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Digital humans
Reading and vo cab u lary A day in th e life

1 SPEAKING Imagine you are sitt ing next to a

FI DRV THE LIFE

st ranger on a t rain. Discuss t he t hings you might
show t hem or t alk t o t hem about. in

OF R DIOITRL HURRR
m personal photos ■ personal text messages
your age w here you live w h o your friends are
w hat you are interested in w h at you w ere doing
last weekend A s part o f o u r week on d ig ita l hum ans, we
a sk ed teenager Issy T y le r to keep a ‘d ig ita l’
2 SPEAKING Discuss t he quest ions. Then read t he diary. P sy ch o lo g ist Mia Graham an a lysed
art icle from a science magazine and compare your the re su lts.
answers.
1 W h at are th e advantages and disadvantages of
7.30 a.m.
I’m usually on Facebook first thing and today was
sharing information on a social m edia w ebsite?
no different. I actually logged in w hile I w as still
2 Is it easier to be mean to people in the digital w orld?
in bed, ju st to see w hat m y friends had posted
the night before and to catch up w ith the gossip.
3 Complet e t he article with sent ences A-G. There is
O ve r breakfast, I did a status update and within
one sent ence t hat you do not need.
thirty m inutes, I had five likes and tw o com m ents.
A I didn't kn ow on e of them , but that's w h y Facebook is Nothing special about that - it w as ju st another
so exciting. ordinary day.
B Issy enjoys being part o fa com m unity.
Mia: It’s natural and hum an to share experiences
C I talked to m y friend about the nasty com m en t and
and open up to people. 1 . She likes it when
she apologized.
people from this com m unity com m ent on her
D However, friends can com prom ise this im age by
status.
tagging you in photos, saying w here you've been or
w h at you've said.
8.45 a.m.
E He left his m obile in class today and I found it.
On the school bus, I noticed that I’d been tagged
F Issy did th e right thing w hen she deleted the
in a picture. 2.............It’s stressed me out, so
com m ent. I’m currently checking the latest updates again.
G I looked absolutely awful so I clicked 'untag'. Hopefully, no one realized it w as me!

Mia: On Facebook, Issy is alw ays on disp lay and

insig h t P h ra s a l v e rb s : re la tio n s h ip s
she feels the pressure to consistently Took good’.
4 St udy t he highlight ed phrasal verbs in t he text. In a recent survey, 41% o f teens said their online
T h e n re p la c e th e p h ra ses in italics w ith th e co rrect im age w as extrem ely im portant, consequently, they
form of t he phrasal verbs. made an effort to look ‘cooler than th ey really are’.

1 Jo h n hasn't returned to his usual self after our 3 . You might not like it, but you can’t stop
friends sharing inform ation about you.
argum ent. He refuses to be friends with me.
2 W h e n e ve r Peter w as bullied at school, he usually lost
con t rol o f his feelings and cried.
3 I called an old friend today and w e brought each other
up- to- date on our news. W e hadn't spoken to each
other for a while.
4 W e unexpectedly m et our teacher w hile w e w ere
walking around the museum.
5 Isabel is very shy. She doesn't usually talk freely about
her feelings.
6 You should always su pport a n d defen d your friends
w h e n som eone is m ean to them.
7 W h e n Ciaran m et m y sister, th ey liked each other
immediately. They w ere both obsessed with W orld of
Warcraft.
8 People w h o are horrible or nasty to other people are
called bullies.

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Vocabulary: phrasal verbs: relationships; words often confused;
describing gadgets: words with more than one meaning
Speaking: discussing social media; analyzing real life and online life; asking
for instructions, explanations and clarification
9A
Grammar: defining and non-defining relative clauses; introductory It Writing: a for and against essay

insig h t Words of ten conf used

5 St udy t he underlined words in t he t ext. Then match

each word in 1-5 to def init ions a-b.
1 actu ally/cu rrently 4 sym p athetic/friend ly
a really, in fact a happily
b at the present time, com m unicating
at the m om ent w ith som eone
2 latest/last b show ing that
a final, com ing after you understand
all others people's feelings
b the most recent and feeling sorry
3 co n sequ ently/ for them
consistently 5 even tu ally/p o ssib ly
12.30 p.m.
At lunchtim e, a friend posted quite a nasty
a as a result, because a perhaps, m aybe
com m ent about ano th er friend on m y profile. The of this b in the end, finally
tw o girls recently had a row, but th ey need to get b regularly, constantly
over it and make up w ith each other. I deleted the
com m ent because I don’t w an t to get involved. 6 Choose t he correct answers.
1 It took a long time, but I eventually / possibly
Mia: It's easy to pick on people in the digital world.
uploaded a video on m y Facebook page.
Cyberhullies can post an unflattering picture or a
2 Issy had a n e w friend request today. She didn't
nasty com m ent and reach a wide audience. And in
actually / currently know w h o the person was.
an online world, you can't see people break down in
tears. As a result, you're less sym pathetic and less 3 I know how the victims of cyberbullies feel. I was bullied
likely to stick up for them. 4 myself at school, so I am totally sym pathetic /friendly.
4 W e w aited a long tim e for Max. H e w as the last /
5.30 p.m. latest person to arrive.
At hom e, I w rote a post about a boy I quite like. 5 Beth did consequently / consistently w ell in class, so
5............. It w as nice to talk to him, he w as friendly everyone w as surprised w h e n she failed her exam.
and w e had a lot in com m on - w e really hit it off! 6 Last week, w e learned about com puter program m ing
and w e are actually / currently studying the
Mia: Like so m any of us, Issy shares intimate details
problems of privacy on Facebook.
of her life online. The problem is, these details stay
on the web forever and are easy to dig up again. In a
7 I get the last / latest stories in m y newsfeed on
Facebook.
recent survey, 40% of teens said they were concerned
about w ho was view ing their online activities. 8 M y sister forgot to post th e party invitation on

T h ey also worried about how these activities might Facebook. Consequently / Consistently, no one
eventually be perceived by parents, teachers, future turned up.
em ployers or their peers. T h ey are right to be 9 Troy was sym pathetic / friendly and pleasant, but he
concerned about who is watching. The internet never wasn't a good friend w hen it really mattered.
forgets, so Issy needs to think before she posts. 10 Are you playing football this w eekend? Eventually /
Possibly, unless it rains.
11.00 p.m.
My last status update before I go to bed and I had 7 SPEAKING Discuss t he quest ions.
tw o friend requests, w hich I accepted. 6 You
1 Have you got a social m edia account? H o w often do
can chat with people w ho you possibly w ouldn't
you use it? W h at do you actually use it for?
run into in yo u r everyd a y life and you can contact
2 Do you think everyone will eventually have a social
people w ho you haven't seen for years ...
media account? W h y / w h y not?
Mia: Issy's right - it's good to talk, but she needs to 3 In the future, will w e possibly be interacting more
be extrem ely careful about who she talks to. The w ith m achines than w ith people? W h at effect might
average teen has 237 ‘friends', however, th ey have this have?
talked to only a fraction o f these people in real life.
Vo cab u lary b ank Technology page 142
Essen tially it's a question o f trust, so before you
accept a friend request, consider this: w ho is this
person and do I really w an t them to read m y posts?
Don't forget, there are people behind the machines.

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9B G r a m m a r a n d l i st e n i n g Fr i e n d sh i p s n o w a n d t h e n

ı SPEAKING Look at t he phot o of t wo f riends, Maggie and Tessa. Answer t he quest ions.
Then read t he t ext and check your answers.
1 W h ere are th e w o m e n from?
2 H o w did they m eet?
3 H o w long have they known each other?
4 H o w d o th ey usually com m unicate?

m u L T e & s d :

a, la#ti4tg jrLenJvUviyp
We live in a w orld w here instant com m unication is
possible. W ith access to the internet, we can make
friendships w ith people thousands of miles away. But
Maggie and Tessa, now b oth in their seventies, form ed
their long-distance friendship nearly sixty years ago,
using only pen and paper.
'M aggie was an English girl w ho “ h er w hen they
A m erican girl w ho first letter from Tessa,' explains Maggie. ‘I joined

r p e n 1pal d u b w hich was set up to encourage f r i e n d s ^ ^ “ X ever

Maggie and Tessa w q u ,o each g , e r for K T ,

came to England on a family holiday an ^ p (his tall biorK)e w om an w hose eyes were

proper letters!' laughs Tessa. ‘They keep in touch on Facebook.

Defining relative clauses

2 St udy sent ences 1-3 and t he highlight ed relat ive pronouns in t he t ext. Complet e rules a-e.
The underlined clauses are defining relative clauses. They com e im m ediately after a noun and they
give essential information about the noun. Relative pronouns introduce the clause.
We use:
a or that for people.
b .................................... o r .................................................. for things.
c for possessions,
d for places,
e for time.

3 St udy sent ences 1 and 3 in t he t ext again and answer t he quest ions.
1 In w hich sentence is the relative pronoun the subject o f the verb in th e relative clause and in
w hich is it the object of the verb?
2 In w hich sentence can w e leave out the relative pronoun? W h y?

Reference and practice 9.1 W orkbook page 120

4 Read t he t ext again and find more examples of def ining relat ive clauses.

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9B

5 Com plet e t he t ext wit h relat ive pronouns.

Although m any people use email to are interested in the program m e can register
com m unicate long distance, there are still some their class on the database. S tu d e n ts7
traditional penfriend organizations1 are apply for details of possible penfriends also
popular around the world. O ne of the biggest receive a g u id e 8 shows them h o w to
and best known is the Student Letter Exchange, w rite letters and also gives advice and ideas,
w hich was started in 1936. The Exchange is a penfriend projects and postage rates.
p ro g ram m e 2............links 500,000 students in
over 100 countries. It was first sta rte d 3
a teacher w anted
to encourage his
students to learn more
about other countries
and cultures. It has a
database of students
4 have registered
w ith the organization
because they w an t to find
penfriends. Any English-speaking
s tu d e n t5 ..........is aged betw een
eight and twenty-three years old
can join. Teachers6 students

6 Combine t he sent ences t o make one sent ence. Use a def ining relat ive clause. Use a pronoun
only where necessary
1 Steph is m y friend. Her fam ily m oved to another country.
Steph is m y frie n d ...................
2 It w as last year. Her dad got a n e w jo b and th ey all left.
It w as last y e a r ...................
3 In prim ary school in London. W e m et there ten years ago.
It w as in prim ary sc h o o l...................
4 W e w ere both six years old. Our teacher introduced us.
They w ere both six years o ld ...................
5 These are the emails. W e w rite them to each other.
These are the e m a ils ..................
6 Email is the main form of com m unication. It helps us to stay in touch.
Email is the main form of c o m m u n ica tio n ...................

2.19 List en t o a radio programme and mat ch 1-8 t o a- h. Then make full sent ences with
w ho, w hose, w hich, t h a t o r w here.
1 Can w e trust the people a are specifically about corn snakes,
2 Julia Price is a psychologist b interests are th e same as mine,
3 Screen Friends is a novel c w e can m eet n e w people,
4 Are w e losing the friends d w ou ld be very difficult to d o in real life,
5 W e have another place e has just written Screen Friends,
6 I can find three or four websites f w e kn ow in real life?
7 N o w I'm talking to people g is about an online friendship,
8 That's som ething h w e m eet online?

8 SPEAKING Work in groups. Discuss t he quest ions.

1 H o w m any online friends have you g ot? H o w did you m eet them ?
2 H o w m any real friends have you g ot? H ow did you m eet them ?
3 Do your online friends know you as w ell as your real friends?
4 Is your personality the same w hen you are online and w hen you talk to friends face-to-face?
W h y / w h y not?

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9 C ■ Listening, speaking and vocabulary Can't live w ith o u t...

1 SPEAKING Look at t he phot os and put t hem in order from 1-5 (1 = most import ant in your
life, 5 = least import ant ). Then work in small groups and com pare your ideas.

2 2.20 List en t o f our people t alking about t heir f avourit e gadget s. Mat ch t he speakers to
t he gadget s A-E in exercise 1. Which gadget is not ment ioned?

3 2.20 List en again and answer t he quest ions.

1 W h o uses a gadget w hen driving? Speaker
2 W h o talks about a friend w h o broke his gadget? Speaker ...........
3 W h o talks about the size of a gadget? Speakers .........., .............
4 W h o says that a gadg et is not very n ew ? Speaker ............
5 W h o uses a gadget to help with their coursework? Speaker ............
6 W h o makes calls with a gadget? Speakers ........... , .............
7 W h o talks about accessories for a gadget? Speakers ........... , .............., ............
8 W h o talks about the cost of a gadget? Speaker ...........

1 1 Describing gadget s

4 Which gadget s in exercise 1 are sent ences 1-7 about ? What ot her gadget s could t hey describe?
1 It's extremely convenient and easy to use.
2 It w as very expensive, actually, so I'm careful w ith it.
3 I used to have a walkm an, but that's so out-of-date now.
4 It's a really old car, w ith just an inexpensive radio.
5 M y favourite gadget is so efficient - it does everything and it's really fast.
6 It’s a bit fragile, but I bought a durable cover, so I'm not w orried that som ething will happen to it.
7 It's not very reliable n ow and there are all sorts of problem s with it.

5 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Think of a gadget and describe it to your partner. Use t he highlighted
words in exercise 4. Your part ner needs to guess t he gadget t hat you are describing.
DVD ext ra Inventors

Asking for instructions, explanations and clarification

6 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Do you always read t he
inst ruct ions for a new gadget before you use it?
Read opinions 1-4. Which opinions do you agree /
disagree wit h?
1 1 never read instructions! I prefer to experim ent and
try out lots o f different things. If you're careful, you
won't d o any dam age and you'll learn a lot about
your n e w gadget.’
2 1 usually read the most basic instructions - the
'Quick Set-up' page that com es with most new
gadgets. After that, I w ork stuff ou t for myself.'
3 'If I have a problem, I don't read the manual; I
usually go online and d o a search. It’s quicker!'
4 1 always read all the instructions before I
start to use something. It takes time, but
afterwards I know exactly w h at I'm doing!’

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9C
7 2.21 List en t o t he dialogue and answer t he quest ions.
1 W h y is the w om an phoning the helpline?
2 W h ich button does the w om an press first?
3 W h at does the 'hom e' button look like?
4 W h at does the helpline advisor tell the w om an to d o w ith the icons on th e screen?
5 W h y is there nothing on the phone screen?

8 2.21 Com plet e t he phrases from t he dialogue. Then listen again and check.

Asking for instructions Giving clarification

H o w do I 1 ? Let m e 6 ..........
H o w does it w ork? W h at I m ean i s . . . .
W h a t d o I d o next?
Checking that the listener
Giving instructions understands
Could y o u 2.................................... , please? Do you s e e 7.................................... ?
N o w 3.................................... the'settings’option. Is everything clear so far?
First, switch it on.
Then, choose . . . . Confirming understanding
18 you, but
Asking for repetition or clarification Right, I've got that.
Sorry,4 again, please?
I d o n 't5.................................you.
I'm not quite sure . . . .
I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that.

9 2.22 Com plet e t he dialogue with phrases in exercise 8. Then listen and check.
Cust omer I like this camera, but it does look quite com p licated .1....................................................
Assist ant It's sim ple.2.............................................................. That's the 'on' button there. Then
choose 'autom atic' or 'manual'.
Cust omer 3............................................................. h o w to d o that.
Assist ant It's this button here. Just turn it to'au to m atic'o r to'manual'.
Cust omer 4 . I've selected 'manual'.
Assist ant N o w press th e 'AV' button for th e picture exposure.
5
Cust omer
Assist ant You press the 'AV' button for the picture exposure.
Cust omer Picture exposure?
Assist ant Yes.6 ................... you press the 'AV' button to make th e picture
lighter or darker.7............................................................ ?
Cust omer Yes, th at’s quite clear, thanks.8 ......................... ?
Assist ant Point the cam era and press the black button on the top.
Cust omer Well, that's easy. Thank you.

10 Read t he dialogue in exercise 9 again and find t hree more phrases to add t o t he t able in
exercise 8.

11 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Choose one of t he sit uat ions and prepare a dialogue.

Situation 2: MP3 player

S itu a tio n 1: Gam es console
Student A (customer)
Student A (customer)
You have bought a new games console, but You are trying to use your MP3 player, but
• the screen won’t come on.
• you can’t see a picture on the TV screen.
• there's no sound.
• the controller doesn't work.
Student B (helpline advisor)
Student B (helpline advisor)
Check that the customer
Check that the customer
• has switched the machine on.
. has connected the games console to the TV.
• has connected the player to the speakers.
• has put batteries in the controller.

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9D ■ Culture, vocabulary and grammar iPeople

1 2.23 SPEAKING Use t he ideas below to

Touchscreen
discusss t he ways you communicat e with f riends.
Then read and listen t o a ' slam' poem. Which ideas
does t he aut hor mention?
text message posting on Facebook Twitter
by Marshall Soulful Jones
■ face-to-face talking instant messaging
■ talking on the phone ■ sending an email

2 2.23 SPEAKING Read and listen t o t he poem

again. Then discuss t he quest ions.
1 W h o is the Apple iPerson? W h at does the poet think
has happened to people?
2 W h y does he spend tim e on Facebook rather than
reading or m eeting friends?
3 H o w m any friends has he got in the digital world
and in th e real world?
4 Does the poet think w e have evolved ? W h y / w hy
not?
5 In line 42, the poet says 'it's scary'. W h at is he referring
to?
6 W h a t is th e poet's hope for the future?

STRATEGY
U n d er st an d i n g p o et r y
When you read a poem, not ice t he t echniques t he
poet uses.
1 Repeating a key w ord or a phrase.
2 Rhym ing words.
3 Using words with more than on e meaning.

3 Read t he st rategy. Then find examples of 1-3 in t he

poem. Some words and phrases may be used more
t han once.

insig h t Words wit h more t han one meaning

4 St udy t he highlight ed words in t he poem. Complet e

t he gaps in 1-3 with t he meanings below. Then t hink
of t wo meanings for t he ot her highlight ed words.
What ef f ect does t his word play have?
a round, flat object you put into a com puter
■ to m ake an arrangem ent ■ the front part o f your head

1 face
a ......................................................
b to be opposite som ething, looking at it
2 book
a a w ritten w ork on printed pages
b
3 disc
a ............................................
b a thing betw een th e bones in your back

5 SPEAKING What t ype of poetry is popular with

young people in your count ry?

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9D
Non-defining relative clauses
6 Read t he t ext . What is t he dif f erence bet ween slam
poetry and rap music?

Introducing the new Apple iPerson complete with multitouch

doesn't it feel good to touch?
doesn't it feel good to touch? Slam poetry became popular in Chicago in

compatible with your iPod and your iPad 1986. The first slam poems were performed in
doesn't it feel good to touch? a club called the Greenmill Lounge, ’where jazz
doesn't it feel good to touch? musicians usually played. This poetry, 2which can
no friends, there’s an app for that be performed by anyone, provided a new w a y for
no life, there’s an app for that
people to get their message across. It encouraged
you’re a complete loser, there's an app for that
doesn't it feel good to touch? ordinary people, 3w ho weren’t used to expressing
doesn't it feel good to touch? themselves publicly, to tell their stories or talk
doesn't it feel good to touch? about social issues. In fact, slam poetry is very
my world, my world has become so digital similar to rap. Both are examples o f performance
I have forgotten what that feels like poetry, 4whose aim is to tell a story. The difference
It was difficult to connect when friends formed cliques* is that rap uses music, whereas slam poetry relies
now it’s even more difficult to connect on the power o f the spoken word.
now that clicks form friends
But who am I to judge
I face Facebook more than books face me
hoping to book face-to-faces 7 St udy non-defining relat ive clauses 1-4 in t he t ext in
I update my status 420 spaces exercise 6. Then answer t he quest ions.
to prove I’m still breathing
failure to do this daily 1 Does the text make sense w ithout th e clauses?
means my whole web wide world will forget that I exist 2 Do the clauses add essential or extra information?
but with 3,000 friends online 3 W h e re can the clauses g o in a sentence?
and only five I can count in real life 4 W h ich words are used at the beginning of the
why wouldn't I spend more time in a world where there are clauses?
more people that ‘like’ me 5 Can the clauses begin w ith t hat instead o f w hich ?
Wouldn’t you?
You would need Blueray to read what is really me Non-defining relative clauses always start w ith a
but I’m not that focused ten tabs open hoping com m a.
my problems are resolved with a 1500 by 1600 resolution
provin' we might have missed a step in this evolution Ref erence and p r act ice 9.2 W orkbook page 121
doubted over we used to sit in treetops
till we swung down to stand upright 8 Combine t he sent ences to make one sent ence. Use a
then someone slipped a disc non-def ining relat ive clause.
now we’re doubled over at desktops from the garden of Eden
1 Marshall Soulful Jon es cam e second in the National
to the branches of Macintosh
Poetry Slam in Boston. His p oem was about
apple picking has always come at a great cost
iPod iMac iPhone iChat technology.
I can do all of these things without making eye contact 2 I posted a photo o f m y dog on Facebook. It w as very
We used to sprint* to pick and store blackberries funny.
now we run to the Sprint store* and pick Blackberries 3 M y com puter broke dow n. It had all m y friends'
it’s scary con tact details in it.
can’t hear the sound of mother nature speaking over all this
4 M y brother Seth w ants to be a famous jazz musician.
tweeting
He plays the saxophone.
and our ability to feel along with it is fleeting
5 W e som etim es go to Jam aica. M y grandparents live
so when my phone goes off in my hip iTouch and iTouch
there.
and iTouch and iTouch and iTouch because in a world
Where laughter is never heard 6 That's Cafe Europa. I often m eet m y friends there.
And voices are only read 7 M y friend Ja d e writes rap songs. Her sister is in my
we are so desperate to feel class.
that we hope our Technologic can reverse* the universe
Vo cab u lary b ank Poetry page 142
until the screen touches us back
and maybe one day it will
when our technology is advanced enough ...
to make us human again.

'cliques = small groups of people with the same interests

•sprint = to run a short distance very quickly
*Sprint store = a mobile phone shop
‘ reverse = to return to what existed before

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9 E ■ W riting A for and against essay

1 SPEAKING Work in pairs. Answer t he quest ions.

1 W h e n w as the last tim e that you did the things b elow ?
checked your emails w rote a le tte r: bought som ething online bought som ething at a shop
looked for information online looked for information in a book read the new s online
read a newspaper

2 Do you switch your phone off w h e n you g o to bed?

3 H o w soon after you w ake up in the m orning do you g o online or ch eck your text messages?

2 Read t he st at ement . Think of t wo advant ages and t wo disadvant ages of const ant
connect ion. Then read t he model essay and see if any of your ideas are ment ioned.

With modern technology, we can be connected to the web 24 hours a day.The advantages of
constant connection are greater than the disadvantages. Discuss.

The advotvvfct0es chad disadvcin+ci0es of constant connec-Hon

A W ith sm artphones and com puters, 'it is o ften said t h at we are rarely m ore th an a few m inutes away
fro m our em ails, updates fro m frien d s o r global and local news. However, 2it could be claim ed t h at we
have becom e too relian t on technology. Does th is make our lives b et t er o r m ore stressful? I n th is essay,
I will discuss th e advantages and disadvantages o f being co n stan tly connected.

B One advantage is t h at people can -find im p o rtant info rm atio n very quickly and they don’t have to go to the
lib rary o r read bocks fo r research. Another point is t h at people can buy m any things online. This is useful
fo r people who have m obility problem s. 3I t m ay also be argued t h at people are safer because they know
t h at they can in stan tly get help if th ere is an em ergency. Furtherm o re, photographs, videos and news can
be shared online, so people can always catch up w ith frien d s who live on th e other side o f th e world.

C However, th ere are also some disadvantages to co n stan t connection. First ly, although people can access a
lot o f info rm atio n Online, some Claim t h at th e info rm atio n is o ften m isleading o r inaccurate. Anyone can
put info rm atio n onto a webpage and , as a resu lt, it can be d ifficult to check th e source. Secondly, 4it seems
evid ent t h at some shops on th e high st reet are now struggling due to th e rise in online shopping. M any
shops are being closed down. Third ly, although th ere are people who feel safer because o f mobile phones,
o thers would argue t h at t h ere are new dangers like cyberbullying. sI t is tru e t h at co n stan t connection
helps us to keep in touch w ith frien d s, but it can be very stressfu l when people expect in st an t responses.

D I n conclusion, I believe t h at although th ere are m any advantages to co n stan t connection, we should also
switch o f f our phones som etim es, walk away fro m our com puters and talk to some real people.

3 Match t he descript ions t o paragraphs A-D.

1 Conclusion and statem ent o f writer's ow n opinion
2 Introduction of topic
3 Argum ents against the statem ent
4 Argum ents for the statem ent

4 Answer t he quest ions.

1 According to the writer, w h o can benefit from shopping online?
2 H o w can w e m aintain contact with friends w h o live far aw ay?
3 W h y can there be problems with using online information?
4 W h at can make people feel stressed?
5 W h at advice does the author give at the end?

Introductory It
5 St udy sent ences 1-5 in t he model essay. Then put t hem into t he correct part of t he t able.

It + t h e passive
It + t he passive (with modal verbs)
It + is / seem s + adject ive

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9E

6 Rewrit e t he sent ences using t he int roduct ory It and t he words in brackets.
1 There is no real privacy in today's world, (said)
2 Com puters are getting smaller, faster and cheaper, (could argue)
3 People have forgotten h o w to think for themselves, (m ay claim)
4 I he internet has changed the w a y that w e d o our research, (obvious)
5 Students are able to access m ore information about their subject, (clear)
6 Constant connection is a normal part of our lives, (seems evident)

STRATEGY

Making your writing neutral

When you writ e a for and against essay, you should avoid using phrases, like / b el ieve or / t h in k
until t he conclusion. You should use impersonal language to express diff erent opinions.
The most common impersonal st ruct ures are:
1 Introductory It
2 The passive
3 Som e / Other people:
Som e people claim / believe / sa y ... .
There are those w ho say t h a t . . . .
O t her people (would) argue t h a t . . . .

7 Read t he strategy. Underline examples of impersonal st ruct ures in t he model essay.

8 Use t he st rat egy to make t he sent ences more neut ral. Use as many diff erent st ruct ures as
you can.
1 I think that children should read books rather than play com p u ter games.
2 In m y vie w children's attention spans are getting shorter.
3 I think w e need to change our teaching methods.
4 In m y opinion com puter gam es d evelop im portant skills.
5 I believe that young people’s brains are developing differently.
6 The internet is a ve ry im portant tool in language developm ent.

WRITING GUIDE

Task Choose one of t he st at ement s and write Plan Follow t he plan:

a for and against essay about it. Paragraph 1: W rite an introduction w ith a clear outline
1 W e are losing our social skills in real life d ue to the o f the topic.
am ount o f tim e w e spend online. Discuss. Paragraph 2: Present the argum ents in favour o f the
2 M odern tech no logy has m ade life m uch better for statement.
m ost people in th e developed world. Discuss. Paragraph 3: Present the argum ents against the
statement.
Ideas M ake not es about:
Paragraph 4: W rite a conclusion to the essay. Include
Essay 1 your ow n opinion.
■ the im portance of body language and facial
expressions. Writ e Write your essay. Use t he paragraph plan to
■ telling the truth online. help you.
■ ways of sharing our interests with people.
■ ways of finding ou t about different cultures and Check Check t he f ollowing points:
beliefs.
■ Have you used a clear paragraph structure?
Essay 2 ■ Have you included all your points for and against the
■ h o w m odern tech no logy can help people w ith poor statem ent?
mobility. ■ Have you used neutral language?
■ the am ount o f free tim e w e have now. ■ Have you checked grammar, vocabulary, spelling and
■ the am ount o f stress in our lives. punctuation?
■ h o w m odern tech no logy develops our skills.

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