers orally, writing on the board the times suggested for
each writing step. Have students explain their reasons for the amount of time for
each step.
Answers will vary.

64 Chapter 6
 Practice 4 page 139

Answers
1 b 2 a 3 b

E Select a question page 139

For the purposes of this essay, students should choose one of the listed topics,
rather than creating their own. This has the additional benefit of simulating an
actual timed essay situation, where students rarely have the option of selecting
their own topic. Make sure that students understand that their topic selection will
be the topic of their writing over the next several activities in this book. Also, be
aware that while this essay assignment would ideally be completed in 30 minutes,
the writing in this chapter is broken down into individual steps. Invariably, this
start-and-stop method may add a few minutes to the total writing time.

II WRITING A TIMED ESSAY

A Understand the test question page 140
Read through the information box, Understanding the Test Question, with your
students. Ask students to share other ways that they work to understand a test
question. Encourage students to consider what could happen to their essay score
if they don’t understand the question. How would a student grade an essay that
didn’t answer the question, compared to one that did?

Practice 5 page 140

After doing the matching, encourage students to think of other common terms
that they see in test questions. Talk about the meaning of those terms.
Answers
1c 2 f 3 a 4 b 5 d 6 e

Practice 6 page 141

Possible answers
1 Explain three ways in which human activities are changing the
environment. (a)
2 Consider two ways to lose weight: reducing calories or increasing
exercise. Which is a more effective way to lose weight, and why? (a)
3 Discuss two major challenges for students today that students probably
did not face 50 years ago. (b)
4 Read the following article about new ways to break the habit of
cigarette smoking. Based on this reading, persuade smokers that they
should try quitting because it has gotten easier. (b)

Timed Essays 65
 Your turn page 141
After students have rewritten the question in their own words, have them compare
their sentences in groups. Group students according to the question they are
answering.
Answers will vary.

B Write a rough outline page 141

Read through the information box, Outlining Quickly, with your students. Ask
students if they write quick outlines before starting timed essays and discuss their
answers. Make sure students understand that these outlines are meant to be a
way of ordering their ideas and seeing that they have included all main ideas, but
require few details.

Practice 7 page 142

Possible answer
Answers may vary. However, Outline A is better in many key ways: it’s shorter, and
the body paragraphs relate directly to the thesis statement. It could be improved by
adding more support to each paragraph. Outline B would take too long to write.

Practice 8 page 143

For each essay question, time students while they write for five minutes. Then have
them stop, and go to the next question, again timing while they write. Once they have
finished the three questions, students can compare outlines in pairs or in small groups.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 143

Use a timer, if available, or a clock or watch to time the class. After they have
written their questions, give them three minutes to brainstorm ideas, then five
minutes to write their outlines. Make sure that students stop when the time is up,
even if they are not finished. At this point, they are both practicing writing their
responses and getting a feel for timing. Students can check their own outlines from
the gray box on page 141, or can work with a partner and check each other’s work.

C Write an introduction page 143

Read through the information box, Timed Essay Introductions, with your students. As
a class, discuss the ideas in the information box. Ask students if they agree or disagree,
and encourage them to add additional thoughts to the discussion.

Practice 9 page 144

Possible answers
Answers will vary. In general, Introductions 2 and 4 may score high. They are both
short, their amount of background is appropriate, and they prepare readers well
66 Chapter 6
 for the essay. Introduction 3 is weak, since it has no hook, offers no background,
states no thesis (or, if it has a thesis, it is much too broad), and gives random
information about the writer’s school. Introduction 1 is the weakest, since it is too
long, it has no hook, it doesn’t prepare the reader, and the thesis is unclear. Is the
essay about Peru’s inefficient educational system, or study opportunities in the
United States?

Your turn page 144

Remind students, for the sake of practice, to write neatly and to double-space their
work.

D Write the body page 145

Read through the information box, Choosing Support, with your students. If you
think students may benefit from a review, go to Chapter 4, page 101.

Practice 10 pages 145–146

This activity could be assigned as homework. As a class, review several students’
answers for each paragraph. Have students identify what kind of support has been
added.
Answers will vary.

Your turn page 146

Have students review their support before they start writing their body paragraphs.
Remind them that testing rarely allows for content-level revision, so that in a
timed-writing situation, the writer should plan all of his or her major points of
support before writing.

E Write a conclusion page 146

Read through the information box, Timed-Essay Conclusions, with your students.
Encourage students to share their own experiences or thoughts in writing the
conclusion for a timed essay.

Practice 11 page 147

Possible answers
Answers will vary. In general, Conclusion 1 is short and to the point. Conclusion
2 is too long and too detailed, apparently trying to summarize the whole essay.
Conclusions 3 and 4 are strong and witty, but could be quite difficult to write in a
limited period of time.

Your turn page 147

Time students as they write for five minutes. Do not give students extra time.

Timed Essays 67
III REVISING A TIMED ESSAY
A Revise ideas page 148
Read through the information box, Making Content Changes, with your students.
Discuss these topics related to the first bulleted point: What type of content is
necessary for an essay? What content makes a major contribution? What would be
considered minor content?

Practice 12 page 148

Answers

Playing violent video games has a dangerous effect on young players. These
games may encourage the negative emotions of children who already feel
angry or isolated. Although most young players are boys, many girls also play
video games on a regular basis. In video games, it is acceptable to be violent
As young people play these games, they may lose touch with the real consequences of real violence.
and angry. It is OK to use a gun and shoot many people. Even being shot is
^
perfectly fine because players are brought back to life with the click of a button.
Young players may think that violence is an acceptable solution in the real
world.

B Connect ideas page 149

Read through the information box, Transitions, with your students. Put an example
on the board of two sentences. John’s mother told him he couldn’t go to the movies.
He went to the movies. Have students connect them with different transition words
(and, but, so, for) to show the different meanings and impact.

Practice 13 page 149

Answers
2 Usually volcano eruptions follow several earthquakes. For example, in the 24-hour
period before the eruption in May, nine earthquakes were recorded.
3 At many U.S. universities, female students dramatically outnumber males, so
college administrations are considering how to attract more male students.
4 Many students have to decide whether to go to college full-time and take out a
student loan, or go to college part-time and get a job.
5 Dancers develop a sense of balance and they develop a sense of grace.
6 Two of the boys speak Finnish because they study at a Finnish school on the
weekends.

Your turn page 149

Time students as they write for five minutes, reminding them when just one
minute remains.
68 Chapter 6
IV EDITING A TIMED ESSAY
A Check for run-on sentences page 150
Read the information box, Fixing Run-Ons, with your students. At this level,
many students are likely aware of what constitutes a reasonable sentence and
what would be a run-on. Remind students that while they may not consider
themselves likely to produce a lot of run-ons, the pressure of time can cause
writing errors that they may not usually make.

Practice 14 pages 150–151

Answers
2 Since we live in a large apartment building, I know a lot of other kids
who are my age and we can always find something to do.
3 Sometimes I can’t answer the teacher’s question, even though I know
the answer.
4 Members of varsity sports teams aren’t supposed to hold part-time jobs,
but it’s not legal for the school district to forbid them.
5 It’s not legal for the school district to forbid them to have jobs, but it’s
like an unspoken rule.
6 Most of the crossword puzzles in this book are so long, I can’t do them
all at once, so, I have to go back once or twice, or sometimes even three
times, to get all the words.

Practice 15 page 151

Possible answers
1 OK
2 RO The developers typically buy inexpensive land at the edge of a town.
Then they wait for the population to grow enough that the inexpensive
land becomes a desirable suburb. This way they can sell it at a profit.
3 RO Trying to do homework in the library while other people are talking
or whispering frustrates students. They end up being inconvenienced
due to other people’s rudeness.
4 OK

Your turn page 151

Encourage students to think through and plan their solutions before marking
them on their papers. While a run-on sentence is bad, a run-on sentence with
multiple fixes and crossed-out fixes is even worse.

B Edit language page 151

Read through the information box, Editing a Timed Essay, with your students.
Make sure that students understand each of the listed items. Talk about
how students can identify their own errors. While students will rarely have

Timed Essays 69
 dictionaries or grammar books available to them during a test, this doesn’t
mean they cannot improve their own work. Encourage students to follow their
intuition about things that seem wrong in their writing.

Practice 16 page 152

Answers

hometown has
My homtown, Guiyu, China, recently become the world’s biggest electronic
^ ^
garbage dump. The developed world exports its old electronics to Guiyu for
of waste
reprocessing. In Guiyu, thousands family workshops handle this stuff. While
s with an income ^ different ^
this work provide them cash, residents pay a diferent price for accepting this
^ ^ Employers ^
industry. The price is their health. Bosses don’t care about workers’ health. They
^
ignore laws, releasing toxic fumes into the air and dumping acid into rivers.
Guiyu must recognize the environmental and health hazards of its biggest
s the
industry. If the town want to clean up environment and protect the health of
s have ^ ^ violators
its citizen, it will having to strengthen laws for handling waste and punish law
^ ^ ^
breakers.

Your turn page 152

Write the errors on the board that students should watch for: spelling,
punctuation, missing words, correct verb forms and tense, subject-verb
agreement, academic language. Encourage each student to watch for an
additional language item that they think they frequently have problems with.

C Add a title page 152

Give students about one minute to produce a title.

Practice 17 page 152

Possible answers
1 Final Papers Score High
2 Cambodia’s Political Exiles
3 Children Choose on Internet

Your turn page 152

Have students share their titles with a classmate or small group, if possible with
those who have read their essays already. Remind students to capitalize the first
word and all content words of their titles.

70 Chapter 6
V TAKING A TEST
A Manage stress page 153
Read through the information box, Managing Stress, with your students. As a
class, brainstorm some ways that students experience stress, such as inability to
sleep, distraction, or excess energy. List students’ ideas on the board.

Practice 18 page 154

Answers will vary.

B Write a timed essay page 154

Read through the information box, Reviewing Essay Timing, with your students.
Remind students that this is just a guide. As a class, calculate the percentages of
time that are suggested for each phase – planning, writing, revising and editing.
Put students in groups, assigning each group to calculate the same percentages
for essays of other common lengths: 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes.

Your turn page 154

Time students as they write their essays. Let them know when they have
5 minutes remaining. Collect their essays when they are done if they will not
be moving on to the self-reflection in the same class period.

C Evaluate your own writing page 155

Make sure that students fill in this form. It is not enough for them simply to
think about its questions.

D Benefit from peer feedback page 156

Encourage students to complete this form without looking at their partner’s
completion of the self-reflection form.

E Check your progress page 157

Students can complete the Progress Check in class or as homework. This is a good
time for students to look through all of their previous Progress Checks and to
reflect on their writing.

Timed Essays 71
 WORKSHEET
Read the article “The End of Privacy” on pages 159–161. Then answer the
questions about the article.

1 Why did Penenberg write this article?

a. He had lost some of his personal information.
b. He wanted to prove that people are in danger.
c. Somebody paid him to find some information.
2 Who is Dan Cohn? What is his job, and what company does he work for?
Why did he look for information about Penenberg?
3 How much information did Cohn have about Penenberg when he began his
investigation? What kinds of additional information did he discover? How
long did it take him?
4 Check (✓) the methods that Cohn used to find information.
He asked Penenberg to give him information.
He used the Internet.
He called Penenberg’s employer.
He called Penenberg’s friends and family.
He called Penenberg’s bank and phone company.
He wrote letters.
He called Penenberg’s broker.
He hired a licensed state investigator.
5 Did Cohn break any laws?
6 What does Penenberg hope readers will do or believe after they have read
his article?
a. Be more careful with their personal information.
b. Find out about other people more easily.
c. Stop using the Internet.
7 Check (✓) the statements that Penenberg would probably agree with.
Using the Internet is convenient.
Businesses ask for more personal information than they really need.
Average citizens are at risk.
Only people who are rich or have secrets need to be worried that
someone will find out their information.
There should be more laws to protect consumers.
People cannot do anything to protect themselves.
Companies like Cohn’s should be illegal.
Most people already know about this problem.
8 Put a star (*) by the statements in 7 that you agree with.

© Cambridge University Press 2008 Photocopiable 73

 Answers to the worksheet on page 73 of this Teacher’s Manual.
1 b
2 Dan Cohn is an Internet detective. He works for Docusearch, a
Web detective agency in Florida. He looked for information about
Penenberg because Penenberg issued him a challenge.
3 Cohn had only Penenberg’s first name, last name, and middle initial
when he began his investigation. He discovered Penenberg’s middle
name, birth date, address, Social Security number, salary, phone
numbers, records of his phone calls, and information abut his bank
account: account balance, direct deposits from work, withdrawals, ATM
visits, check numbers with dates and amounts, and the name of his
broker. It took him six days.
4 He used the Internet.
He called Penenberg’s bank and phone company.
5 No, Cohn didn’t break any laws.
6 a
7 Using the Internet is convenient.
Businesses ask for more personal information than they really need.
Average citizens are at risk.
There should be more laws to protect consumers.
Companies like Cohn’s should be illegal.
8 Answers will vary.

74