1. An article summary.

Read the four paragraphs and put them in the correct order to complete a summary of the blog post ­­­­("G is for gossip and social grooming") from Reading.

2. Text cohesion.

Text cohesion refers to the way that ideas in a text are organised, linked and referred to. Summarising the main points of a longer article and then organising and linking these into a coherent summary can be a challenging task. The following two exercises focus on text cohesion.

Use the phrases to complete the first part of the summary.

3. Text cohesion and vocabulary.

Another feature of cohesive texts (i.e., texts that read or flow nicely) is the repetition of words or of words from the same word family, or the use of synonyms. For example:

opinion, view, belief, verdict, conviction, ...
friend, acquaintance, colleague, ...
findings, results, outcome, ...

In a summary such as this, we also use a variety of words describing what is said or thought. For instance:

mention, explain, assert, describe, outline, question, add, put forward, wonder, ...

Choose the best options to complete the second part of the summary.

4. Expressing opinion.

As this summary was written to present to a discussion group, the last paragraph expresses the writer's opinion on the article she has summarised. Read the last paragraph again and choose the best summary of it.

I found this an interesting reflection on something that we already take completely for granted. In a day and age where communication is instantaneous and with a limitless reach, we are confronted as never before with the evidence of our social interaction and with the image or images of ourselves that we strive to convey.

Now choose the best phrase to summarise this paragraph.

5. Write

Choose one of the two alternatives.

Alternative 1 – An article summary
Write a summary of the article you read in Reading, exercise 8, by Tom Bartlett. (You could search for this article online and read it in its entirety: "Why It's Good to Have 400 Fake Friends" by Tom Bartlett, The Chronicle of Higher Education.) Use the summary in this section as a model. Also, try to incorporate the language that you have focused on in this section. For example:

In his recent article, ...
He quotes ...
... then goes on to affirm ...
whereby
The findings of this ...
These results show ...
To a certain extent ...
The article puts forward ...
He sums up ...
I found this ...
etc.

In the last paragraph sum up and give your opinion on what is said in the article.

Write no more than 300 words. Use language and text features that you have focused on in this unit. Check spelling, grammar and organisation carefully before sending the text to your tutor. 


Alternative 2 – Social networks for socialising or work
Write an essay to your tutor that addresses the following questions. (This essay will be useful for you to refer to during the Speaking Tutorial, which follows.)

  • How do you use social networks for work or social purposes?
  • What are the advantages and disadvantages of social networks (work-related or social)?
  • Do you think people are becoming too reliant on these services?
  • How do you think ways of socialising have changed over the past 10 or 20 years?

Write about 300 words. Use language and text features that you have focused on in this unit. Check spelling, grammar and organisation carefully before sending the text to your tutor.