Lessondownloads>IELTSAcademicModulepreparation>Writing>Lesson4

Introduction InthepreviousIELTSlessonwetookafirstlookatdescribingchartssomethingyoumaybeasked todoinPart1oftheIELTSwriting.Youlearnedwhattolookforwhenyoufirstreadachartandhow totellthedifferencebetweendynamicandstaticcharts.Inthislessonwellbetakingacloserlookat usefullanguagefordescribingdynamiccharts. SofarintheseIELTSlessonswehavelookedatthreekindsofcompositionyoumaybeaskedto writeforTask2ofthetest.Theseare: describecausesofaproblemandoffersolutions presentargumentsinfavourofandagainstanidea expressyouropiniononacontroversialissue

Inthislessonwelllookinmoredetailabouthowtoanalyseaquestionandhowtopresentyourpoint ofviewclearlyandeffectively. Inthislessonyouwill Practisereadingandgettinginformationfromdynamiccharts. Learnstructuresandexpressionsfordescribingincreaseanddecrease. Practiseusingprepositionswhendescribingnumbersanddates. LearnhowtouseamindmaptogenerateideasforTask2. Practisesupportingyouropinionswithreasonsandexamples. Learnusefulwordsandexpressionsforsupportingyouropinions. Learnhowtopicsentenceshelptoorganiseyourwriting

IELTSWRITINGTASK1:MOREABOUTCHARTS

Activity1>Understandingdynamiccharts>10minutes a)Thechartbelowisincomplete.Inamoment,youregoingtoreadadescriptionofthechartand completeit.Beforeyoudothis,though,takeagoodlookatthechartandanswerthequestions.

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Rate% 5.8

UKUnemploymentrates(16+yearolds):May2003July2006

5.6

5.4

5.2

4.8

4.6

4.4

4.2

3 0 ay M

3 3 4 3 4 04 0 0 0 0 l0 n ar ov ep ay Ju Ja N S M M

4 4 5 4 5 05 0 0 0 0 l0 n ar ov ep ay Ju Ja N S M M

5 5 6 5 6 06 0 0 0 0 l0 n ar ov ep ay Ju Ja N S M M

6 l0 Ju

Source:NationalStatisticswebsite:www.statistics.gov.uk http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nscl.asp?id=6682 CrowncopyrightmaterialisreproducedwiththepermissionoftheControllerofHMSO http://www.statistics.gov.uk/copyright.asp

1Whatkindofchartisthis? a)Apiechart b)Alinegraph c)Aproportionalbarchart 2Whatdoesthechartshow? a)Thepercentageoftheworkforceover16whowereunemployed b)Thepercentageoftheworkforceover16whoareunemployed c)Thenumberofpeopleover16whowereunemployed 3Whataretheunitsshownintheverticalaxis(goingup)? a)hundreds b)thousands c)percentages 4Whatperioddoesthechartcover? a)Justover3years b)Almost3years c)Justover2years 5Whatwastheunemploymentrateatthebeginningoftheperiod? a)5percent b)5.1percent c)5.2percent b)Nowreadthedescriptionofthechartanddrawthemissingsectionofthelinegraph. Page2of16

ThelinegraphshowsfiguresforunemploymentintheUKworkforcebetweenMay2003andJuly 2006.Itisclearfromthechartthattherateofunemploymentfluctuatedagreatdealduringthis time.Atthebeginningoftheperiod,unemploymentstoodat5.1percent.Afewmonthslaterthe figurehadrisenslightlyto5.2percent.UnemploymentthenremainedstableuntilSeptember 2003.FromthispointontherewasasteadydownwardtrendandbyJanuary2004theratehad fallento4.9percent.ItstayedatthisleveluntilMaythesameyear,butfromMaytoJulythere wasanothersmalldropof1percent.Therewerenofurtherchangesinthelevelofunemployment untilMarchthefollowingyear.FromMarchtoMay2005,therewasasmallincreaseof1percent, butthisdidnotlastlongandthefigurehadfallenbackto4.8percentbyJuly.FromSeptember2005 onwards,however,therewasamarkedupwardtrendintherateofunemploymentintheUK.From September2005toNovemberthesameyear,thefigureshotupfrom4.8to5.2percent.Therate remainedstableforafewmonths,butthenrosesharplyagain,andhadreachedapeakof5.7per centbyJuly2006.

c)Thehighlightedwordsinthedescriptionofthechartthatyouvejustreadareusefulphrasesfor describingincreasesanddecreases.Readthereportagainandfindphrasesfromthetextwhich mean wentupanddownfrequently didnotchange(2phrases) wentupalittle wentupveryquickly(2phrases) arrivedatitshighestpoint wentupnoticeablyoveraperiod wentdown(2phrases) wentdowngraduallyoveraperiod

Activity2>Describingincreaseanddecrease(1)>5minutes a)Inthelasttaskyoulearnedsomeusefulphrasesfordescribingincreasesanddecreases.There arealsotwousefulsentencestructuresfordoingthis: 1[nounphrase]+[verb]+[adverb] Forexample: Theunemploymentrate Thecostofliving rose fell rapidly dramatically

2[Thereis/are]+[nounphrase] Forexample: Therewas Therehasbeen ariseinunemployment anincreaseinthecostofliving

Finisheachsentencebelowsothatitmeansthesameastheonegiven. 1Thepriceofoilrosesharply. There 2ThereisanoticeableincreaseintemperaturefromMayonwards. Temperature 3Thenumberofpeopleattendingthetheatrehasfallendramatically. There.

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4TherehadbeenasteadyriseinDVDsalesforthefirstsixmonthsoftheyear. DVDsales 5Therehasbeenarapidgrowthintheuseofalternativeenergysources. Theuseofalternativeenergysources 6Thepopularityofselfcateringholidaysdecreasedsignificantlyduringthe1990s There

Activity3>Describingincreaseanddecrease(2)>5minutes Youcanalsodescribeincreasesanddecreasesbyusingfractionstoshowthesizeofthechange overacertainperiod.Forexample: Thecostofrentsdoubledinlessthanayear. Birthrateshavehalvedsincetheturnofthecentury. ByJuly,thepriceofpetrolhadfallenbyathird. Thenumberofschoolleaversgoingontouniversityhasrisenbyaquartersince1980.

a)Thechartbelowcomparesmonthlysalesfortwomonthsfromafruitwholesaler.Checkthetitle, thekeyandtheaxessothatyouunderstandthechart.

Fruitsales(kilos)
kg
16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0
oranges apples lemons bananas plums apricots pineapples

July November

b)NowwritesentencesaboutthechangesinfruitsalesfromJulytoNovember.Usethewordsfrom thebox. aquarterathirddoubledfellbyhalvedrosebytripled Page4of16

Orangesalesdoubled.(example) Applesalesfellbyaquarter. Lemonsales Bananassales Plumssales Apricotsales Pineapplesales

Activity4>Makingapproximations>5minutes Thechartinthepreviousactivityhadveryconvenientnumbers.However,inreallifethingsarent quitesoeasy!ThechartintheIELTStestisnotlikelytoshowfiguresthatriseandfallbyexact fractions,suchasahalforathird. Whatyouneedtodoismakeapproximations.Forexample,ifrealsalesfiguresfororangesrosefrom 4000kilosto7850kilos,youcansaythatorangesalesalmostdoubled. a) HerearesomeusefulwordsandphrasesformakingapproximationsMatchphraseswiththesame meaning 1justover 2approximately 3justunder aaround bnearly cslightly morethan

b) Nowwritesentencesaboutthechartbelow,whichshowschangesinthequantitiesofimportsof certainelectronicgoods.Again,usethewordsintheboxes.

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Importsofelectronicgoods
millionsofunits 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
DVDplayers CDplayers Televisions Radios Videorecorders

8.5

2000 2006 6.2 5.2 4

5.8

6.2

3 2.1 1.7

2.8

aquarterathirddoubledfellby halvedrosebytripled 1(DVDplayers) 2(CDplayers) 3(Televisions) 4(Radios) 5(Videorecorders) Activity5>Prepositionsoftime>5minutes

justoverapproximatelyjustunderaround nearlyslightlymorethan

InthelastIELTSlessonyoulearnedhowimportantverbtensesarewhendescribingdynamiccharts andtables.Correctuseofprepositionsisalsoimportant.Herearesomeofthemainprepositionsyou willneedtouse:

in[month/year/morning,afternoonetc] at[9oclock,10.30ametc] from..[apointintime]..to[anotherpoint] between[apointintime]..and[another point] during[aperiodoftime] before[apointintimeoraperiodoftime] after[apointintimeoraperiodoftime] by[apointoftimearrivedat] until[apointoftimereached] since[fromapointinthepastuntilnow]

a)Gobacktothedescriptionofthechartinactivity1bandunderlineexamplesoftheprepositionsof timelistedabove. b)Nowcompleteeachofthesesentenceswiththecorrectpreposition. 1 Januarytherewasanoticeableriseinthenumberofpeopletakingsickleavefromwork. Page6of16

2Temperaturesusuallyreachapeak about1oclockintheafternoon. 3From1997 2006therewasasteadyincreaseinsalesoforganicproduce. 4 therecession,unemploymentgrewsteadily. 5Televisionsaudienceviewingfiguresrisedramatically 6oclockintheevening. 6 Junesalesfigureswerelow,butlatertheybegantoincreaserapidly. 7Thepriceofoilhadshotupto$70perbarrel August. 8FromNovember theendoftheyearenergyconsumptioncontinuedtorise. 9Therehasbeenamarkeddecreaseinroadaccidents thenewlawswereintroducedin 2005.

Activity6>Prepositiontodescribeincreaseanddecrease>10minutes Youwillalsoneedtobecarefulwhenusingprepositionswithnumbers.Simplychangingthe prepositioncanchangethewholemeaningofasentence.Forexample,whatsthedifference betweenthesetwosentences? 1)Newspapercirculationroseby20,000newspaperspermonth. 2)Newspapercirculationroseto20,000newspaperspermonth. Sentence1describesthesizeoftheincrease.Perhapsnewspapercirculationwasalready40,000 permonth,andtherehasbeena20,000permonthincrease.Thefinalfigurewillbe60,000per month. Sentence2showsthepointreached.Perhapsnewspapercirculationhadbeen15,000permonthand itthenrosebyanother5,000toreach20,000permonth. Rememberalsothatnotallwordsfordescribingriseandfallwilltakeapreposition,andthe prepositionwilldependonwhetheryoureusingthewordasaverboranoun.Seethetablebelowfor moredetails:

Verbsthattakea preposition riseto/by increaseto/by fallto/by dropto/by shootupto/by plungeto/by stayat remainat fluctuatebetween/around

Verbsthatdonttake apreposition reach

Nounsthattakea preposition ariseof anincreaseof afallof adecreaseof

Nowlookatthechartandcompletethereportbelowwithasuitableprepositionwhereneeded.

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Crudeoilprices:USdollarsperbarrel 60 50 40 30 Araboilembargo 20 10 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 IranIraqwar SecondGulfcrisis Iranianrevolution InvasionofKuwait

Sourceforchart: OECDFactbook2006ISBN9264035613OECD2006 http://stats.oecd.org/WBOS/default.aspx?DatasetCode=CSP6

Thechartshowsfluctuationsinthepriceofcrudeoiloverathirtyfiveyearperiod,andclearly illustrateshowoilpricesareaffectedbyworldevents. Ingeneraltherehasbeenanupwardtrendinthepriceofcrudeoil[1]..1970,whenitwasonly $1.30perbarrel.Theoilembargooftheearly1970s,however,causedthepricetorisesharply [2]..nearly$11perbarrel.Thecrisisendedsoonafterwards,butthepriceremained[3].. around$11to$13perbarreluntil1979.TheIranianrevolutionofthatyearhadahugeimpactonoil prices,whichshotup[4]..$17toreach[5]..about$30perbarrelinthesameyear. ThefollowingIranIraqwarcausedafurtherincrease,andthepricereached[6]..apeak [7]..nearly$36in1980.Fromthatpointuntil1985,thepricefellsteadily.However,from1985to 1986thepricesuddenlyplunged[8]..$13.Forthenextfewyearsthepricefluctuated[9].. $14,butwiththeinvasionofKuwaitin1990therewasasuddenrise[10]..$5.Thepricequickly fellagainandremainedstableformostofthe1990s. Thingschangedonceagainattheendofthedecade,andfrom1999to2000thepriceincreased [11]..almost$10perbarrel.Despiteaslightdropin2000,therisecontinuedandbytheendof theperiod,thepriceofcrudeoilhadshotup[12]..apeakof$50perbarrel.

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IELTSWRITINGTASK2: USINGAMINDMAP Activity7> Gettingstartedusingamindmap >15minutes Gettingstartedwithyourcompositioncanbetheworstpart.Sometimesitcanbedifficulttothinkof ideas,buttherearethingsyoucandotohelp.Onetechniqueistodrawamindmap. Amindmapissimplyawayofgeneratingideasaboutatopicbylookingatitfromdifferent angles. Eachangleisaheadinginthemindmap.Youshouldkeeptheheadingsasgeneralaspossible becausethiswillhelpgeneratemoreideas.Forexample,youcanlookatalmostanyquestionfrom oneoftheseangles: personal,economic,political,educational,scientific,psychologicaletc.

Letslookatanexample.HeresatypicalIELTStask2writingtask: Presentawrittenargumentorcasetoaneducatedreaderwithnospecialknowledgeofthe followingtopic. Levelsofdepressionandantisocialbehaviourinchildrenhaveincreaseddramaticallyin modernsocieties.Thissituationhasledmanypeopletobelievethatchildhooditselfisin crisis.Towhatextentdoyouagreeordisagreewiththisview? Youshoulduseyourownideas,knowledgeandexperienceandsupportyourargumentswith examplesandrelevantevidence.

Belowisamindmapforthequestionyouvejustread.Therearefiveverygeneralheadings,each onerepresentingadifferentwaytolookatthequestionofchildhoodincrisis. a)Trytothinkoftwoideasofyourowntonotedownundereachheading.

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b)Herearesomeideaswethoughtof.Nowcompletethemindmapbyputtingeachoftheseideas underthebestheading. Childrenspendingmoretimealone Computergamesoftenpromoteviolence DangersoftheInternet Disappearanceoftraditionalhomeroutinessuchasfamilymealtimes ExposuretosexandviolenceonTVatanearlyage Lessclearviewsinsocietyaboutsuitablebehaviourforchildrenandadults Lessstructureddaysathomee.g.nofixedbedtime Longworkinghoursinterferewithfamilylife Marketingofproductsandimagecreatesconsumersfromchildren Moreandmoretestingandexamsatschools Morecompetitivesocietyaddstopressuretosucceed ToomuchtimetakenupbylonelyactivitiessuchascomputersandTV Parentsoftenabsentordisinterested Peerpressurefromfriendsandclassmates Poordisciplineinschooldisruptsroutinesandpatterns Pressurefromparentstosucceedandachieve Activity8>Statingandsupportingyourpointofview(1) >5minutes TheIELTSwritingtask2questionoftenendswiththewordsTowhatextentdoyouagreeor disagreewiththisview? Youdonthavetoagreewiththestatement,butitisimportantthatyou expressanopinionofyourown.Whetheryoudisagreeoragree,youshouldgivegoodreasonswhy. Examinerswantyouto: stateyouropinion clarifywhatyoumean givereasonsforyourviews giveexampleswhenappropriate emphasiseimportantpoints

a)Herearesomeusefulwordsandphrasesfordoingthesethings.Putthemunderthecorrect headings. Atypicalexampleis,Clearly,Forexample,Forinstance,Frommypointofview,Iamconvinced that,Infact,Inmyopinion,Inotherwords,Indeed,Itismybeliefthat,Needlesstosay, Obviously,suchas,Thatistosaythat,Thereasonsforthisare,Thisisbecause,Thisisdueto, Thisisonaccountof,WhatImeanbythisis Statingyouropinion

Clarifyingwhatyoumean

Givingreasonsforyourviews

Givingexamples

Emphasisingimportantpoints

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Activity9>Statingandsupportingyourpointofview(2)>5minutes Everytimeyoustateanopinion,itsimportantthatyoufollowthisupwithyourreasonsorexamples. Belowareopinionswhichcouldbeexpressedinanswertothequestionaboutchildhood.Matchthe opinions(15) withthesupportingsentences(AE). 1 Schoolhasbecomeasourceofanxietymorethanasourceoflearning. 2 Todayschildrenleadamuchmorelonelylifestylethanpreviousgenerations. 3 Therehasbeenagradualbreakdownofthebondsbetweenchildrenandtheirparents. 4Childrenneedthesecurityofroutine,butthisisoftenlackingintodaysfamilies. 5 ThefrequencyofunsupervisedaccesstotelevisionandtheInternetisalsohavinganeffectonthe psychologicalstateofmanymodernchildren. A Forinstance,theywouldmuchratherplaycomputergamesalonethanplayintheparkwith friends. B Inotherwords,childrenarebeingallowedtoviewprogrammesandinternetsitesthataretotally unsuitablefortheirage.Asaresult,theirunderstandingoftheworldisoftenmisbalancedor confused. C Thisisduetothefactthatschoolpupilsfacemoreandmoretestsandexamseachyear. D Oneofthemanyreasonsforthisisthatparentssimplyspendlesstimewiththeirchildren. E Insomefamilies,forexample,therearenosetmealtimesandchildrenmaybenotbegoingto bedbefore11.00pm Activity10>WritingTask(1)>10minutes Nowitsyourturntowrite. a)MakeaplanforyourownanswertothequestionyoureadinActivity7.Youcanusetheideasin themindmapfromearlier,oryourownideas.Rememberthatyoudontneedtousealltheideas. b)Writeyouranswer.Youneedtowriteatleast250words.Trytousesomeoftheexpressionsfrom Activity8andremembertofollowupallyouropinionswithreasonsorexamples.

Activity11> Topicsentences>10minutes Agoodwritermakesthingseasyforthereaderandyouneedtomakethingseasyfortheexaminer. Onewayyoucandothisistousetopicsentences.Topicsentencesintroducethethemeofa paragraph.Theyarelikesignpostsinyourcompositionandtheytellthereaderthatyouaremoving ontoanewtheme. a)Readthesampleanswerandmatchthetopicsentenceswiththecorrectparagraphs[A,B,C]. Anotherareaofconcernisthepressuretosucceed. ThereisalsowhatIwouldcallthepressuretogrowupormaturetooearly. Thefirstisthepressuretoconform. Crisisisastrongwordtodescribeasituation.AlthoughIwouldnotgosofarastosaythatchildhood isincrisis,Iwouldcertainlyagreethat modernchildrenareundermorepressurefrommoredirections thaneverbefore.Butwhatarethesepressuresandwhatproblemsdotheycause?[1.]thereare threemainareasofconcern. [A..][2.],childrenareunderpressuretobelikeeachotherandtobeliketherolemodelsthat theyseeinthemedia.Popandrockculturehasbecomesomuchapartofchildrenslivesthatitis nowthedefiningcharacteristicofthe1018yearoldagegroup.[3.]arepurelyeconomic.Thepop musicandfashionindustriesareworthafortune,andtheybenefitfromthemosteasilypersuaded Page11of16

consumers:children.Theresult,however,isthatchildrenasyoungastenfeellikeoutcastsamong theirpeersunlesstheybuythelatestCDsandclothes. [4.],notbeingabletoconformwiththe groupcanleadtoconflictwithparentsandevendepression. [B..][5.]isthatschoolchildrenarebeingtestedontheirlearningmuchmorefrequently. Furthermore,mostchildrenthesedaysareexpectedtotakeexamsforuniversityentrance. Constant testingmakeschildrenanxiousaboutschool.Likewise,childrenwhoarenotsuitedtoacademicstudy feelinadequatewhentheytakeexamsandthenfail.[6.],insteadofhelpingchildrensmindsgrow, theeducationsystemhasbecomethecauseofmanymentalhealthproblemsintheyoungtoday. [C..][7.]manymodernchildrenarebeingforcedtobehavelikeadultsbeforetheyareready. [8.],manychildrennowhavetolookafterthemselvesathomebecausetheirparentsarestaying everlongerhoursatwork.Moreworrying,though,istheeffectofunsupervisedtelevisionviewingand internetsurfing.Childrenareexpectedtohavethejudgementtodecidewhatissuitableforthem. [9.],theydonothavesuchjudgement.Asaresult,youngchildrenareoftenexposedtomaterial thatcanfrighten,worryandconfuse. Tosumup,although[10.]childhoodisincrisis,therehaverecentlybeenworryingchangesinthe waychildrengrowup.Ifthesetrendscontinue,theremayindeedbeacrisis.

b)NowlookbackatthemindmapforthisquestionfromActivity7.Ticktheideasthatwereusedin thefinalcomposition. c) Nowusethewordsandexpressionsbelowtocompletethesampleanswer. Forinstance Ibelieve Infact Inotherwords Indeed itisnotmybeliefthat Needlesstosay Thereasonsforthis Thisistosaythat WhatImeanbythis

LessonReview Inthislessonyouhave: Practisedreadingandgettinginformationfromdynamiccharts. Learnedstructuresandexpressionsfordescribingincreaseanddecrease. Practisedusingprepositionswhendescribingnumbersanddates LearnedhowtouseamindmaptogenerateideasforTask2. Practisedsupportingyouropinionswithreasonsandexamples. Learnedusefulwordsandexpressionsforsupportingyouropinions. Learnedhowtopicsentenceshelptoorganiseyourwriting

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Lesson4>Answerkey
Activity1 a) 1b 2aNoticethattheuseofthepasttensewere. 3cthechartdoesnotshowactuallynumbers 4a 5b b) Yourcompletechartshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

Rate% 5.8

UKUnemploymentrates(16+yearolds):May2003July2006

5.6

5.4

5.2

4.8

4.6

4.4

4.2

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3 3 4 4 3 04 0 0 0 0 l0 n ar ov ep ay Ju Ja N S M M

4 5 5 4 04 05 0 0 0 l0 v n ar o ep ay Ju Ja N S M M

5 5 0 l0 ep Ju S

5 6 6 06 0 0 0 n ar ov ay Ja N M M

6 l0 Ju

c) wentupanddownalot:fluctuatedagreatdeal didnotchange(2phrases):remainedstable,stayedatthislevel wentupalittle:therewasasmallincrease wentupveryquickly(2phrases):thefigureshotup,rosesharply arrivedatitshighestpoint:reachedapeak wentupnoticeablyoveraperiod:therewasamarkedupwardtrend wentdown(2phrases):hadfallento,therewasanothersmalldrop wentdowngraduallyoveraperiod:therewasasteadydownwardtrend

Activity2 1Therewasasharpriseinthepriceofoil. 2TemperatureincreasesnoticeablyfromMayonwards. 3Therehasbeenadramaticfallinthenumberofpeopleattendingthetheatre. 4DVDsaleshadrisensteadilyforthefirstsixmonthsoftheyear. 5Theuseofalternativeenergysourceshasgrownrapidly. 6Therewasasignificantdecreaseinthepopularityofselfcateringholidaysduringthe1990s. Page13of16

Activity3 b) Applesalesfellbyaquarter. Lemonsalesrosebyathird. Bananasalesfellbyathird. Plumsaleshalved. Apricotsalestripled. Pineapplesalesrosebyaquarter. Activity4 a) 1c 2a 3b b) 1ImportsofDVDplayersnearly/almost/approximatelydoubled 2ImportsofCDplayersfellbyjustunder/approximately/nearlyaquarter 3Thenumberoftelevisionsimportedrosebyjustover/slightlymorethanathird. 4Thenumberofimportedradiosrosebyslightlymorethan/justoveraquarter. 5Importsofvideorecordersapproximatelyhalved. Activity5 a) ThelinegraphshowsfiguresforunemploymentintheUKworkforcebetweenMay2003andJuly 2006.Itisclearfromthechartthattherateofunemploymentfluctuatedagreatdealduringthis time.Atthebeginningoftheperiod,unemploymentstoodat5.1percent.Afewmonthslaterthe figurehadrisenslightlyto5.2percent.UnemploymentthenremainedstableuntilSeptember2003. FromthispointontherewasasteadydownwardtrendandbyJanuary2004theratehadfallento 4.9percent.ItstayedatthisleveluntilMaythesameyear,butfromMaytoJulytherewasanother smalldropof1percent.TherewerenofurtherchangesinthelevelofunemploymentuntilMarchthe followingyear.FromMarchtoMay2005,therewasasmallincreaseof1percent,butthisdidnot lastlongandthefigurehadfallenbackto4.8percentbyJuly.FromSeptember2005onwards, however,therewasamarkedupwardtrendintherateofunemploymentintheUK.FromSeptember 2005toNovemberthesameyear,thefigureshotupfrom4.8to5.2percent.Therateremained stableforafewmonths,butthenrosesharplyagain,andhadreachedapeakof5.7percentby July2006. b) 1In/During 2at 3to/until 4During 5after/from 6Before/Until/In 7by 8until/to 9since(noticetheuseofpresentperfectinthemainverb) Activity6 1since 2to 3at 4by 5 6 7of 8to 9around 10of 11by 12to

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Activity7 b)

Activity8 a) Statingyouropinion Inmyopinion Frommypointofview Clarifyingwhatyoumean Inotherwords Thatistosaythat Givingreasonsforyourviews Thisisbecause Thereasonsforthisare Givingexamples Forinstance Forexample Emphasisingimportantpoints Clearly Obviously Needlesstosay

Itismybeliefthat Iamconvincedthat WhatImeanbythisisthat

Thisisdueto Thisisonaccountof Atypicalexampleis suchas Indeed Infact

Activity9 1Schoolhasbecomeasourceofanxietymorethanasourceoflearning. CThisisduetothefactthatschoolpupilsfacemoreandmoretestsandexamseachyear. 2Todayschildrenleadamuchmoresedentarylifestylethanpreviousgenerations. Page15of16

AForinstance,theywouldmuchratherplaycomputergamesthanplayinthepark. 3Therehasbeenagradualbreakdownofthebondsbetweenchildrenandtheirparents. DOneofthemanyreasonsforthisisthatparentssimplyspendlesstimewiththeirchildren. 4Childrenneedthesecurityofroutine,butthisisoftenlackingintodaysfamilies. EInsomefamilies,forexample,therearenosetmealtimesandchildrenmaybenotbegoingtobed before11.00pm 5ThefrequencyofunsupervisedaccesstotelevisionandtheInternetisalsohavinganeffectonthe psychologicalstateofmanymodernchildren. BInotherwords,childrenarebeingallowedtoviewprogrammesandinternetsitesthataretotally unsuitablefortheirage.Asaresult,theirunderstandingoftheworldisoftenmisbalancedor confused. Activity11 a) A Thefirstisthepressuretoconform. B Anotherareaofconcernisthepressuretosucceed. CThereisalsowhatIwouldcallthepressuretogrowupormaturetooearly. b) 1Ibelieve 2Inotherwords 3Thereasonsforthis 4Indeed 5WhatImeanbythis 6Infact 7Thisistosaythat 8Forinstance 9Needlesstosay 10itisnotmybeliefthat

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