ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS:

A HANDBOOK FOR COLLEGE

STUDENTS

Zondiwe Mbano

University of Malawi
Chancellor College
Zomba
May 2008
Unit One:
Note-taking and Note-making
Differences and similarities
Note-taking and note-making generally involve the same skills or subskills. The
difference between them is that note-taking is from oral source while note-making from
reading source. Some people dismiss this difference as superficial, saying what is
crucial in both is the active or productive skills of making notes from whatever source,
which shows that in both cases there is mental processing of the material. By calling
one skill note-taking, it signifies that there is a receptive skill, which means that one
simply receives the information. It is obvious that in academic listening and reading,
there is more activity than simply receiving; there are productive skills involving
mental processing of the information.

Why make notes?

There are many reasons why a student should make notes; four are given here.

Firstly, making notes helps the listener or reader to keep alert. Doing something while
listening or reading helps the mind to concentrate on the subject of discussion.

Secondly, making notes facilitates understanding; this is so because it enables you to

follow relationships of ideas as they develop.

Thirdly, making notes helps you to keep record of new ideas as they come, and this
in turn helps your memory. In different forms of college assessment such as in
examinations memory can be a great facility. Furthermore, remembering key points
makes it easier to reflect on them in order to deepen understanding.

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Finally, the whole process helps the mind to incorporate new ideas into the already
existing structure of knowledge. This facilitates your intellectual development.

Skills involved in note-making.

Firstly, as a preparation, you should try to understand in general the idea or topic
to be discussed. To do this you need to think about what you know already on this
topic. There are very few topics in which you will find that you know nothing. As you
think about what you know, ask yourself questions about what new information you
want to learn from the lecture or the reading. You can ask such questions as: what does
this mean? When or where does it occur? What is its cause or result? What are the aims
or conditions for it? What process is involved? Such questions act as prior organisers to
the topic, preparing your mind to receive the new information and arrange it in suitable
structure in your mind.

Secondly, as the lecture develops or as you read, it is important to identify the main
ideas and separate these from details, explanations and examples. The speaker will
show the main points by emphasis, such as by loudness, slowing down, pausing before
or after, or by repetition of words or ideas. Emphasis can also be shown by facial
expression, characteristic hand movements, or standing after pacing about.

To follow the main points in reading, it is important to identify and understand the topic
sentence. The topic sentence is a general sentence usually at a beginning of deductive
paragraphs or sometimes at the end of inductive paragraph development. Supporting
sentences will refer back to this or clarify ideas raised by the topic sentence.

Activity 1

The sentences below can be re-arranged to form a well constructed paragraph. In what order
should they appear?

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1. Clearly, in agriculture and in industry, the progress of a country depends on the busy hands
of its working people.
2. Finally, the establishment of efficient transportation systems, essential service in a
developing country, relies heavily on a labour force of expert craftsmen who take pride in
their manual skills.
3. In addition, of course, the manufacture of machines of all kinds demands a large number of
trained mechanics and technicians.
4. To begin with, planting crops and raising livestock are both vital to development and these
require people who work with their hands.
5. Manual labour is one of the principal development resources in any industrialising country.
6. Secondly, mining natural resources, building roads and bridges, and constructing dams for
irrigation and electrical power are also important to development and also require people
who can use their hands skilfully.

In sorting these sentences into a paragraph, it will be helpful to consider first the topic
or subject of discussion, which in this case is the importance of labour: referred to as
manual labour, manual skills, labour force, and busy hands. From this it should be easy
to pick out the topic sentence that introduces this topic. While considering the topic
sentence, it is easy also to see the concluding sentence, which wraps up the discussion
by restating the topic sentence and summarising what the text shows. Then by
following signpost words or markers, one can place the remaining sentences to their
respective places in the paragraph: To begin with … Secondly…In addition …
Finally…1

An important skill in this connection is to identify key words in a sentence. These are
content words, important for transmitting the message of the sentence. For example, if
you send a telegram, the few words that you are ready to pay for must be key to the
message you are sending.

1
The correct order should be: 5, 4, 6, 3, 2, 1.

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In order to find the key words we can remove form words, which are there only to build
the grammar of the sentence. Also to be removed are repetitions and redundancies,
which are words mentioned already somewhere in the sentence, or their idea has been
expressed already by some words in the sentence.

Read the following sentence and note how it has been reduced.

Original sentence: Throughout the world, doctors are looking for a cure of the disease
called HIV/AIDS.
Reduced to notes: Doctors looking for cure of AIDS, or even better to, Doctors
looking for AIDS cure.

In order to produce the above notes, the following has been done.
1. Form words such as the, are, and a have been left out.
2. Repetitions and redundancies have been left out, as follows:
 Disease: because the idea of disease is already suggested in the word
cure or HIV/AIDS.
 Called: because this refers to the idea of a name, which is clear in the
words disease and HIV/AIDS.
 HIV: because in common use this does not add anything to the idea of
AIDS.
 Throughout... world: because it is already known that doctors are found
anywhere in the world, so it is redundant to say this again.
3. Inversion has been used to remove of from the phrase cure of …AIDS; hence we
have AIDS cure.

Activity 2
Re-write the following sentence in note form by reducing it so that it does note contain form
words and has no repetitions or redundancies.

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The two systems of marriage, matrilocal and patrilocal, practised in different districts
throughout Malawi, have many similarities that can be seen in the way they are
conducted.

Check the answer2

Explain why each word that has been left out should not be included in the notes. Note also that
you could change marriage to marriages and drop the word systems, and the notes will still carry
the essential message.

Thirdly, it is important to understand relationships between ideas as the lecture or

the passage develops. To do this, you must identify and understand special words or
phrases called signalling devices or semantic markers.

Some of these are as follows:

1. Indicating general purpose, topic, or direction of the lecture
 Today, I ‘m going to talk about/ look at …
 What we are going to look at/ talk about today is …
 Have you ever considered why…?
2. Listing main points in ordinal sequence
 Firstly…; Secondly…;Thirdly…;Fourthly…;Finally …
 The first…; The second…;The third…
 To begin/start with…; Next…; Then…; Finally…
3. Indicating main points in time sequence
 Until, before, after, later, when, while …
 As soon as…; Gradually…; Finally…
4. Emphasising the main point
 The main point…is…; It is worth noting that …
 I want to emphasise that…; Basically …
 Let me emphasise/stress that…; Note that…

2
Reduced notes: Matrilocal and patrilocal (system of) marriage in Malawi similar/ many similarities.

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 5. Indicating cause and effect, purpose, reason and result
 Because of this…; Due to this…; For this reason…; Owing to this…;This results in…; This
leads to…; This produces…; This causes… (result)
 This is because…; This is as a result of…; This happens due to… ; Since…; …because
of… (reason)
 This is done in order to/ so that/ so as to… (purpose)
6. Indicating condition
 As long as…; Assuming that…; Provided that…
 Unless…; If…
 In case…(action taken to cater for the possibility of something happening)
7. Giving example
 For example…; For instance…; To illustrate this…
 …such as…
8. Giving additional information
 In addition…; Furthermore…; Moreover…; Besides…; Worse still.
 As well as…; Not only…but also…; Both… and…; Another…is…
9. Rephrasing a point already made
 Let me put this another way…; To put it more simply…
 In other words…; That is (to say)….
10. Offering alternatives
 Either…or…; Or…;
 Neither…nor…(negative, no alternatives)
11. Disagreeing
 Many people believe that…but…; It used to be believed that…but…
 It was a common belief that… but…; We are told that…but…
12. Comparing and contrasting
 On the one hand…on the other hand…; By way of contrast…; Although…
 In contrast to this…; Even if/though…; Whereas…; However…; Nevertheless…
13. Summarising and concluding
 So we have seen that…; It is clear that…; Clearly...
 To conclude this discussion…; In conclusion…; To sum up…

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Activity 3
Many students find problems in the use of items under 5 and 6, both in their writing and oral
work. Note that items in 5 must be preceded by a sentence to which this in those items refers
back. Pick one example from reason, result and purpose and in each case, write a sentence that
can go before the marker and the one that goes with the marker.

Note under item 6 that unless means if…not, and in case is used when action is done to
forestall another thing, usually not wanted, from happening. The problem comes
because in American use, in case can be used to mean if.

Activity 4
Read the following sentence and say what it means according to British English and according to
American English.
I will lock out the cat in case it disturbs me.

It will help you to think in which case this statement is simply a threat, and in which
case it is not simply a threat, but the cat is really going to be locked out. Note that
where there is such confusing use of an item the standard of correctness in the
Malawian education system is the British English. Accordingly, in the above sentence,
where it simply communicates a threat, in case should be replaced with if.

Write a sentence using unless and another using in case. Check the correctness of your
sentences by replacing unless with if…not, and see if it makes sense. If it does not make
sense, it means you have used unless inappropriately. In the second sentence, try
replacing it with if, and if it gives the same meaning then know you have used in case
inappropriately.
(You can find other language exercises from page 24 at the end of the unit.)

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Fourthly, it is important to take note of the speaker’s or writer’s point of view,
stance, or opinion, i.e.: Does he/she support or oppose the idea or school of thought? Is
he/she simply presenting facts and opinions?

Finally, it is important to jot down salient points in note form, and to organise the
information in the way one best understands it, not simply following the order of the
speaker even when it is confusing. In this connection, the important skill is that of using
abbreviations and symbols. For example, the sentence
Tobacco is a very important cash crop in Malawi
can be written in short as follows:
Tbaco v impt ksh crop Mlw.

While people are free to use their own created symbols and abbreviations, there are
commonly used abbreviations such as the following.

Abbreviations
 ack(n) acknowledge(d); Afr Africa(n); asap as soon as possible; anon anonymous;
approx approximately; arr arrive; assoc association, associate; asst assistant…
 b born; BA Bachelor of Arts, Born Again; bk book; bldg building; Br brother; Brit Britain,
British; Bt Blantyre…
 c century; Cath Catholic; cc copy; cert certificate, certified; cf or cp compare; ch(ap)
chapter; Chanco Chancellor College; CK Chikwawa; cl class; Coll College; concl conclusion;
CP Chitipa…
 d died; DA Dowa; dbl double; deg degree; dep depart/ure; diag diagram; diff difference;
dupl duplicate; DZ Dedza…
 e east; Ed edited, edition, education; e.g. for example; enc(l) enclosed; Eng English; et al
and other people/things; etc and the rest; eve evening; excl excluding…
 f female, foot; Feb February; fig figur(e/)ative; fl fluid floor; fol following; Fr father, France;
Fri Friday…
 Gk Greek; GNP Gross National Product; gov(t) government; gt great…
 H height, hour; HE His excellency; Hon honourable, honorary; hosp hospital; HQ

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 Headquarters
 Ibid in the same place; incl including; info information; intro introduction; Is Islands…
 Jan January; JC Jesus Christ; Jr Junior; Jul July; Jun June…
 K Kwacha (Malawian and Zambian currency); KA Karonga, Kamuzu Academy; Kg
kilogrammes; KK Nkhota-kota; km kilometres; Ku Kasungu…
 L lake, little; l left, length; Lat Latin; lh left hand; lit literal literature; Ll Lilongwe; ll lines; loc
cit in the place mentioned; lux luxury…
 M member; m male, married; MA Master of Arts; Mar March; MC Mchinji; Mgr Monsignor;
Messrs title used before a list of men’s names; min minimum; misc miscellaneous; MJ
Mulanje; Mlw Malawi; mkt market; MN Mwanza; mod modern, moderate; Mon Monday; MP
Member of Parliament; Ms woman’s title (which, like Mr, does not unnecessarily expose
ones marital status); MS manuscript; Mt Mount; MZ Mzuzu, Mzimba; MZUNI Mzuzu
University…
 N north; nat national, natural; NB note, Nkhata Bay; NJ Nsanje; no(s) number(s); Nov
November; nr near; NS Ntchisi; NT New Testament; NU Ntcheu; NZ New Zealand…
 Ob died; Oct October; op operation; op cit in the work mentioned; opp opposite; OT Old
Testament…
 P parking; p(p) page(s); pd paid; PE Physical Education, Phalombe; PhD Doctor of
Philosophy; pkt packet; pop popular, population; poss possible, possibility; Pr Principal; pr
pair, price; Pres President; pro professional; Prof professor…
 Qr quarter(s); qty quantity; quad quadrangle, quadruplet; qu question, queen…
 R river; r right; re concerning; rec(d) receive(d); ref reference, referee; Rep representative;
res residence; resp respectively; ret(d) retire(d); rh right hand; rly railway; rt right; RU
Rumphi…
 S south; SA South Africa, Salima; Sat Saturday; sec secondary, secretary; sch school;
Sept September; sp special, spelling; Sr senior, sister; Sun Sunday…
 T temperature, t time, tel telephone; TO Thyolo; trans translated; treas treasurer…
 U union; UK United Kingdom; UNIMA University of Malawi; Univ University; UNZA
University of Zambia; USA Unites States of America …
 V victory; v very, verse; VC Vice Chancellor; viz namely; vs versus…

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 W west; w week; wc water closet (toilet); wk work; wt weight…
 X cross, kiss; Xmas Christmas…
 Y yen (Japanese currency); yr year…
Za Zomba, Zim Zimbabwe…
A student sent the following message to a friend: I1TCUB45. Can you read it? Answer3

It is also possible to shorten long expression by replacing them with one word, such as:
 Are quite capable of, may be replaced by can;
 On one hand/ on the other hand, replaced by or;
 Almost invariably, replace by usually.

Activity 5
Write one or two words that can replace the following expression:

1. What this clearly shows is that…

2. In the end, we can say that…
3. To give an example of this…
4. It is worth observing that…
5. Everyone can see that…
6. To begin with …

Writing notes
Based on the above, a student should be able to write good notes in different subjects. It
is important to use a clear format for noting down main and supporting ideas. The
following is an example how notes could be written.

TOPIC
The topic should be written in capitals or underlined;
it should be centralised, i.e. put at the centre of the page.

3
I want to see you before five.

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1. Main points ---These should start close to the left margin;
they can be numbered (1, 2, 3…) or underlined, if short.

If there are sub-topics, these could be treated as main points, which means
the main points will take the format of subsidiary points and so on.
Or there will be a line separation between the subtopic and the main points, so that the
main points start a line after, but are not indented further.

a) Subsidiary points---These should be indented to the right,

i.e. compared to the main points, these should start away
from the margin.
 They can be numbered (a, b, c…)
 Or they could be written with bullets.

i) Details or examples---These are indented further

to the right;
 they can be numbered (i, ii, iii, iv, v…).
 Or they could be written with bullets.

Some people do not like numbering; in stead they use clear spacing and indenting –
leaving a line between main points, and moving adequately to the right to show clear
indentation. What is important is to follow consistently the style of note-making you
have chosen. Look at the passages and the notes made from them in Activity 11 from
page 25.

Activity 6
Read the following passage and take notes of the main points. Your notes will assist you to
improve your listening skills.

IMPROVING LISTENING

Listening is an important skill of language because much of the daily communication is conducted through

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speaking and listening. The problem, however, is that many people are not able to listen effectively or for
a long time due to loss of concentration. Accordingly, important information is not efficiently transmitted
between the source and the receiver, leading to loss and frustration.

It is however possible to improve our listening skills by maintaining concentration. Perhaps the important
question is: how can this be done? Our discussion today will tackle two main causes of loss of
concentration, and how these problems can be overcome. The first factor that causes loss of
concentration is noise; the second is the difference between the speaking and listening speed.

The term noise is in this context used in a general sense to refer to anything that bars or reduces
the effective transmission of oral information. It could be from the source of information, from the
surrounding or venue, or it could be from the listener him/herself. Some speakers scream or
shout, even when they use a public address system. Consequently, their voice quality is
distorted, producing irritating sounds. If this is the problem, you can politely request the speaker
to adjust his/her voice. Sometimes the problem is due to a loud sound from the venue. Again, it
will be important to politely alert the people responsible so that they do something to solve the
problem.

Some noise comes from the listener him/herself. This may include physical or psychological
situations that hinder listening. Perhaps the listener sits uncomfortably on a chair, or is
preoccupied with other concerns. In both cases he/she will not be able to concentrate on the talk
because of the noise within himself/herself. It is important to do something to solve such
problems. Sometimes the noise has to do with prejudice. Perhaps the listener has a negative
attitude towards the speaker. It could be that the listener does not particularly like the way the
speaker presents him/herself. For example, people who like formal dress cannot understand how
a person could deliver a talk in a jeans and tee-shirt. Sometimes it is the speaker’s mannerisms
while speaking that the listener finds irritating. All these things can produce disturbing noise.

The problems can sometimes be due to the listener’s attitude towards the subject. Perhaps
he/she does not particularly like the subject or topic under discussion. In all such cases, it is
important to do something to reduce the negative effects. For example, the listener can try to

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 13

develop a positive attitude by convincing him/herself that the speaker will do a better job today.
After all, the wise words from the Desiderata say, even the dull and ignorant, they too have their
story. The listener must convince him/herself not only to pay attention to the talk, but also to
support the speaker as he/she delivers the talk. This support may involve maintaining eye
contact with the speaker and even marking each point with a nod.

For students, it is possible to develop a positive attitude by thinking about the importance of the
subject matter. Consider that the presenter is an expert expounding on a subject that you need
for your academic development. Consider that you need mastery of the subject for your future
professional development. These should motivate you to be more positive and exercise greater
concentration. Every effort should be make to solve the problem of noise.

Sometimes the listener can fail to pay attention because he/she waits anxiously for an
opportunity to make a comment or ask a question. It may be that he/she waits anxiously for an
anticipated important point or for the end of the talk so that he/she is the first to congratulate the
speaker. Each of these must be treated as aspects of noise because they can prevent the
listener from focussing on the talk.

The second factor that causes loss of concentration is the difference between speaking speed
and listening speed. Naturally people listen much faster than they talk; that is to say, there is a
big difference between the listening rate and the speaking rate. It is known that a person can
listen to 400 words a minute. While this is so, the normal speaking speed is only 125 words a
minute. Few people speaking at supersonic speed, like those at the tobacco auction floor, go
beyond the limit of 150 words a minute. What all this means is that while listening there will be
many gaps when there is nothing to listen to. Obviously, it is during such gaps that the listener
loses concentration as the mind starts to wander. It is often due to this loss of concentration that
some people start to doze or even fall asleep.

So, what can be done to solve this problem? The answer lies in the principle of filling in the gaps
created by the disparity of listening and speaking speeds with activities. Such activities must not
be the kind that will also divert the mind from the talk. The useful activities are those that utilise

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 14

the extra moments to enhance listening. We have seen how such supportive activity as
maintaining eye contact and nodding can reduce noise from the listener. Such activities would be
useful even here.

An activity such as taking notes while listening can greatly facilitate concentration. This involves
picking out salient points and jotting them down in short but comprehensible form. But this should
not be done at the expense of understanding the talk. Sometimes people are so preoccupied
with jotting down details that they lose the trail. In this case, taking notes can become an aspect
of noise.

Concentration is mostly facilitated by following the general structure of the talk; this also
enhances the listener’s ability to understand. For example you can ask yourselves: how is the
talk organised? Are the points organised according to sequence of occurrence or conceptual
sequence?

In sequence of occurrence an incident is narrated and the listener can follow the order in which
things happened, such as what happened first, second, third etc. In this case, the listener can fill
in the listening gaps by anticipating what will come next. Furthermore, the listener can work out
events that have not been explicitly stated, but should naturally happen within the order of other
events. For example, in reporting an accident, it is common to narrate what happened and what
the police did, without stating how they came to the scene. The listener can naturally fill in the
details: that someone informed the police. Furthermore, the listener can work out the procedures
involved, unless it is known that the police discovered the accident during their routine patrols.

If the points are not organised according to sequence of occurrence, they are likely to be
organised according to conceptual sequence. This is used when the speaker discusses a subject
by presenting points in a way that will best facilitate comprehension. The following can be used
as guiding questions: does the speaker relate the points according to cause and effect? Does
he/she describe the state of something, such as a mountain or building, from top to bottom, from
what you see from far to near, or vice versa? Some of the conceptual sequences follow the
pedagogic principle of moving from the known to the unknown, or the familiar to the unfamiliar.

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Similarly, according to conceptual sequence, ideas may be presented in a way that can be
visualised as a tree. There is the stem, and before extending to the branches, twigs and leaves,
the speaker traces the roots that anchor the whole tree. Sometimes the whole talk may be based
simply on the structure of syllogism, that is to say, on premises and a conclusion.

Preaching at a funeral, a speaker took almost an hour simple to state the following: Everyone will
die. Therefore commit your life to God. Unfortunately, after waffling about examples of how
people die, he did not even explain clearly what committing ones life to God involves. A good
listener could pick out the essential points and discard the confusing details.

Good speakers often provide prior organisers by stating the questions or issues they will tackle in
the talk. These prior organisers guide the listener to follow the points and also to evaluate the
overall development of the talk. Accordingly, if something is not discussed comprehensively, the
listener can take note and raise a question at the end of the talk. Although it is impossible to get
a clear message from a speaker who talks on a subject that is not clear in his/her mind, by
focusing on the structure or trying to construct it you can get a great deal from any talk.

Finally, to improve comprehension and memory, and thereby enhance understanding, it is

important to evaluate the talk. To do this, the listener can use these questions: Did the speaker
clarify all the issues discussed? Did he/she substantiate claims made? Did he/she sufficiently
develop problems raised? Did he/she offer reasonable solutions to the problems? Did he/she
suggest reasonable action to be taken in the absence of viable solutions? Did the speaker
answer all the key questions? Did he/she answer them sufficiently and convincingly? Did he/she
argue cogently? Such an evaluation can facilitate transfer of information from short-term to long-
term memory. To sum up, remember to improve listening by practising effective strategies for
dealing with noise and gaps created by the difference between listening and speaking speed.

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Main and Subsidiary Points in Reading

In reading, it is important to take note of different ways paragraphs are developed by

focusing on the topic sentence and supporting sentences. The main idea of the
paragraph is contained in the topic sentence - a general statement that does any of the
following:
 identifies the topic or main idea
 makes a broad statement (or claim) about the subject
 raises anticipation or expectation, (or even query)
 opens the paragraph

Accordingly, the subsidiary points are contained in supporting sentences - specific

statements that perform any of the following:
 give specific details and examples
 provide explanations and descriptions
 support or substantiate a claim or broad statement
 answer questions the raised by the topic
 develop, expand or extend the topic

Activity 7
Here are topic sentences that express strong opinions on different topics. On their own they
could simply provoke an angry reaction because they are not substantiated. Choose one that you
would support. Develop points to support or substantiate its claim. Write a paragraph, starting
with the claim and after the supporting sentences, and with a conclusion that re-states the topic
sentence to maintain the argument4.

4
Example passages, written by students, can be found towards the end of the Unit, from page 33.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 17

1. Mothers have more love for children than fathers.
2. Educating girls is a waste of resources.
3. There cannot be love and compassion without sacrifice.
4. The best way to combat HIV/AIDS is by abstinence for those not married and being
faithful to one partner for those in marriage.
5. Women are better teachers than men.
6. Many newly established churches in Malawi have leaders who use the word of God
to enrich themselves.
7. Multi-party in Malawi has attracted many crooks to political leadership.
8. Democracy is impossible in a poor country.
9. It is not good for a newspaper to support a political party.
10. Giving students free meals and accommodation is a waste of taxpayers' money.
11. Women who dress scantily rape men.
12. Men who defile children must be castrated.

Generally, there are three types of paragraphs: deductive paragraphs where the topic
sentence is placed at the beginning; inductive paragraphs with the topic sentence at the
end of the paragraph; and a mixture of the two where the topic sentence is in the
middle. In the first instance, the supporting sentences refer back to the topic sentence,
while in the second they lead to the topic sentence. In the last instance, supporting
sentences start as in inductive by giving an example or case study; then they extend and
elaborate the topic sentence. To understand the topic, it is important to identify and
understand the topic sentence, and follow what details the supporting sentences
contribute to the topic, even if one cannot remember all the details.

Here are model paragraphs with the topic sentence placed at different positions. Read
through to take not how the paragraph develops, and what you see as advantages of
each. In each case the topic sentence is underlined.

Model 1: Deductive Paragraph

Like the people of America, the culture of America has been drawn from many different lands

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 and eras. The major religions, for example, have their origins in the Palestine of two millennia
ago, or more. The technology has been developed with the help of mathematics, which began in
ancient Greece and India, was nurtured among the medieval Arabs, and came to fruition in early
modern Europe. The system of government is based upon the political concepts and institutions
of the Greek city-states and the Roman republic. The theatre draws upon conventions
established in England, during Restoration days. The very language, English, can be traced back
to diverse sources in ancient Germany, Scandinavia, Rome, and Greece, and, ultimately, to a
hypothetical zone in central Europe and a period at least 4000 years before the birth of Christ.

Model 2: Inductive Paragraph

When the delegates to the Continental Congress framed their famous declaration in the summer
of 1776, the knew that word of it would get to George Washington and his troops long before it
reached George 111 in London. There was no way for the British king to received the bad news
in less than the six weeks required for even the swiftest Atlantic ship. In 1901, when President
McKinley lay dying in Buffalo, New York, the physician summoned from New York City took
hours to reach him by the fastest express train; it would be decades before a jet plane could
make the same trip in just about one hour. In our own era, if the Nazis had kept Jewish scientists
at home, working on an atomic bomb, instead of driving them into exile as "non-Aryans", Hitler
might well have made a Hiroshima out of some American cities and won World War II. Science
and technology often exert a subtle but profound influence upon human history.

Model 3: Topic Sentence in the Middle

Jane is a financial analyst in a large bank, and the detailed statistical reports she prepares are
studied weekly by the bank's investment officers. She is also a mother of lively 6-month-old
twins, and she cannot leave them with a babysitter for more than an two hours a day. So the
baby's cribs are right alongside the computer terminal at which she works. Her neighbour,
Jimmy, has been confined to a wheelchair since a car accident halted his career as an
advertising sales representative several years ago. He now works six hours a day, creating
direct-mail sales letters for corporations. The computer on which he composes and edits his
material, and which transmits the completed letter over electronic circuits to his clients, can be
manipulated easily from the wheelchair. For traditionally homebound people, the computer is

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 19

 bringing about a genuine revolution in work possibilities and styles. It is creating a new kind of
"cottage industry", harking back to the times just before an earlier industrial revolution, when
craftsmen built and wove and carved in their own homes, leaving only to buy supplies or market
the finished product. And the manufacturers of computers are not slow to recognise the possible
economic rewards of this dramatic new movement. Computers are rapidly being scaled down in
size and price, so that many households will soon find it easy to own one. In the near future it will
be common to have people perform most of their daily work in their own houses. (Paragraphs from
Ezor, Edwin and Jill Lewis. 1984. From Paragraph to Essay: A process approach for beginning college
writing. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. pp 62-63)

Note how the second and third paragraphs start in a similar way by giving examples, or
case studies before leading to the topic sentence. In the third paragraph, after the topic
sentence there is an elaboration on the situation to broaden its scope and bring
justification for it. Finally the writer states hopefully what will be if this present trend
continues.

Well constructed paragraphs combine the first two systems of paragraph in that they
start in a deductive way and restate the topic sentence in the concluding sentence. This
enhances unity of the paragraph and assists the reader to understand the thesis by giving
it again in the concluding paragraph. In this way the paragraph seems to work in cyclic
way by ending where it started.

Development of Ideas
In reading as well as in listening, there are special words you need to take note of in
order to understand the relationships of ideas. These, called signpost words, have also
been referred to as signalling devices or semantic markers under listening and note-
taking. The majority of these given here are found in reading passages; in other words,
they are used mostly in writing.

1. Those marking addition: in addition, and, moreover, furthermore, also, additionally…

Worse still (also intensifies)…

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 20

 On the contrary (reinforces and expands information, and fits in a specific structure. The statement
before on the contrary is always negative, while that after is positive; e.g. Experts agree that the
situation on earth is serious, but certainly not hopeless. On the contrary, they feel it is well within
man’s ability to learn how to control population growth, pollution and resource consumption.)
2. To mark contrast (or change in line of reasoning): but, however, nevertheless, nonetheless, although,
yet, while …
3. Specific information to support wider or general information: in fact, e.g. There is always the possibility
of a major accident with nuclear power. In fact, many people were killed in Russia when a nuclear
power exploded.
4. Summarising preceding reasoning: in brief, in short, to summarise …
5. Reminding of something already known, in case forgotten or not fully understood: of course, obviously,
naturally, e.g. Scientists are developing genetically modified crops. Of course, many people doubt
whether such crops can give wholesome food.
6. Concluding or showing end of line of reasoning: In conclusion, to sum up …
7. Cause, effect, and reason
A) Cause or reason: because, since, as a result, owing to the fact that …, This is because
B) Result (or reason why preceding statement or data was given): Therefore, accordingly, so, hence..
C) Result (or result of information or argument given in preceding sentences): as a result,
consequently, thus…

Activity 8
Complete the following passage with appropriate signpost words drawn from the list above.

Passengers on Spaceship Earth

We are on a spaceship – Spaceship Earth. Let us begin by giving the report on the state of the spaceship,
which is hurtling through space at about 107 000 km/hr on a fixed course. Although it can never return to
home base to take on new supplies, the ship has a marvellous and intricate life-support system. The
system uses solar energy to recycle the chemicals needed to provide a reasonable number of us with
adequate water, air and food.

________________, (1) let us look at the state of passengers and the life-support system of the
spaceship. There are about four billion on board, with more than 150 nations occupying various sections.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 21

About 25% have inherited the good to luxurious quarters in the tourist and first-class section, and use
approximately 80% of all resources available. ______________, (2) most of the North Americans have
the most lavish quarters. Even though they represent only about 5% of the total population, they consume
about 35% of the resources.

It is sad to say that things do not really improve for the 75% of passengers travelling in the hold. Over one
third suffer from hunger or malnutrition; three quarters do not have adequate water or shelter.
__________________, (3) these numbers continue rising as the soaring population growth wipes out any
gains in food supply and economic development. Recently, partly due to economic hardships and fatalistic
attitudes that paralyse efforts to change harmful habits and traditions, these passengers have been
ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. ___________________, (4) this population could easily be
exterminated if nothing is done to work out meaningful interventions against hunger and HIV/AIDS.

_____________, (5) the overpopulation of the hold in relation to available food is only part of the problem.
There is a second type of overpopulation that is even more serious, because it threatens the entire life-
support system. This type is occurring in the tourist and first-class sections. These sections are
overpopulated in relation to the level of resource consumption and the resultant pollution of the
environment. __________________, (6) the average North American has about twenty-five to fifty times
as much impact on the life-support system as each passenger travelling in the hold, because the North
American consumes twenty-five to fifty times as much of the resources, and causes twenty-five to fifty
times as much pollution. In this sense, then, the North American section is the most overpopulated one of
the spaceship. ________________, (7) knowing the arrogance of these people, they cannot easily
appreciate the problems they are causing because they belief that, more than any one else, they are
entitled to this kind of luxury.

______________________, (8) there is lack of co-operation and continued fighting among some groups;
this can destroy many, if not all, of the people. Only about 10% of the population are Americans and
Russians, but their powerful weapons and unceasing threats to build even more destructive ones is a
great concern of many peace loving people. While the recent collapse of the Soviet Union should have
assured the nations of peace, it has launched America to more dangerous heights of aggression.
_______________, (9) the explosive situation of the Middle East has spread terrorism and suicide
bombings even to far away cities.

Now, passengers of Earth are entering the early stages of the first major spaceship crisis – an interlocking

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 22

crisis of overpopulation, pollution, resource depletion, the danger of mass destruction by terrorism and
warfare, and the ravages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Experts agree that the situation is serious, but
certainly not hopeless. ___________________, (10) they feel that it is well within the ability of human
beings to learn how to control population growth, pollution, disease and resource consumption, and to
learn how to live together in co-operation, peace and equitable distribution of resources. We have only
about thirty to fifty years to deal with these matters. _________________, (11) we must redouble our
effort and begin to work out strategies now.

_________________, (12) we can say that the Spaceship Earth has a reliable life-support system using
solar energy to recycle the chemicals that ensure the adequate provision of water, air and food, but there
are problems arising from human activities. Amongst the problems is overpopulation, which brings social
economic hardships; these in turn aggravate the incidence of HIV/AIDS in the hold. The other problems
are over consumption of resources by the few in the first-class, resulting in pollution and threats of
resource depletion, besides the dangers of terrorism and war. The combined effect of these threatens
catastrophic results unless there is urgent and concerted action. (Signpost words and text adapted from Ray
Williams. 1982. Panorama: An advanced course of English for study and examinations. Essex: Longman. 2,4-5)

Here are suggested signpost words to complete the blank spaces of the text. Note that
in some cases more than one is possible.

1. In brief, in short 7. Of course, naturally, obviously

2. In fact 8. In addition (to this), additionally
3. Meanwhile 9. Furthermore, moreover
4. As a result, consequently, thus 10. On the contrary
5. However, nonetheless 11. Therefore, accordingly, thus
6. For example, for instance 12. In conclusion, to sum up.

Extra Activities

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 23

Further language practice on signalling devices or semantic
markers.

Activity 9
Make correct sentences by completing part A with an appropriate item from part B and from part
C from the following table. Note that in some cases more than one combination is possible. For
example, it is possible to make the following sentences by combining different items from part B
and C to one stem from part A.

Some old people have no teeth. Because of this, they cannot easily chew meat.
Some old people have no teeth. Because of this, they find nsima with eggs a good meal.
Some old people have no teeth. Owing to this, they cannot easily chew meat.
Some old people have no teeth. Owing to this, they find nsima with eggs a good meal.

A B C
1. Some old people have no teeth. 1. I cut its branches and pulled them
2. Students think the only way to solve away.
problems is by angry demonstrations. 2. our towns and cities to be filthy.
3. Few people access ARVs. 3. frequent elections are needed to flush
4. Boys burn dry grass in the field. They do this to out some.
5. People are very poor. For this reason, 4. find money for buying food.
6. It has been observed that multiparty This leads to 5. top soil to be eroded in rainy season.
politics attracts many crooks. Owing to this, 6. selfish leaders who are not concerned
7. Many people use contaminated water. Worse still, about the welfare of the people.
8. People burn trees and sell charcoal. This is a result of 7. they cannot easily chew meat.
9. The tree fell across the road. This is done (in 8. they fail to develop calm reasoning.
10. Vendors and pedlars swarm trading order) to 9. cholera outbreaks.
centres during market days. Because of this, 10. there is carnage on the roads.
11. Roads are narrow and in poor This causes 11. kill mice and other small animals.
condition. This is because 12. alleviate poverty.
12. There is poor disposal of refuse in 13. they do not carefully analyse the
cities. consequences of such action.
14. HIV/AIDS claims many lives.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 24

 15. they cut down trees and sell
firewood.
16. it is difficult to apprehend
pickpockets.
17. they find nsima with eggs a good
meal.
18. a great deal of time for classes is
lost.

Activity 10
Choose an appropriate theme, such as health and safety, agriculture and natural resources,
education and discipline, and politics and economics. Write down all the sentences you can
make from the table relating to the theme.

Further work on note-taking and note-making.

Activity 11
Listen to the reading of the following passage. Make notes using appropriate format and
abbreviations where necessary as you listen.
ORAL PASSAGE 1
Our talk today is on how water is purified. Firstly, I will talk about why water is purified; in other words,
why water should be made suitable for drinking. This must be made clear before we can talk about
the process of purification.

Water needs to be purified because it is almost impossible to discover a natural source of pure water,
and secondly because, as we all know, impure water may contain living organism called germs, that
can greatly harm people. Some of the fatal diseases caused by germs are cholera and typhoid.

Now, are there any natural sources of pure water? Well, snow, which falls in very cold regions, is
probably the purest natural source of water, and the next is probably rain. However, rain contains
dissolved poisonous gases of the air, such as carbon monoxide, chlorides and sulphates. Although
these substances are there in very small quantities, it means that rain water is not completely pure.
Other water sources, such as mountain stream and lakes, often contain dissolved inorganic salts.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 25

 Water found in lowland regions is totally polluted with all kinds of bacteria.

So it seems clear that all these sources of drinking water need to go through a purification process.
We will accordingly look at three methods used in water purification, and these are by storage, by
filtration and finally by chlorination. This is how each of the methods is conducted.

The first method is storage, and this is done by keeping water in a reservoir. Furthermore, the water
is aerated, and chemicals are added to the water. This treatment makes three things happen. The
impurities in the water settle, and the odours and gases are removed. Furthermore, bacteria lose
their power when water is kept in a storage tank. This is how storage purifies the water.

The second method is by filtering water through sand. This also removes many impurities and
bacteria. Various methods of filtering have been established, and the most successful of these is one
that forces the water through the sand mechanically and at great speed.

Nowadays, a common method of water purification is chlorination. This is a very cheap, quick and
efficient method. About four kilograms of chlorine is added to about five million litres of water. This is
enough to destroy almost all the bacteria that may be in the water.

These them are the reasons why water needs to be purified and the methods of purification. Next
time you drink a glass of water, remember the processes it goes through.

Compare your notes with the ones below. Did you take down more details, or leave out
essential details? Did you organise your notes accordingly? Note that your notes may
not be exactly like these ones.

WATER PURIFICATION

Reason for purifying water:

Source of pure water hard to find, e.g. snow.
Other sources, e.g. rain, streams, and lakes have impurities + germs,
----- causing diseases e.g. cholera + typhoid.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 26

 Purification methods:
Storage : in reservoirs, chemicals added, aerated.
----- Impurities settle, odours + gases removed.
Filtering :through sand. Most successful methods force water at great
speed.
-----Removes bacteria + other impurities.
Chlorination :Cheap + efficient method.
-----Destroys bacteria.

Note that in the above passages, to make it easier for students to follow the notes,
abbreviations have not been used.

Activity 12
Here are other practice passages. Practise taking notes while someone reads the passage to
you at the normal speaking speed. You can use abbreviations and symbols that you know.

Oral Passage 2
Today’s talk is about the Sahara desert, which is in fact, the largest desert in the world. We will
look at the following five main features: location, climate, vegetation, population, and economy.

Let’s start by looking at the location. The Sahara desert stretches right across the northern part
of Africa. It covers about a quarter of the total area of Africa; in other words, it is more than the
entire United States of America. It is bounded by an area known geographically as the Sahelian
zone, or simply the Sahel.

Next, we will consider the climate and vegetation – the factors that make the Sahara a desert.
Most of the Sahara receives practically no rain; because of this, it has no vegetation. The Sahara
has some of the world’s highest temperatures, of up to 55 degrees centigrade during the day in
some parts. Nights, on the other hand, are cold because the clear air and bare ground allow a
rapid loss of heat. Although the Sahara itself has no vegetation, the Sahel, the area round the

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 27

 desert, has a continuous cover of dry prickly grass, and low thorny trees, because it has some
regular rain. However, in areas where too many animals graze, the thin vegetation is easily
destroyed, and the Sahel can become a complete desert.

Despite these inhospitable characteristics, it is interesting to find that the Sahara does have a
population, even though small and scattered. There are in fact two categories of people. There
are the settled group, that is, the farmers. These depend for their existence on the date palms
and cereal crops that grow round the oases. The other population group is that of nomads, who
constantly travel around the desert. These depend for their existence on the camel and other
animals that can leave on very dry conditions.

Finally, let us look at the economy of this vast desert region. For many generations, trade routes
have been famous across the desert. This is not all there is. Deposits of salt have been well
known for centuries. In the last century, oil and other minerals were discovered; for example,
there is oil and gas in Libya, uranium and phosphates in Niger, and iron in Mauritania. These
have made the Sahara a very important region, economically and politically.

Oral Passage 3
The talk of today is about the police force, that professional body of people, which is the main
instrument for law and order in modern societies. We shall examine particularly the historical
development of the police force. To do this, we will trace the five stages in the development of
the police.

Primitive societies did not need the services of police. However, as society became more
complex, certain persons, such as elders and fathers of families, took up the job of administering
justice in particular communities whenever an offence was committed. The punishments
administered were often immediate and harsh; this was done to serve as a warning to members.

Then, as communities developed further, the second stage in the development of the police
came about. By now more people owned property, and this property attracted criminal elements
in the society. At this stage, it was the rich people who employed their own guards. These
guards were usually big and muscular men, who, it was hoped, would deter criminals.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 28

 It was much later when society as a whole realised they it needed protection from criminal
elements in its midst. As a result of this came the next stage, which involved the employment of
full-time policemen. At this stage, one member of the community might be appointed to act as a
policeman for, say, six months, then another might take over for a similar period, and so on.

Eventually, with the growth of cities, it became apparent that this method of enforcing law and
order was ineffective as crime increased more and more. Thus a professional body came into
being, and this was really the origin of the modern police force. Its main job was of course to
prevent crime from taking place, and to apprehend those who did commit offences. This was the
fourth stage in the development of the police force.

However, the fifth and final stage was when other duties, apart from crime prevention, were
included in the police force. Today, the police perform many other duties, such as controlling
traffic on the roads, assisting in emergences such as fire and road accidents, supervising crowds
during big events such as football matches. Well, I hope I have shown briefly how the police
force has developed

Activity 13
Reading Passage
Read the following passage about dictionaries and make notes by listing the different things that
are entered about words in a dictionary. You can also record any useful things you have learnt
from this passage.

Dictionaries are of different types. Broadly, there are those dictionaries you consult when you
have a meaning or idea and you want the correct word to express it. An example of a useful
dictionary for this purpose is a Roget’s Thesaurus; this is the kind of dictionary you use for
working out English crossword puzzles. But the common dictionary is what you consult when you
have a word but do not know its meaning and correct usage. There are many publishers for such
dictionaries, but this passage focuses on the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary for Current
English, and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 29

 In the dictionary, the first entry of a word, called the headword, shows you how the word is spelt.
This is the standard spelling according to British Standard English. If there is an alternative
spelling, usually from American English, this will be entered after the standard English spelling.
Needless to say that all the words in a dictionary are entered alphabetically, from A to Z.

The second entry, usually between slash marks, is the phonemic transcription of the word. This
shows you how the word is pronounced according to the received pronunciation (RP5). For
example, many students mispronounce the first syllable in the word comfort; they pronounce it
the same as in composition or compost. The dictionary transcription shows that this must sound
the same as in the words come or company. Another aspect the dictionary shows is if the word
has an alternative pronunciation such as the Scottish or American pronunciation; this will be
entered immediately after the first one. For words that have two or more syllables, there will be
stress marks to show the syllables stressed. All these are there to assist you in pronunciation.

The third entry after the headword will indicate the part of speech of the word. This is grammar
information stating, for example, whether the word is a noun, an adjective, a verb, or any other
part of speech the word is categorised into.

Furthermore, if the word is a noun, after it will be written a capital C or U. This is there to show
you whether the noun is countable or uncountable. For a noun that does not take the usual plural
form of adding an –s/es at the end, the dictionary will immediately give its plural. For instance,
after the word mother-to-be, the dictionary will give its plural as mothers-to-be. After the word
goose, which follows what is called the ablaut process6, the dictionary will give the plural as
geese. Sometimes it is difficult to decide which form of verb will follow a collective noun or group
noun. For example, do you say: the police have or has? The government has or have? In such
cases, the dictionary will indicate the appropriate form of the verb.

If the word is an adjective, immediately after it will be the information about its degrees, that is to
say comparative and superlative degree. This is especially useful for adjectives that do not take
the usual more and most, or –er and –est. Adjectives that completely change the word from

5
RP, such as the pronunciation of the Queen or the BBC, is supposed to be the model. Currently ideas
are towards rejecting models from countries outside speech community in favour of those from within
where English is used, with suggestions of international varieties as long as they maintain
intelligibility.
6
Process of changing vowels to mark the plural.

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 30

 positive degree to the comparative and superlative degrees are such as good better best, well
better best, or ill worse worst.

There is also important entry about adjectives. This is whether the adjective is used attributively -
that is to say, it comes before a noun; or predicatively - that is to say, it comes after a stative or
linking verb. Some adjectives cannot be used in both ways, so the information in brackets
indicates which way the adjective is used, either attributive or predicative. An interesting example
is the adjective apparent, which changes meaning with the different use or position. For
example, if used attributively, it has the same meaning as the word seeming, such as in:
Unfortunately, her apparent rudeness made the lecturer very angry. If used predicatively, it has
the same meaning as the word clear, such as in: His selfish motives became apparent from his
actions. It is important therefore to know whether an adjective is attributive or predicative.

While still on the third entry, discussing parts of speech or grammar information, it is important to
examine the entries after verbs. If the verb is irregular, immediately after it will be indicated its
forms in the past tense and past participle. For example, after the verb to go, the dictionary will
indicate that the past tense is went and the past participle is gone. Some dictionaries will even
indicate the 3rd person singular present tense as goes. Many verbs baffle students. For example,
what is the verb form of the adjective dirty? Many will say dirten*. Unfortunately, this word does
not exist. The correct verb form of dirty is the same, dirty. Its past tense is dirtied; its past
participle also dirtied. The continuous or progressive form is dirtying. All this information will be
found in any standard dictionary.

Another important entry after verbs is the information whether it is transitive or intransitive. Most
dictionaries will follow up this information by giving codes showing patterns. This is part of
syntax, giving different sentence structures into which the verb fits. For example, the Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English has more that twenty-five verb patterns. A
verb such as enjoy, which is transitive, will take patterns where the object of enjoy comes
immediately after the verb in a sentence. Therefore, a sentence such as
I enjoyed very much*
is not grammatically correct because very much is not an object that can be enjoyed. The verb
patterns will show that immediately after enjoy must be the object, such as the dance, or singing,
or his/her company, or myself. This goes back to the information that the verb to enjoy and
similar verbs such as request are transitive; accordingly, they must be followed by the object -

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 31

 the thing that is enjoyed or requested.

The fourth entry after the headword is that of prepositions used with the word. As many will
appreciate, choosing the correct preposition to go with a particular meaning of the word can be
problematic. The dictionary will show the correct prepositions to be used with a particular word
for an intended meaning. Under verbs, commonly used phrasal verbs will also be given. Some of
the verbs with many meanings depending on what prepositions or adverbs they are combined
with are break, come, go and take.

The fifth and following entries will be different meanings of the headword. In this case, each
meaning is entered against a different number, such as 1, 2 and 3. This is done to show the
different meanings the word conveys. Usually the order of these will be from the most commonly
used meaning to the least. It is also from the denotative meaning, a direct meaning based on the
word, to it connotative meaning, an indirect meaning associated with it. Alongside these,
example sentences for the different meanings will be provided. After these, various idiomatic
expressions of the word will also be given. The idiomatic expression will first be given, usually in
bold, followed by the example sentence. Words that are most frequently used, in spoken or
written form, are specially highlighted with their meanings and examples of usages within the
pages of the dictionary. This particular idea has been taken up and well elaborated in a special
dictionary, such as the Longman’s Essential Activator. In this various shades of meaning with
example sentences are given.

There are many other pieces of information to be found in a dictionary. For example many
dictionaries have brief sections, labelled Note on Usage, which explain differences in usages of
similar words that people find confusing. Examples of such words are about and on, admission
and admittance, big, large and great, make and do, and pay, wages and salary. Where a visual
sense experience is necessary to understand the word, the dictionary will provide a picture or an
illustration, sometimes in colour. For specialist vocabulary for particular professional fields, the
dictionary will give fields such as psychology, architecture, grammar, law or medicine. The
dictionary will also indicate whether the word is formal, informal, derogatory, or impolite. There
are many other useful pieces of information in a dictionary; these assist learners to use language
in an exact and comprehensible way.
(This passage is based on the entries in two dictionaries: Hornby, A S. 1989. Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary of Current English. (4th Edition). Oxford: OUP; and Longman Dictionaries. 1995. Longman

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 32

 Dictionary of Contemporary English. (3rd Edition). Essex: Longman Group Ltd.

Further Example Passages

Here are paragraphs written from the claims or statements expressing strong opinion,
used as topic sentences.
TEXT 1
Educating women is not a waste of resources. To begin with, well-educated people contribute effectively
to the development of a country. Malawi’s statistics indicate that the population of women is higher than
that of men. If women are fully educated it means that a large number of the population is educated;
hence there will be development in the country. For example, in various public sectors such as health and
education the inclusion of educated women will ensure an increased number of human resources since
they will work owing to the skills obtained through their education. In most cases, well-educated women
secure good jobs and become self-reliant, which means they provide for their family and their own needs.
If it happens that the husband dies and the woman loses property due to property grabbing by the man’s
relative, she cannot lack resources to cater for herself and her children. With these benefits, we feel
educating women is not a waste of resources. (Lucy Chitseko, John Kathewera and Foster Kamanga, 1st
Year Bachelor of Education Humanities, May, 2006)

TEXT 2
Educating women is a waste of resources. Education is a system of training and instruction designed to
give knowledge and skills. In this regard education falls into two groups, namely formal and informal. The
major concern here is on the formal education of especially those girls whose parents live below the
poverty line. Formal education requires resources, such as time and money, to become functional. It is
these resources that are usually wasted through educating women. In Malawi, for instance, there is free
primary education, but statistics show that out of the many girls who start Standard 1, very few reach
Standard 8. Worse still out of those who continue to secondary education, very few finish in Form 4. The
reasons for this are pregnancies, early marriages and backward cultural beliefs. Because of this families
and the government lose a great deal of resources. Although there is a policy that pregnant girls can go
back to school after nursing their babies, when they come back they are bound to repeat some classes.
The result of this is a great loss of time and money. The few girls who make it to university and complete,
will get married and therefore cannot easily be deployed to work where they are most needed, such as in

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 33

rural areas. All this clearly shows that educating women is a waste of resources. (Clemence Kambale,
Mphumula Lynn Saka, Maxmos Kilowe and Wanangwa Kayira, 1st Year B Ed Humanities, May, 2006)

TEXT 3
Educating girls is not a waste of resources. According to the Constitution of Malawi, every citizen has the
right to education regardless of sex. It is for this and other important reasons that girls should not be
sidelined in education. Educating girls enhances development in all aspects. If a girl is educated, she is
able to contribute towards development activities in society. In politics, educated women full participate in
decision making which benefits both sexes. In health, if more women are educated, the rate of maternal
mortality will reduce, thereby increasing the number of healthy people for the development of the nation.
Most of the present abuses, such as gender-based violence, would be reduced if women were educated
and did not find themselves relying helplessly on cruel men. Because of the many cases of gender-based
violence, the government is spending millions in civic education and rehabilitation of victims. This clearly
shows that educating girls is not a waste of resources, but a means of stimulating socio-economic
development of the nation. (Martin Pindamkono, Faith Chiwaula, Iness Malenga, Josephine Buleya,
Madalo Kalonga and Atusunje Nembo, 1st Year Bachelor of Education Humanities, May, 2006)

TEXT 4
There cannot be love and compassion without sacrifice. Sacrifice involves giving up something valuable
for the good of others. The meaning of love and compassion was shown in the beginning by God Himself
when He created man in His own image. Furthermore, when man rebelled, God continued to demonstrate
love and compassion by sending His only Son to die for people and bring salvation. It could be argued
that God has divine power, so He only is able to sacrifice. This is not true because even human beings
have demonstrated love for fellow human beings by sacrificing a great deal in order to bring about
freedom. For example, Mandela suffered twenty-seven years of imprisonment in order to free South
Africans from the apartheid system. In Malawi, Chilembwe sacrificed his life in order to fight the thangata
system and the recruitment of innocent black people to die in wars amongst white people. Such examples
are too many to be cited here. Even in the love between a man and woman, each is called to sacrifice
time and other resources for the sake of the other. In a situation of need one sees who are his/her friends
from the way they sacrifice their time and other resources to share in his/her suffering. Where this

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 34

sacrifice is absence as each one aims at maximising his/her benefits, the relationship easily breaks. This
is why it is true to say that there cannot be love and compassion in the absence of sacrifice. (Audifansio P
Chakale, Happy Nkhonya and Martin Chiocha, 1st Year Bachelor of Education Humanities, May, 2006)

TEXT 5
It is not good for a newspaper to support a political party. The functions of a newspaper are to inform,
educate, and entertain people. These functions cannot be easily fulfilled if a newspaper supports a
particular party. Such a newspaper is likely to misinform the public by backing the position of the
supported party and misrepresenting that of other parties. It will exaggerate the goodness of the
supported party and the badness of other parties. Such a newspaper will have good sales only when the
party is popular, but might easily fold up when the party loses popularity. Furthermore, such a newspaper
may not be able to recruit the best personnel because it will be forced to employ people because they
support the particular party. Because of this it cannot maintain quality, which may also negatively affect its
sales. In conclusion, therefore, a newspaper should not support a political party if it is to fulfil its functions
in society. (Richard Chongo, Agness Wizi, Emmie Mpaso, Angawone Kumpukwe and Ted Nkhata, 1st Year
Bachelor of Education Humanities, May, 2006)

TEXT 6
Giving students free meals and accommodation is not a waste of taxpayers’ money. Eighty percent of
Malawi’s households are poor; therefore the majority of students come from poor families. Such students
cannot afford to pay for meals and accommodation; hence they would not access tertiary education if
required to pay. The government has a duty to make education accessible to the rich and poor. It would
be great injustice if eligible students were denied access because they are poor. Where many people are
educated, they greatly contribute to the social, economic and technological development of the country.
The country does not have to spend a great deal of money on hiring foreign experts. Furthermore, taxes
from educated employees and businessmen greatly contribute to the national budget. All these benefits
come because of increased access to education. Therefore, providing students with free meal and
accommodation is not a waste of taxpayers’ money, but a necessary investment by the government.
(Titha Kalinda, Emmanuel Chilanga, Michael Waphamkonzi and Hermes Suzaliyo, 1st Year Bachelor of
Education Humanities, May, 2006)

Zondiwe Mbano, Language Handbook, 2008 35