PETS

At the end of this unit you will be able to write an article giving the good and bad points about
keeping a particular pet.
Look at these pictures. Which of these pets is your favourite one?

Which animal do you think is

the most expensive to keep? ____________________
the noisiest? ____________________
the most independent? ____________________
the most intelligent? ____________________
the most loyal? ____________________
the most playful? ____________________
the most dangerous? ____________________

Which animal is mans best friend? __________________________________

Is mans best friend the best pet? ____________________________________
Why? _____________________________________________________________
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Read the text quickly. Does the writer think that dogs are the best pets? ________________
IS MANS BEST FRIEND THE BEST PET?
1.

Dogs, in particular, can make your life more interesting and thats

why they are the most popular ones in the world.

2.

Children love them because they are very playful. Also, they obey

commands better than most other animals as they are very obedient. What is
more, they never run away from their owners because they are very loyal
pets.
3.

Firstly, they need a lot of spaces they are very energetic animals.

Secondly, they can cause problems with your neighbours. They can be very
noisy sometimes.
4.

Give your dog a little love and attention and you can have a friend

for life.

Read these topic sentences from the text. Can you put them back in the text?
a.- However, keeping a dog in a house can be difficult.
b.- A pet can change your life.
c.- In conclusion, I believe that, despite those minor problems, dogs still make the best pets.
d.- Dogs are wonderful pets.
Read the article again and find the good points and the bad points about having a pet dog.

Good points

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Bad points

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Lets study the way the article is written.

How many paragraphs are there? ___________________
In which paragraph does the writer give his / her opinion? _____________________________
What is the purpose of the first paragraph? _________________________________________
What is the purpose of the second paragraph? _______________________________________
What is the purpose of the third paragraph? _________________________________________

Notice that each paragraph presents a claim or a reason and then this reason is
supported by some evidences.
Reason
Evidence
Look at the previous text for examples
Dogs are wonderful pets

Keeping dogs in a house can be difficult

__________________________

____________________________

__________________________

____________________________

__________________________

____________________________

Lets study the language.

Complete these sentences from the article:

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Dogs can make your life ________________________.

They obey commands ________________________ than other animals.

Now look at these sentences:

Dogs are more intelligent pets than snakes.
Dogs are noisier than cats.
Dogs are more playful than gold fish.
Dogs are cheaper than monkeys.
All these sentences have a comparative form. Classify the comparative adjectives according to
their form.

Adjective + ................

............

The adjective has

_____________________

.................... adjective ...............

The adjective has
_____________________

Now compare these pets:

1.- Goldfish are (cheap) _______________________ than horses.
2.- Snakes are (dangerous) _________________________ than rabbits.
3.- Cats are (lazy) ______________________ than dogs.
4.- Parrots are (clever) ______________________ than snakes.
5.- Hamsters are (independent) ______________________ than dogs.
6.- Monkeys and snakes. _________________________________________________________
7.- Rabbits and parrots. __________________________________________________________
8.- Goldfish and cats. ____________________________________________________________
9.- Cats and dogs. ______________________________________________________________
10.- Hamsters and horses _______________________________________________________

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Look at these sentences and write down the rule.

Parrots are the noisiest pets in the world.
Cats are the laziest pets of all.
Dogs are the most obedient pets of all.
Horses are the strongest animals of all.
Goldfish are the most boring pets in the whole world.
SUPERLATIVE RULE
If the adjective has __________ syllable, we add ___________ to the adjective.
If the adjective has more than __________ syllables, we add _________________ before the
adjective.
We use __________ before superlatives and __________ / __________ after superlatives.

REMEMBER!!!
We use the comparative when we compare two things.
e.g. Goldfish are cheaper than horses.
We use the superlative when we compare more than two things or one thing with the whole
group they belong to.
e.g. Horses are the most expensive pets from all those animals.

Lets study the way the article is coherent.

Which words / phrases does the writer use to a) list points; b) introduce opposing ideas? What
do they mean in Catalan?

Listing points

Introducing opposing
ideas

Can you think of other words to add to the table above?

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You are going to read an article about the advantages and disadvantages of parrots as pets.
Write down the good and the bad points about parrots.

Good points

Reasons

Bad points

Reasons

Now read the article and add the good and bad points about parrots that the writer gives.
What reasons does the writer give for each point? Write them down in the table above.

Pretty Polly Popular Pets, Despite the Problems

Are you looking for a pet? Parrots are a very popular choice.
Parrots are great pets. 1) ____________ they are beautiful birds because they are brightly
coloured. 2) ____________ , parrots are entertaining and amusing. They can make you laugh
with the things they say. 3) ____________ , they arent difficult to look after as they dont
need any exercise.
4) ____________, parrots can cause problems. They can embarrass you as they often repeat
rude words from the TV or radio. 5) ____________ , you cant leave them alone all day
because they need company.
In conclusion, I think that, despite their bad points, parrots make excellent pets. Its great fun
teaching them to say things and they can be very entertaining companions.
Read the article again and fill in the gaps with the correct words/phrases from the list. Then
underline the topic sentence.
also

firstly

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on the other hand

what is more

secondly.

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Now its your turN!

You have to write a 100-word article giving the good and bad points about keeping a hamster
as a pet.
Write down what you have to do. The first one is done for you.

Writing an article giving the good and bad points

I have to ...

It will be well done if ..

1.- think about the content

a.- it gives good points and their reasons

b.- it gives
c.d.a.-There are four paragraphs
b.c.d.e.a.b.c.d.e.a.b.c.-

2.- Organise the article

3.-

4.-

Now plan your ideas:

Good points

Reasons

Bad points

Reasons

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Write your article following the tips in the table above. You can use the two texts in the unit as
models.
When you finish, assess your writing by looking at the things you consider well done. How well
have you written your article?

(Adapted from Dooley & Evans 2000)

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ASSESSMENT
Think about your writing

Writing an article giving the good and bad points

1.- Content

a.- Did you give at least two good points?

b.- Did you give reasons for the good points?
c.- Did you give at least two bad points and their reasons?
c.- Did you write an introduction presenting the topic?
d.- Did you write a conclusion giving your opinion?
e.- Are your ideas reasonable?

2.- Organise
the article

a.- Are there four paragraphs?

b.- Do all paragraphs have a topic sentence?
c.- Are there listing connectors?
d.- Are there opposing connectors?

3.Grammar
and
Vocabulary

a.- Do all sentences have a subject?

b.- Is the present simple correctly used and formed?
c.- Are comparatives and superlatives correctly used and formed?
d.- Are there adjectives related to animals?
e.- Is punctuation accurate?
f.- Are there no spelling mistakes?

4.a.- Is the article tidy?

Presentation
and layout
b.- Is there a title?
c.- Are there margins?
d.- Does it look like an article?
TOTAL

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