Successful paraphrasing

Rank the statements for each paragraph below according to how good a paraphrase
of the main points they are.

The Excitement of Advertising

Outdoor advertising has to attract, engage and persuade potential customers: it
is the most important way of grabbing customers’ attention and outdoor media
continue to undergo a transformation. At the core of this transformation is the
digital screen media, which encompass everything from giant screens to digital
billboards. The technology is cheap and advertising agencies rave about the
creative possibilities for advertisements which entertain, amuse, inform, make
the environment brighter and enliven the world we live in.

A) New digital screen media are making up for the failures of outdoor advertising in
the past.
B) According to advertising agencies new digital screen media brighten our
environment.
C) Advertisement hoardings, especially those using new digital media, have huge
marketing potential.
D) Those in the industry are particularly excited about the entertainment and
animation dimensions of new public digital formats
E) The world of outdoor advertising needs to transform itself to stay relevant in a
digital age.
F) Cheap technology, like giant screens and digital billboards, offer creative
possibilities.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE REVISED CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH: PROFICIENCY WRITING EMC/8009/1Y10 3

 Advertising: an undesirable business
Once upon a time outdoor advertising was straightforward. Posters were stuck up on
anything from a bus shelter to a motorway hoarding. Many people considered this to be
fairly dull, a harmless blot on the landscape and chose to ignore it. These people now
regard digital advertising as a form of unwanted, creeping commercialisation: it attracts
a buzz simply because it is new. They feel that any advertising which targets children or
vulnerable adults is a dubious practice at the best of times, and digital advertising is,
moreover, wasteful, damaging to the environment and completely unnecessary.

A) People who took little notice of billboard advertising now see advertising in its
digital form as an intrusion.
B) Advertising used to be straightforward but was fairly dull.
C) All forms of advertising aimed at children or the vulnerable in society are
questionable.
D) As well as being intrusive, digital advertising is a form of environmental pollution.
E) The author feels that advertising is not something we can ignore.
F) Digital advertising is mainly aimed at young people and that creates an air of
excitement around it.

4 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE REVISED CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH: PROFICIENCY WRITING EMC/8009/1Y10

Your point of view
1) Look at these statements relating to the Part 1 question on advertising. Tick the
ones you broadly agree with and put a cross by the ones you take issue with.

A) In Text 2 the writer argues that all forms of advertising aimed at children or
the vulnerable in society are morally questionable.
B) Text 1 makes the point that advertisement hoardings, especially those using
new digital media, have huge marketing potential.
C) The writer of Text 2 views digital advertising as both more intrusive than other
forms of outdoor advertising and as a form of environmental pollution.
D) One of the main arguments made in Text 1 is that the advertising industry
intends to exploit digital media in public spaces in any way it can.

2) Match an item of language below to each statement, A–D, above that would best
allow you to develop your own view in relation to it.

To a certain extent, I … This is particularly true …

This view is a little simplistic. Though he has a point …

It is inevitable … In some ways, … It is hard not to …

Personally, I feel it is easy to exaggerate …

I have some sympathy for those …

3) Now, using the language you have chosen, develop your view on one of these
points into a full paragraph.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE REVISED CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH: PROFICIENCY WRITING EMC/8009/1Y10 5

Topic
Look at this opening sentence related to the ideas in the Part 1 texts.

The writer of Text 2 views digital advertising as both more intrusive than other
forms of outdoor advertising and as a form of environmental pollution.

The three highlighted parts of this sentence show the ideas that a writer would need
to principally refer to in his/her subsequent development of this topic sentence into a
paragraph.

Choose words that will help you rephrase the key ideas in developing your
paragraph.

new forms of media hard to avoid

public screens in your face
electronic billboards bothered by
(roaming) e-marketing invades personal space

harms the environment

noise/light pollution
cleaner/more/less
environmentally friendly

6 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE REVISED CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH: PROFICIENCY WRITING EMC/8009/1Y10