MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

Writing paragraphs
Exercise 1
Divide the following text into paragraphs. Remember that each paragraph
should develop a particular theme.

How to stop yourself snoring.

Snoring is caused when the airway at the back of the nose and throat becomes
partially obstructed. This is usually due to the loosening of the surrounding
oropharyngeal muscles, but the reasons why this should occur are varied. The most
common are smoking, obesity and the consumption of relaxants such as alcohol and
sleeping pills. As with any common ailment, there are a host of "miracle" cures
advertised - but you should first try a few simple steps to see if you can halt the snoring
before adopting more drastic measures. Lifestyle changes can be the most effective.
If you are overweight, a loss of weight will help to reduce the pressure on your neck.
You should also stop smoking and try not to drink alcohol at least four hours before
you go to bed. Beyond this, try to change your regular sleeping position. Raise the
head of your bed with a brick, or tie something uncomfortable into the back of your
pyjamas to encourage you to sleep on your side. Both of these will help to alter the
angle of your throat as you sleep, and may thus make breathing easier for you. It is
also important to keep your nasal passage clear and unblocked. Allergies, colds and
hay fever can temporarily cause you to snore; nasal decongestants may help, but you
are not advised to use such remedies for long periods. Nasal strips, as worn by
sportspeople, have been proven to reduce nasal airway resistance by up to 30 per
cent, so consider these as a long-term alternative. If this fails, then you may wish to
look at the varied snoring aids that are on the market. They range from neck collars
that stop your neck tilting, through to mandibular-advancement devices (such as
gumshields) which reduce upper airway resistance, and tongue-retaining devices.
You can also buy essential-oil products that are added to warm water and infused or
consumed before bedtime. They claim to tone up your palate and unblock your nasal
passage. Finally, if your symptoms persist, visit your GP or contact the British
Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Association (01737 557 997) for advice. If you do not, your
partner might.

(Mark Irving, Esquire, March 1999)

MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

How to stop yourself snoring.

Snoring is caused when the airway at the back of the nose and throat becomes partially
obstructed. This is usually due to the loosening of the surrounding oropharyngeal muscles, but the
reasons why this should occur are varied. The most common are smoking, obesity and the
consumption of relaxants such as alcohol and sleeping pills. As with any common ailment, there are
a host of "miracle" cures advertised - but you should first try a few simple steps to see if you can halt
the snoring before adopting more drastic measures.

Lifestyle changes can be the most effective. If you are overweight, a loss of weight will help to reduce
the pressure on your neck. You should also stop smoking and try not to drink alcohol at least four
hours before you go to bed. Beyond this, try to change your regular sleeping position. Raise the head
of your bed with a brick, or tie something uncomfortable into the back of your pyjamas to encourage
you to sleep on your side. Both of these will help to alter the angle of your throat as you sleep, and
may thus make breathing easier for you. It is also important to keep your nasal passage clear and
unblocked.

Allergies, colds, and hay fever can temporarily cause you to snore; nasal decongestants may help,
but you are not advised to use such remedies for long periods. Nasal strips, as worn by sportspeople,
have been proven to reduce nasal airway resistance by up to 30 per cent, so consider these as a long-
term alternative. If this fails, then you may wish to look at the varied snoring aids that are on the
market. They range from neck collars that stop your neck tilting, through to mandibular-
advancement devices (such as gumshields) which reduce upper airway resistance, and tongue-
retaining devices. You can also buy essential-oil products that are added to warm water and infused
or consumed before bedtime. They claim to tone up your palate and unblock your nasal passage.
Finally, if your symptoms persist, visit your GP or contact the British Snoring and Sleep Apnoea
Association (01737 557 997) for advice. If you do not, your partner might.

(Mark Irving, Esquire, March 1999)

MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

Writing paragraphs
Paragraph sequence

Exercise 2

Look at the following text about growing cotton in India. The paragraphs have not
been printed in the correct order. Arrange the paragraphs in the correct order.
Remember that the topic of one paragraph should follow logically from the topic of
the last paragraph and should lead on to the topic of the next paragraph.

Pesticide suicide

Most of the farmers are extremely poor. Attracted by cheap loans from pesticides traders
and the prospect of a quick buck, they borrowed heavily to raise cotton on small plots of
land.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the crop losses and destruction in Andhra Pradesh
arose from the repeated application of excessive amounts of chemicals - a practice actively
encouraged by pesticides traders.
The suicide of Samala Mallaiah in Nagara village grabbed media headlines. He owned one
acre of land, leased two more and grew cotton on all three. After making a loss in the first
year, he leased yet more land in an attempt to recover. Confronted with falling prices,
mounting debts and pest attacks, he committed harakiri. ‘Cotton has given us shattered
dreams,’ said one old farmer in Nagara village.
As many as 60,000 small farmers in the region of Andhra Pradesh, southern India, have
taken to farming cotton instead of food crops. Some 20 of them have recently committed
suicide by eating lethal doses of pesticide.

Whitefly, boll weevils and caterpillars multiplied and destroyed their crops, despite the
constant application of pesticides. The average yield of cotton fields in Andhra Pradesh fell
by more than half in just one year. Now the farmers are in no position to repay the loans or
feed their families.

Nearly half the pesticides used in India go into protecting cotton, the most important
commercial crop in the country. However, pests have shown increased immunity to a range
of pesticides. Last year there were heavy crop losses due to leaf-curl, which is caused by the
dreaded whitefly. This nondescript, milky-white fly sucks sap from the cotton leaves, making
them curl and dry up. The fly struck first in Pakistan and north-western India. Then it turned
south.

(New Internationalist, June 1998, p. 13)

MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

Pesticide suicide

As many as 60,000 small farmers in the region of Andhra Pradesh, southern

India, have taken to farming cotton instead of food crops. Some 20 of them have
recently committed suicide by eating lethal doses of pesticide. The suicide of Samala
Mallaiah in Nagara village grabbed media headlines. He owned one acre of land,
leased two more and grew cotton on all three. After making a loss in the first year,
he leased yet more land in an attempt to recover. Confronted with falling prices,
mounting debts and pest attacks, he committed harakiri. ‘Cotton has given us
shattered dreams,’ said one old farmer in Nagara village.

Most of the farmers are extremely poor. Attracted by cheap loans from pesticides
traders and the prospect of a quick buck, they borrowed heavily to raise cotton on
small plots of land. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the crop losses and
destruction in Andhra Pradesh arose from the repeated application of excessive
amounts of chemicals - a practice actively encouraged by pesticides traders.

Whiteflies, boll weevils and caterpillars multiplied and destroyed their crops, despite
the constant application of pesticides. The average yield of cotton fields in Andhra
Pradesh fell by more than half in just one year. Now the farmers are in no position
to repay the loans or feed their families.

Nearly half the pesticides used in India go into protecting cotton, the most important
commercial crop in the country. However, pests have shown increased immunity to
a range of pesticides. Last year there were heavy crop losses due to leaf-curl, which
is caused by the dreaded whitefly. This nondescript, milky-white fly sucks sap from
the cotton leaves, making them curl and dry up. The fly struck first in Pakistan and
north-western India. Then it turned south.

(New Internationalist, June 1998, p. 13)

MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

Writing paragraphs
Writing topic sentences

Write the topic sentences for each of the following paragraphs.

Paragraph 1

ORGANISMS THAT LIVE INSIDE OTHERS

Firstly, they live in or on a host, and do it harm. The depth to which they penetrate the
host varies, as indeed does the damage. Fleas, leeches and lice live on the surface and
cause superficial injury. Athlete's foot is a skin disease caused by a fungus living in the
surface layers of the foot. The parasite of sleeping sickness is found in the host's blood
wriggling between blood corpuscles. Secondly, parasites show some simplification of
body structures when compared with free-living relatives. Sacculina (a relative of the
crab) shows loss of limbs and is reduced to a mass of reproductive tissue within the
abdomen of its crustacean host. Dodder, a plant parasite, lacks leaves, roots and
chlorophyll. Thirdly, although all organisms show adaptations to their way of life, in
the case of parasites they are often associated with a complex physiological response,
e.g. the ability to survive in regions almost devoid of available oxygen, such as adult
liver flukes, or the hooks and suckers of adult tapeworm. Lastly, parasites exhibit a
complex and efficient reproduction, usually associated in some way with the
physiology of the host, e.g. rabbit fleas are stimulated by the level of sex hormone in
their host.

(J. Hard, (1975). Biology, p. 57)

MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

Paragraph 2

POLLUTION LEVELS IN THE USA

In 1920 an average of 2.75 pounds of waste were produced each day by each
individual in the United States. Today the quantity of waste produced is 53 pounds per
person, and by 1980 it is estimated that this will rise to 8 pounds per person. One year's
rubbish from 10,000 people covers an acre of ground to the depth of 10 feet. In one
year Americans throw away 48 thousand million cans, 26 thousand million bottles,
430 million tons of paper, 4 million tons of plastic and 100 million tyres which weigh
almost a million tons.

(John W Klotz, (1972). Ecology crisis, p. 197)

Paragraph 3

IMPORTANCE OF TIME

That it might be experienced in any other way seems unnatural and strange, a feeling
which is rarely modified even when we begin to discover how really differently it is
handled by some other people. Within the West itself certain cultures rank time much
lower in over-all importance than we do. In Latin America, for example, where time is
treated rather cavalierly, one commonly hears the expression, "Our time or your
time?" "Hora americana, hora mejicana?"

(Edward Hall, (1973), The silent language, p. 6)

MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

Paragraph 4

TIME OF CRISIS

From the late 1870s onwards, cheap American corn began to arrive in the country in
large quantities, along with refrigerated meat and fruit from Australia and New
Zealand, and in a period when both farmers and businessmen were complaining of
depression, standards of living rose higher than they had ever done. The change began
each day, as Victorian writers frequently pointed out, with the food on the breakfast
table - with eggs and bacon as staple fare for the middle classes - and went on through
tea, high or low, to multi-course dinners or fish-and-chip suppers. The poor were eating
better as well as the rich. The annual per capita consumption of sugar, which had
increased from 18 lb. to 35 lb. between the Queen's accession and 1860, rose to 54 lb.
in 1870-99 and 85 lb. in 1900-10; that of tea, which along with beer had now become
a national drink, went up from 1½ lb, first to 4¼ lb and then to 6 lb.

(Asa Briggs, (1983). A social history of England, p. 246)

Paragraph 5

PROCESSES INSIDE OUR BODY

The first is the way in which living cells develop an energy currency. This, like ordinary
money, can be used to exchange one vital commodity for another. The second is the
use of substances called enzymes as go-betweens to reduce the amount of energy
needed to make many chemical reactions essential to life take place fast enough.

(The sciences: Michael Beazley Encyclopaedias (1980), p. 136)

MIDTERM I Written Communication

MARCIA JANETH VALDÉS 4-784-907

Paragraph 6

HIERARCHIES IN THE MIDDLE AGES

At first it was little more than a trickle. For a long time the Norman conquerors did
not mix much with their Saxon subjects. There are plenty of indications of this; for the
languages, too, moved side by side in parallel channels. The custom of having one
name for a live beast grazing in the field and another for the same beast, when it is
killed and cooked, is often supposed to be due to our English squeamishness and
hypocrisy. Whether or not the survival of this custom through ten centuries is due to
the national characteristics in question it would be hard to say, but they have certainly
nothing to do with its origin. That is a much more blame-less affair. For the Saxon
neatherd who had spent a hard day tending his oxen, sheep,
calves and swine, probably saw little enough of the beef, mutton, veal,
pork and bacon, which were gobbled at night by his Norman masters. There is
something a little pathetic, too, in the thought that the homely old word, stool, could
be used to express any kind of seat, however magnificent, until it was, so to speak,
hustled into the kitchen by the smart French chair. Even the polite, however,
continued to use the old word in the idiom ‘to fall between two stools’.

Owen Barfield: History in English Words (Faber, 1954)