STEP II. SCRIPT STAGE

OBJECTIVES: at the script stage you are going to learn how to recognize general and specific ideas; topics and main ideas and write good theses.

A general idea is a main idea. It covers many smaller, more detailed ideas. A specific idea is a detail; it supports (explains or gives reasons and examples for) a main idea. Good writers think about the difference between general and specific ideas as they write. They put general ideas first, and specific ideas next. They organize their ideas like shown below.

Learn the example.

1) University students have a lot of homework (This sentence talks about a general idea: homework).

2) They often have to read several hundred textbook pages a week (This sentence contains a specific idea: an example of homework).

3) University students may also have to write several long papers each term (This sentence also contains a specific idea: another example of homework).

General idea

Specific idea № 1

Specific idea № 2

Etc.

In both reading and writing, it is important to recognize the topic of a paragraph and the main idea of a paragraph. The topic is a word or phrase that states what a paragraph is about. The main idea is a complete sentence that says something about the topic. Remember, a complete sentence has at least a subject and a verb! Learn the example.

1) The condition of textbooks (It is a topic. It is not a complete sentence).

2) In some countries, students’ textbooks are in pristine condition (This is a main idea – a complete sentence that says something about the topic).

You do not need to be a natural writer to produce correct, reader-friendly documents. If you follow the basic writing principlesby E. Danziger, your readers not only will have a better grasp of your services and responsibilities but they also may even look forward to reading your letters.

1) Use many verbs. They give your language life. Use the active voice – the passive voice will rob your writing of its energy – and simplify your sentences by breaking them up into manageable, easy-to-read information bites.

2) Include an overview that highlights the major points of interests to your readers. Separate all the detailed analysis from the bottom-line conclusion.

3) Emphasize the value of your services.

4) Follow the golden rule of writing: Write to others as you would like others to write to you.

Now you are going to write a paragraph. The writing process has five main steps: understanding the assignment; brainstorming; narrowing the topic; writing; and self-and peer editing.

The first step in the writing process is understanding the writing assignment. Often the assignment is a question. Here is the example: Are engineers in your country paid well? Why or why not? Write one paragraph.

First, make sure that you understand the meanings of all the words in the assignment. Then make sure you know how long your writing is supposed to be. Finally, think about what the assignment is asking you to do. This will help you narrow your topic. This assignment asks you to answer a question and then give reasons for your answer.

Writing is telling someone about your ideas. But it’s hard to write if you don’t have ideas. Where do you get ideas? You get ideas from reading, talking to other people, and thinking. Then you brainstorm. Brainstorming is thinking of ideas about a topic and writing them down. You don’t worry if they’re good or correct. You don’t decide whether they fit; you don’t erase the ones that don’t fit. You can brainstorm alone or with partners. Here are some brainstorming ideas for the assignment on the cost of textbooks:

high qualification; government help;

hard to find a good job after university; we live in difficult times;

my uncle’s career; education is important; relatives or friends’ patronage;

don’t dream too much; sexism

The next step is to look at your brainstorming ideas and pick out a main (general) idea and two or more specific ideas that support it. You aren’t going to write a lot, so you must narrow your topic(make it small enough) to fit into one paragraph. For example:

Engineers are paid well because in Russia they get good education.

Young engineers are not paid well because it is difficult to find a good job after the university.

To have a good job and high salary you need your relatives or friends’ patronage.

Now you are ready to write your first draft. Writing is actually rewriting – writing the same thing over again until you get it right. What does a first draft look like? It might be missing some information, it might have some information that is not a logical order, or it might have some grammar or spelling mistakes. Learn the following example.

Engineers in Russia are paid well because here we have a very good system of technical education. The government also speaks about the shortage of qualified engineers in our country. But in fact, it is so difficult for young engineers to find a good job just after the university. You should work a lot and always take care about your skills and trainings. Sometimes it helps but usually an average engineer earns not enough and has little hope to be promoted.

In addition sexism is very common and for women to become a well-paid specialist is more difficult. I think the best thing that can help you to obtain quick promotion and earn good money is your relatives or friends’ patronage, of course if you have such relatives or friends. My uncle works for big international engineering company, you know.

As you can see, this first draft is quite good. However, there are a few mistakes, and the last sentence is not necessary.

Self-editing is checking your own work. Peer editing is giving your work to another person to check. Checking your own work helps you to be an independent writer [2].

PRACTICE

Exercise 1.The following groups of ideas are mixed up. Each has one general and two specific ideas. Read the sentences. Find the general idea and put a G next to. Put an S next to each specific idea.

A.

1) ………Economics is a social science studying economy.

2) …….. Economics consists of two disciplines that is of microeconomics and macroeconomics.

3) ……… Economics is based on the predictions of the models.

1) ……… Czech economic reforms had been delayed because of the dissolution of the former Czechoslovakia.

2) ……… Czech economic reforms face difficulties in their relations with Western Europe.

3) ……… Officials were irritated by European Community ceilings on Czech exports to the Community.

1) ………. The markets on which securities are delft in three parts.

2) ………. The USM and the OTC are part of the Stock Exchange.

3) ………. The Stock Exchange develops a Third Market which will take over present OTC business.

B.

1) ……… Educational system in China really influences the qualification of Chinese railway engineers.

2) ……… Chinese education seems better because they use modern technologies in the process of education and it is more financed by the government.

3) ………. The Chinese are highly disciplined people, they attend all the classes and know that they must study well to get a highly paid vacancy because there is a strong competition in labour market.

1) ………. It would be profitable to try to built high-speed railway if we want to develop some day the Extreme North area and to get most of it.

2) ………. It would improve passenger and freight capacity and would make these zones more attractive for living in.

3) ………. We could provide people with everything they need all the year round taking into account that shipping is limited by weather conditions.

1) ………. Patent documents offer a whole host of information on new and also older technologies.

2) ………. The information contained in patent documents enables you to find out, for example, which companies are operating on which new markets.

3) ……….. In the European Patent Office’s databases alone there are more than 60 million published patent documents from all over the world.

Exercise 2.Read the following passage without the dictionary and choose the correct variant of the general idea and put tick (ü) next to.

A. For centuries Siberian continent separated with its expanse Europe and the Far East and made partners to pave roundabout ways from one to another. And now Siberian territory turns out the key to the development of economic communications with countries of Asian-Pacific region - not only for Russia, but for the whole Europe. As far as Siberia itself is concerned, its foreign economic connections were complicated by new circumstances after the USSR disintegration. That is, the first, inevitable cargoes transit over the territories of the new sovereign states, which political and economic relations with are not finally settled yet. And the second, re-orientation to the seaports, which as Russia, as Siberia might make use of beyond control of the neighboring countries - the former USSR republics.

1) …….. Siberia faces some difficulties to turn out the key to the development of economic communications with countries of Asian-Pacific region.

2) …….. Siberia expanses Europe and the Far East and makes partners to pave roundabout ways from one to another.

3) …….. Two difficulties have appeared after the USSR disintegration.

Exercise 3.Now write two specific ideas to support the general idea chosen. Decide the correct variant of the general idea and put tick (ü) next to. Then write two specific ideas to support your general idea.

B.A project to build a space port in a region of space called L 1 would be a costly diversion. Mars holds the key to knowledge of the diversity of life in the universe, and is thus the true goal for our manned space program. NASA needs to carry out plans, not build things. America reached the Moon in the 1960's because the space agency had its eye firmly focused on a real mission with a presidential deadline. Under those circumstances, NASA was forced to develop an efficient plan to achieve that mission, and then driven to build a coherent set of hardware elements to carry out that plan. If President Obama is willing to provide that kind of direction, we can have humans on Mars within a decade.

1) ……. A space project will be expensive.

2) ……. NASA must carry out some plans.

3) ……. Humans will land on Mars within a decade.

Exercise 4.Read the following passages without the dictionary and write the general idea. Find as many specific ideas as you can to support your general idea.

A. TransSib, the backbone line in Eastern and, in particular, in Western Siberia, has, for today, no reserves either of passing, or of transport capability - even in view of last years reduction of freight turnover between western and eastern Russia's regions. Of three main railroads, which run from Siberia westward, the single one - TransSib - remains within Russia's boundaries. The other two (SredSib and YujSib) after the USSR disintegration came to be out of Russia, in the territory of the sovereign Kazakhstan. Moreover, the short length of the main travel of TransSib trespasses Kazakhstan territory along the Omsk-Ekaterinburg run (in the neighborhood of Petropavlovsk). The other TransSib travel along this run (through Tyumen) is weaker technically.

B. Russia is interested in German investments. Looking at the future of Germany-Russia economic cooperation, we have every reason for optimism. This optimism is not based on the momentary market situation, though, but on the strategic and long-term coincidence of our economic interests. During “The St. Petersburg Dialog,” President Vladimir Putin yet again urged the German economy to step up investments. The German side wants red tape and the number of “omnivorous” bureaucrats to be cut. Objectively, the picture of German-Russian economic ties looks just splendid. Germany still remains Russia’s economic partner No. 1. In the first half of 2007 alone, German exports to Russia increased by 33.2 percent to €12.8 billion. Germany is one of the biggest investors ranking fifth with approximately €13 billion in accumulated and nearly €3.6 billion in direct investment. If we take investments of Cyprus, Holland and Luxembourg (ranking first to third), these mainly represent repatriated capital.

Exercise 5.Identify these groups of words. Which are topics? Write T. Which are main ideas? Write MI.

A.

1) ………. Income

2) ………. “wholesalers” and “retailers”

3) ………. the wholesalers buy goods in bulk

4) ………. fashion changes

5) ………. fashion changes as a fall in demand

6) ……….. they help producers of the risk of a fall in demand

7) ……….. the holding of stocks is an economic function

8) ……….. temporary changes in demand and supply

B.

1) ………. ballast

2) ………. centralised traffic control

3) ………. the signaling of a long section of railway is undertaken from one control point

4) ………. cutting bar

5) ………. a narrow bridge to be used only by people walking

6) ……….. footbridge is usually used by walking people

7) ……….. loads are carried by lorries

8) ……….. mechanisms moving trains from one track to another

Exercise 6.Read the passages. What is the topic in each passage? Put tick (ü). Then write the main idea for each passage.

A.Because business is so new in Novosibirsk, much of the infrastructure has not been developed as yet. Telecommunications suffer poor quality, there is virtually no Western quality office space, and labor pool of well trained support staff is limited. These things, of course, interfere with achieving business goals, but are surmountable. We in “ABC” try to provide a range of services which fill these gaps and thus allow business people to concentrate on business and not logistics. On the other hand, the advantage of the city's small size is that getting around the city is easy, and what's very important - it is easier to learn if there are any problems with potential partners or customers. However, the single greatest challenge to doing business in general in Russia is overcoming communication barriers. Communication is incredibly difficult at every level, this starts at the most basic level of technical difficulties. Anyone who has ever tried to do any business with Russia can attest to the changed phone numbers, bad telephone lines, unresponsive fax machines and unresolved faxes. Language barriers represent another major communication challenge that needs to be carefully worked. Working through a translator is agonizing, and even an American with excellent Russian will miss certain cultural subtleties and is at a disadvantage of not communicating in his first language.

1) ………. the greatest challenges to do business in Novosibirsk

2) ………. the problems facing businesses in Novosibirsk

3) ………. communicational difficulties

B.A shiny white pod that began road tests this month may well be the taxi of the future. The pod, known as ULTra -- Urban Light Transport -- could make driver-free transport a reality and not just the stuff of futuristic fantasy. ”It will be the first in the world”, said Richard Treychenne, director of business development at ULTra's makers, Advanced Transport Systems Limited. The pod -- which seats up to four passengers -- is the brainchild of Bristol University's Martin Lowson, who is no stranger to making science fiction dreams come true. His past projects include the Apollo Moon-landing program in the United States. The first stage of the ULTra project will have 30 pods circling the Cardiff Bay area in Wales by 2004 if all goes according to plan, Treychenne said. Next, the pods would move to the center of the Welsh capital. At a maximum of 25 mph, ULTra may not reach cosmic speeds but should still speed past cars and buses stuck in traffic. The battery-powered pods will operate on a single five foot track -- less than half the width of a single lane of road - and recharge at every stop to keep their energy levels topped up. Resistant to vandalism, snow, rain and ice, the vehicles will be designed to stop automatically if they sense an object in their path.

1) ……. transport problems in Wales

2) ……. taxi of the future

3) ……. special vehicles designs

C. The precision engineering (PE) industry comprises predominantly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) serving largely as contract manufacturers and component suppliers for product manufacturers. Being at the end of the manufacturing chain, PE companies face tremendous challenges in an increasingly dynamic environment of globalization, product proliferation, and shortening product life cycles. For PE companies to succeed under such circumstances, they must be lean, agile, and technologically competent. There is a progressive trend for product manufacturers to outsource more of their operations so that they can concentrate on their core strengths of design and development. This provides excellent opportunities for the more enterprising PE companies to move up the value chain. A business model that is becoming increasingly common is one in which the product manufacturer nurtures of pool of supporting companies to form a manufacturing ecosystem. There are a number of important considerations for PE companies to adapt to such a symbiotic relationship.

1) ………. composition of PE industry

2) ………. conditions for PE companies success

3) ………..some considerations for PE companies to adapt to a symbiotic relationship

Exercise 7.Here is your writing assignment. Read it and follow the steps given below.

Do qualified engineers in Russia have enough work? Why or why not? Write one paragraph (200-250 words).

Step 1. Do you understand all the words in your writing assignment? Which words are new? What do you think they mean?

Step 2. How long will your writing be?

Step 3. What is the assignment asking to do? Do you have to give reasons?

1)Work with a partner. Talk about the assignment. Write down ideas as you talk. Brainstorm freely; don’t cross anything out yet.

2)Look at your brainstorming notes. Pick out a main idea. Pick out an idea that you can talk about in one paragraph. Then select specific supporting ideas. Cross out any ideas that don’t fit. Leave the ones that aren’t sure of; you might be able to use them after you start writing.

3)Write your first draft.

4)Read your paragraph. Answer the questions on checklist 1. Write YES or NO. Then exchange papers with a classmate. Check each other’s paragraphs. Write YESor NO on your classmate’s check.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 687