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.

Page1of16

Rate%

UKUnemploymentrates(16+yearolds):May2003July2006

5.8

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
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M

4
4
5
4
5
05
0
0
0
0
l0
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ov
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Ju
Ja
N
S
M
M

5
5
6
5
6
06
0
0
0
0
l0
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Ja
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6
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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.
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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
July

8000

November

6000
4000
2000
0
oranges

apples

lemons

bananas

plums

apricots pineapples

b)NowwritesentencesaboutthechangesinfruitsalesfromJulytoNovember.Usethewordsfrom
thebox.
aquarterathirddoubledfellbyhalvedrosebytripled
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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

aaround

2approximately

bnearly

3justunder

cslightly morethan

b)
Nowwritesentencesaboutthechartbelow,whichshowschangesinthequantitiesofimportsof
certainelectronicgoods.Again,usethewordsintheboxes.

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Importsofelectronicgoods
millionsofunits
2000
2006

8.5

9
8
7

6.2

5.8

6.2
5.2

5
4

4
3

2.8
2.1

1.7

1
0
DVDplayers

CDplayers

Televisions

aquarterathirddoubledfellby
halvedrosebytripled

Radios

Videorecorders

justoverapproximatelyjustunderaround
nearlyslightlymorethan

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

50

SecondGulfcrisis
40

Iranianrevolution

30

InvasionofKuwait
Araboilembargo

20
10

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

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

Page10of16

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

Page12of16

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

Rate%

UKUnemploymentrates(16+yearolds):May2003July2006

5.8

5.6

5.4

5.2

4.8

4.6

4.4

4.2

3
0
ay
M

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
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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

Page14of16

10of
11by
12to

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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