Chapter 3

Exploring Skills

You need to make sure that you are selecting only the most relevant
information to include in your answer.

Read the following question and extract. Then identify the

unnecessary material in the two sample answers below.

Question: Name two aspects of Portugal that Jack Petchey wanted

others to experience.

In 1970 45 year old Jack Petchey stood on a hilltop overlooking one

of the most beautiful bays on Portugal’s Algarve and envisaged a
time when people would come and marvel at the same view, walk on
those white-gold sands and swim in that perfect sea – and they
would do it all from the comfort of a luxury holiday resort complex.

Leisure Magazine

Developing Skills

Writers often develop their ideas by adding anecdotes. An anecdote

is a short story to exemplify or back up the writer’s point. For
instance:

I really don’t like cats; they scare me. If I see one coming I run.
Well okay, I step hesitantly backwards and wait for them to pass,
never losing eye contact with their slinky panther-like frames.
They’re mysterious, aloof creatures. Give me a soppy canine
anytime. One look at its face and you know it all: ‘keep away, I’m
not in the mood’ or ‘yes, yes, yes, let’s play now!’ It all started when
I was a small child and I was left in the garden on my own. Next
door’s cat came walking up to me. It looked harmless enough; in
fact it looked cuddly and kind, so I put my arms out and pulled it
towards me. Yowl! It made a terrible noise, and swiped me across
the cheek with its paw. I began to wail even louder than it had! So
there you have it: the reason I hate our furry friends, in a nutshell.

Questions

1. What is the main point being made here? Where does the
anecdote start and finish?
2. Write the following phrase into our own words. In particular
think about using alternative verbs and adjectives (synonyms).

It looked harmless enough; in fact it looked cuddly and kind.

3. Answer the following questions on the passage above.

Remember to summarise concisely, using your own words, and
to group ideas together in longer complex sentences.
How does the writer feel about cats and why?