ARGUMENT ESSAY v Scanning v Finding meaning from context Y¥ Collocation Cask A: What is scanning and when is it useful? © Can you remember from Unit 1 how to skim? Another technique for quickly getting information from a text is scanning. In scanning, you look only for specific information, for example, times, dates and specific ideas. You know the kind of thing you're looking for before you start. You don’t read every word! When you scan, it’s often useful to skim first to find which paragraphs the information is most likely to be in. 1 Choose the most likely answers in the table below to help you distinguish between skimming and scanning. skimming scanning | Aim to read quickly yes/no yes/no | Know the particular word or idea you're looking for before you begin reading yes/no. yes/no Read every word of the text yes/no yes/no Look for main ideas yes/no yes/no Look for specific information, such as numbers, dates or specific facts yes/no yes/no Focus on topic sentences, summary sentences, introductions, abstracts and conclusions yes/no yes/no 2 In the following situations, which is more useful, scanning or skimming? a] Reading the TV times pages of a newspaper to find when a particular program is on. b] Reading the contents page of a book to decide whether it covers the area you're looking for. ¢] Reading a book review to decide whether it’s generally good, OK or bad. d] Reading a journal article to find the percentage of people who said that they believe TV violence affects children negatively. e] Reading an index to find the pages on which something called Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is mentioned. f]_ Reading a chapter of a book to find out whether it mentions M A K Halliday. g] Reading an article to decide whether it might contain information useful to your research project. h] Reading the blurb on the back cover of a book to find out whether it is useful for beginning students in a particular field.isk B Scanning quiz ) To become more familiar with your course book, find the answers to these questions Who will be the first to answer all of them? If you want to focus on skills for dealing with vocabulary, which section of this Urit will be particularly relevant? Imagine your teacher has just given you back some homework with symbols written on it, He tells the class that these are correction codes. In which section of this Unit is a correction marking code explained? Where in the book (near the back) is this code given? If you enjoy fiction, which Unit of this book will be especially interesting for you? In which Unit is Tutorial Participation Skills I covered? 3 4 5 & Which other units also cover tutorial participation skills? 7 In Unit 3, what kind of essays are covered? 8 In Unit 3, which essay is about genetically modified food? 9 In the essay starting on page 39, which paragraph mentions the proportion of older people in the population? 10 Which paragraph of the same essay mentions social interaction? Finding meaning from context (Task A: Scanning race) This will prepare you for the next task. Who in the class will be first to (Circle/ or highlight all the boxed words in the following student essay? albeit demography/-ic numerous supplemented attuned to gain prevent sustained a burden mutual rather than trend Question: ‘It is to the benefit of society for family units, living together, include the older generation’ x What is your view on this matter?Social benefits of extended families A major social trend in many countries has been for elderly people to live increasingly by themselves rather than with their children. Often they have pride in remaining independent and don’t want to feel a burden on their families. However, there would be considerable advantages for society if more elderly people lived with their adult children rather than alone or in nursing homes. Clearly this wouldn’t work in every case, but reasons include mutual benefit for all members of the family, and the fact that this can help society cope with the massive demographic changes predicted for the future. All generations gain benefit from living in extended families. Most grandparents and great-grandparents enjoy spending time with their grandchildren—it is common to hear them say that having children around makes them feel younger. In addition, for parents, it is cheaper when children are looked after by their older relatives than in child care centres. Pho >) Benefits for the children are numerous, and clearly what is good for them is good for the whole family, Family care is likely to be of higher quality than at a child care centre for many reasons. It will be better attuned to the children’s needs because the family members know them better and because there are fewer children to look after in a family home than in a child care centre, Further, families generally have greater emotional involvement in the child's development. than people looking after the child as a job, Its also an advantage that this kind of care can strengthen family bonds due to the increased contact that family members have with each other, The experience that grandparents and great-grandparents bring to child-rearing, from the years of raising their own children, is an additional reason. However, it must be remembered that care centres have staff with professional training which family members rarely get the opportunity to gain, and they also provide opportunities for social interaction with other children beyond those available in the family home. Child care facilities thus do have a place in children’s upbringing, but their use must be balanced against the advantages of home care. A further benefit to society results from expected changes in the demography of © almost every country. As health care improves, people are living longer lives. Also, in most developed countries, birth rates are decreasing. Both these trends serve ycrease the proportion of older people in the population, and decrease the re Bae of working age people. The result is that government services, “example, families looking after their own elderly parents. This ae with some government support, albeit reduced encouraging more elderly people to live with their | are considerable and, overall, provide advantages for and offer a way to deal with demographic shifts. port services would still be necessary in many cases. be encouraged, where reasonable, to move in with 20 25 30 35me ning from context 1 Look at the following sentence: It was a cold, sno sot ow ‘ongsway. As I the house, Tpulle ie tolty Dow oosroap wag) aed f Without looking in your dictionaries, what does ‘putongsway’ mean? eal : B® vearnine tip Noticing meanings from context may feel uncomfortable at first, but if you practise it enough, it will help you because: ™ it can be quicker than using a dictionary; ™ it is a natural way to learn vocabulary—it’s how you learnt words in your first language; ™ it can be done without breaking the fluency of your reading; ™ although it sometimes gives you only a vague impression of the meaning, this is often enough. You can refine (make better) your understanding of the meaning later. 2 In pairs, mark the words from the table on page 38 that you already know. Explain their meanings to your partner if he or she doesn't already know them. 3 Using the context of the passage, match the words from Task A with the meanings below, writing them in the gaps. Example: 1 albeit though (introduces an opposite idea) 2 a general change in a number over time—up or down 3 a problem, hard work 4 added 5 sizes of populations of different age groups etc 6 familiar with 7 get, obtain, receive 8 instead of (separates two alternative ideas) 9 kept over time 10 a large number of; many 11 shared, affecting both 12 _ stop 4. Find a new partner. Compare answers. Explain how you found your answers. For example, which words could you find from the immediate context? For which words did you have to read large parts of the text to find their meaning?Task B: Stages of an argument essay An argument essay gives an opinion and supports it with evidence. Its purpose is to persuade the reader to agree with the opinion, or to show reasons for a particular opinion. Stages of argument essays (parts) Examine and study the stages and purposes of argument essays, given below. Purpose of stage Introduction General statement Gives an overall view of the essay To introduce the reader to the subject of the essay. Definition(s) (optional) To explain any important technical words to the reader. Thesis To give the opinion of the writer. Preview/scope or essay map To tell the reader what parts of the topic will be included in the essay. Body The main part of Arguments To explain to the reader the evidence the essay, where that supports the thesis. The most evidence is important ideas usually come first. presented, with support. Conclusion To relate the Summary To give the reader a brief reminder of argument to real- the main ideas, while restating the world action thesis. (No new evidence — Recommendation To tell the reader what the writer is given in the conclusion) believes is the best action to take, considering the evidence in the essay. 2 On the next page, you are going to read an essay that answers the same question as the one you read on page 39 (Social benefits of extended families). However, this new essay expresses the opposite view. It’s another example of an argument essay and was written by another person. As you read, notice how the purpose of each stage is fulfilled. LEARNING tip It is a good idea to keep this model of an argument essay. Every time you write an argument essay, either here or at university or college, use it to check that you have included all the stages.