In this unit you will review the following points:
1. Text organisation.
Match the patterns to the examples.
2. Text organisation.
In a longer text it is very common to find a combination of the approaches introduced in the previous exercise. Often each paragraph fulfils a different, specific function.
Read the question and the sample answer. Which function does each paragraph of the sample answer fulfil?
Writing Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
People are producing more and more rubbish. What is causing this increase? What are the effects? How can we solve this problem?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
3. Problem and solution language.
Choose the correct category for the underlined words and phrases.
The average person in this country now produces around 8 kg of rubbish per week, an increase of nearly 25% on a decade ago. This avalanche of rubbish is causing serious environmental and social problems which threaten to bury us all. But why are we producing so much more rubbish?
Today's throwaway society is largely to blame. Instead of fixing things, we throw them away. New goods are designed to last just a short time so that people will soon have to buy a new one. Fashion is another culprit; people throw out perfectly serviceable items in order to have the latest model. And then there is packaging; almost everything you buy these days comes with several layers of usually unnecessary packaging. But all this will almost immediately end up as rubbish.
Inevitably, all the rubbish we produce has to go somewhere. The most common option is to bury it in huge rubbish tips, where it is left to slowly decompose. But with the increasing cost of land, this option is rapidly becoming too expensive to be practical. There are also environmental concerns; buried waste can contaminate water resources and damage local wildlife. It has also been known to give off dangerous gasses which may infiltrate into houses, causing health problems for the occupants.
There are several solutions to the rubbish problem; the simplest are known as the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. So, firstly we should reduce the amount we consume. This means not buying things we don't need and choosing items with less packaging. Reusing involves finding a new use for items we would otherwise throw away. For example, using old envelopes for writing lists, or returning bottles to the factory to be cleaned and refilled. The final option, the least desirable of the three, is to recycle anything we do throw away. Unfortunately, this uses a lot of energy and resources so should be considered only as a last resort.
So the problem and its causes are there for all of us to see. All that is required is to make the necessary changes in our behaviour in order to prevent us all from drowning in a sea of rubbish.
If you want, you can see a summary of problem and solution language used in this article.
| Problem | Option/Solution | Evaluation of solution |
| an increase of nearly 25% on a decade ago is causing serious environmental and social problems threaten to is largely to blame culprit There are also environmental concerns contaminate damage |
The most common option is There are several solutions to the rubbish problem we should reduce the amount we consume This means not buying things we don't need Reusing involves The final option |
this option is rapidly becoming too expensive to be practical It has also been known to the least desirable of the three should be considered only as a last resort |
8. To + infinitive as a noun.
Complete the sentences with to + infinitive using the correct verb from the box.
| bury | make | invite | recycle |
| reduce | separate | teach | try |
9. For or to?
For + -ing is used to describe what something is used for; it answers the question "What ... for?" We also use for with a noun.
Use old envelopes for writing lists.
This box is for plastic rubbish that we can recycle.
To + infinitive is used to describe a purpose; it answers the question "Why ...?" It is also commonly used when the subject of the clause is a person, or with a passive where the agent is a person.
Return bottles to the factory to be cleaned and refilled.
We use old glass bottles to put flowers in.
New goods are designed to last just a short time.
Complete the sentences with the correct option.
10. The -ing form.
Choose the correct option to complete the explanation that goes with each example.
13. Practice question.
Read the instructions and write your answer. Remember to:
Writing Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In many parts of the world, natural resources such as forests, rivers and plants are being destroyed. What is causing this destruction? What are the effects? How can we solve this problem?
Discuss the issue with reference to a single resource.
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
When you have completed the writing task, you can look at a sample answer. Compare the sample answer with your own.
Rivers and lakes all over the world are drying up and becoming more and more polluted. The problems this causes are all too easy to see. Many people no longer have access to clean drinking water, and this causes a huge number of diseases. Fish and other marine life die, meaning people can no longer rely on rivers as a source of food; and less water is available to irrigate crops, resulting in often widespread starvation. The negative effects of this problem are huge and need to be dealt with as soon as possible. But in order to solve the problem we first need to understand the causes.
Unfortunately, there are numerous factors involved. Water is diverted from rivers to irrigate crops and for industrial and domestic use. Some of this water is then returned to the rivers, but with a high concentration of pollutants that contain substances, from fertilisers to industrial waste and sewage. Damming rivers in an attempt to store water and generate electricity also leads to a higher evaporation rate, resulting in further water loss. In addition, climatic changes have caused fluctuations in rainfall patterns with knock-on effects on water resources: some areas are stricken by drought, while others suffer flooding and the resulting disease from contaminated water resources.
Solutions to such a complex problem are inevitably complex themselves. People need to be educated to use less water in their everyday lives, but this is only a small, although important, part of the solution. More efficient irrigation systems need to be developed and made more widely available, while industry needs to control more carefully how much water it consumes and the substances it releases into our rivers and lakes.
While the effects may vary from one area of the world to another, the constant is the lack of respect we have for our water resources. Society as a whole needs to wake up to the fact that we do not have an inexhaustible supply of clean water and to take measures to conserve and protect what we have.