Text Analysis

Text Analysis
Feb. 2014
Week 1 teachers copy
2

Contents
Overview ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Aims: ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Primary Intended Learner Outcomes ................................................................................................. 4
Secondary Outcomes: ......................................................................................................................... 4
5 weeks at a glance ............................................................................................................................. 4
Assessment ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Week 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
1.2 & 1.3 .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Texts .................................................................................................................................................. 11
Stress ............................................................................................................................................. 11
Stress (redacted version) .............................................................................................................. 12
Stress (summary) ........................................................................................................................ 13
Weather and Climate .................................................................................................................... 14
Weather and Climate (sample redacted) ...................................................................................... 15
Weather and Climate (sample summary) ................................................................................... 16
Stress (paragraphs 1-3) ................................................................................................................. 17
Stress (paragraphs 1-3 ID new words) ..................................................................................... 17
Stress (paragraphs 1-3 ID collocations) ...................................................................................... 18
Stress (paragraphs 1-3 technical &. non-technical language) ................................................... 20
Stress (notes combined) ............................................................................................................... 21
Weather and Climate (notes combined)....................................................................................... 22
References: ....................................................................................................................................... 25
Week 2 .................................................................................................................................................. 26
2.2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 28
2.3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 30
What is Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide (waveform) .................................................. 31
Texts: ..................................................................................................................................................... 32
What is Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide ...................................................................... 32
What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (redacted version) ......................................... 33
What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (organised notes) ........................................... 33
What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (Technical - non-technical analysis) ............... 34
Climate Change: the state of the science (ID new paragraphs) ...................................................... 35
Climate Change: the state of the science (data visualisation) .......................................................... 36
Waveform Hand-out ............................................................................................................................. 37
3

Word Clouds.......................................................................................................................................... 38
Climate Change: the state of the science (word cloud) .................................................................... 39
References ............................................................................................................................................ 40
Week 3 .................................................................................................................................................. 41
3.1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 41
3.2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 43
3.3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 45
Texts ...................................................................................................................................................... 46
Climate and Weather (id function) - paragraph 1 ............................................................................. 46
Climate and Weather (id function) paragraphs 2-4 ....................................................................... 47
Climate and weather analysis of function to outline ..................................................................... 48
Climate and weather full outline ................................................................................................... 49
A Safe Operating Space For Humanity (Paragraph 1) ....................................................................... 50
A Safe Operating Space for Humanity .............................................................................................. 51
Weather and Climate (notes combined) .......................................................................................... 53
Language functions (cheat sheets) ................................................................................................... 55
References ............................................................................................................................................ 56
4.1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 57
4.2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 59
4.3 ......................................................................................................................................................... 61
Texts and Handouts .............................................................................................................................. 62
Brainstorm - Spider Diagram............................................................................................................. 63
Welcome to the Anthropocene Transcript .................................................................................... 64
Welcome to the Anthropocene Analysed Text .............................................................................. 65
Welcome to the Anthropocene Completed Table ......................................................................... 66
Welcome to the Anthropocene Summary/Function ..................................................................... 67
Welcome to the Anthropocene Summary/Function Filled ......................................................... 68
Welcome to the Anthropocene Transcript .................................................................................... 69
Completed outline ............................................................................................................................ 70
References: ........................................................................................................................................... 71
Week 5 .................................................................................................................................................. 72
5.1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 74
5.2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 76
Hand-out 5.1 ..................................................................................................................................... 77
4

Handout 5.2 ...................................................................................................................................... 79

Overview
Aims:
Some students, when taking notes, seem to want to write down everything - adopting a copy and
paste approach which may not be based on comprehension the main purpose of this mini module
is to practice a more intelligent approach to taking notes, ultimately retaining key concepts while
attempting to develop/ maintain the student-writers voice.

Primary Intended Learner Outcomes
By the end of this short module, students should be better able to:
Identify main ideas in written and aural texts
Categorize vocabulary
Identify grammar and functional language
Paraphrase

Secondary Outcomes:
While not the main focus of learning or assessment, students will also have opportunities to develop
in the following ways:
Exploit the same text for multiple learning purposes
Practice group work knowledge sharing and co-construction
Expand general knowledge on topics of global concern
Adopt an active and critical approach to comprehension skills
Self-assess
Assess the quality of source material
Take notes from extended input

5 weeks at a glance

Weeks 1+2 Topic: Climate and Weather
Skills:
Summary by deletion
Vocabulary categorization
Week 1
Written texts:
- Demo text: Stress
- Main text: Climate and Weather
Week 2
Audio texts:
Demo text:
Main text: What is climate? Met office climate change guide.
Practice text: N/A
5

Outcome: Take organised notes on content & vocabulary sufficient to recreate a text using only
notes.

Weeks 3+4 Topic: The Anthropocene
Skills:
Identify grammatical/functional language
Paraphrase
Week 3
Written texts:
- Demo text: Climate and Weather
- Main text: A safe operating space for humanity
Week 4
Audio texts:
Main text: Welcome to the Anthropocene
Practice text: Water in the Anthropocene
Outcome: Demonstrate ability to use notes to create an outline of a text and paraphrase

Week 5 Practice
Skills: To get further practice at developing in the proposed outcomes of the course
Written texts:
- Practice text:
- Assessment text:
Audio texts: Practice text:
Outcome: Assessment

Assessment
Assessment will test the each of the skills:
Summary by deletion learners ID main ideas within a text and organise those ideas in note
form
ID and record key vocabulary in context learners categorise key vocabulary as technical and
non-technical and take organised notes on collocations.
ID functional language and grammar learners identify relations between ideas in a text and
reflect that in an outline of a text.
Paraphrase learners retain underlying meaning while reorganising ideas

Text Summary Outline Paraphrase

6

Week 1

Taking notes on main ideas from a written text and recording vocabulary in an organised
way.

1.1

The first stage in the process of paraphrase, and pre-requisite of comprehension, is to identify main
ideas contained within a text. If basic writing conventions are adhered to, extensive texts will be
composed of paragraphs which contain one central idea which in turn is likely to be found within a
predictable part of a paragraph (topic sentence). Thus, a strategic approach to understanding a text
can be adopted by simply identifying these ideas, and deleting all unnecessary information. If these
main ideas are then transcribed into students notes, a preliminary step in (rudimentary) note-taking
can be taken.

Aims:
To understand the construction of paragraphs.
To practice identifying key concepts in extensive texts
To practice summarizing by deletion of unnecessary elements
To take simple notes from a written text.

Secondary aims:
Teacher to get an idea of students level of comprehension
Potentially increase reading speed by encouraging learners that reading every word is not
necessary to comprehend a text.

Outcomes:
Students will be able to transcribe only the main ideas of a text into a table.

7

Suggested procedure:

Introduction: Required texts: Stress/ Stress (redacted)/ Stress (summary)

Explain to students that the exercise helps them prepare for summarizing a text.
Ask students to count how many paragraphs there are in the demonstration text and confirm
that students know that each paragraph contains only one main idea which is usually to be
found in one sentence.
Demonstrate this by showing the demo text followed by the redacted version, drawing attention
to the fact that most of the ideas are concentrated within one sentence.

Sometimes, the reader may find more than that which is in the topic sentence worthy of retaining
and you might wish to point out a few examples in the redacted version where some information
that is not in the topic sentence remains visible.
This means that to some extent there is room for individual preference regarding exactly what
constitutes key information, but students should be encouraged to be discriminating, retaining not
much more than 20% of a text in their practice.

Finally, reveal the table into which the remaining text has been transcribed, to show the
intended product of this process.

Student practice: Required text: Weather and Climate

Hand out text. Ask students to work in pairs and cross out the words that they think are not
needed for them to understand the core information in a text.
Ask students to sit in a circle and share openly what they think the central ideas are for each
paragraph with the aim of reaching a consensus.

Homework: Required text: Weather and Climate

Students transcribe remaining text into a table in their note-books for homework.
Ask students to bring their tables to the next class.

END OF LESSON 1

8

1.2 & 1.3
Another important stage in note taking is recording vocabulary in ways that it can be used to inform
future writing. A critical, organised approach to vocabulary identification and recording can enable
students to access and employ vocabulary efficiently.
Aims
Identify collocations
Understand the difference between technical language and non-technical language
Repurpose a text
Engage in self/peer assessment
Outcomes
Students will think critically about vocabulary in order to categorise it meaningfully in preparation
for future use.

Suggested procedure
Review
Required texts: Weather and Climate (sample redacted) & Weather and
Climate (sample summary)

Ask students to review the notes from the day before.
Beam up the sample redacted text and the sample summary and ask students to compare
their own notes with the samples.
Allow students to self-assess/ peer-assess. Discuss differences/ learner difficulties

Introduction &
walk-through
Required texts: Stress (paragraphs 1-3 ID new words + collocations +
technical & non-technical language + notes combined )

As this section is quite an extensive input session, it can be broken into stages, or used as an
individual/group note-taking exercise

Text: Stress (paragraphs 1-3)
Beam up the text and initiate a discussion in pairs about what else students can learn from
this text besides general meaning.
Introduce/elicit the idea of using a text to improve vocabulary.

Text: Stress (paragraphs 1-3 - ID new words)
Use the text to demonstrate a simple underline and extract procedure and invite students to
suggest problems with this way of recording vocabulary.

Text: Stress (paragraphs 1-3 - ID collocations)
Use the text to demonstrate an approach to vocabulary learning based on identifying
collocates. Discuss the usefulness of this method. Further compare the 2 ways of organising
this information.
9

Text: Stress (paragraphs 1-3 - technical and non-technical language)
Use the third example to demonstrate the difference between technical and non-technical
language. (Technical language = words which have specific meanings within a field, which in
this case is biology/medicine/physiology). Stress the importance that this vocabulary cannot
be substituted. Discuss further how you would recognise this kind of language (i.e. first
identify the academic field or subject)

Text: Stress (paragraphs 1-3 - notes combined)
Finally show the notes combined. Note that if the non-technical vocabulary is substituted in
the summary from yesterdays class, something approximating a real summary is achieved.

Note: this process is lengthy and can become quite tedious; useful for gaining mastery of
language within a field in a short period of time, but hardly practical on a day to day basis. The
whole process can be shortened significantly by only analysing the vocabulary remaining after
deleting non-essential vocabulary see example
1

Practice
Required texts: Weather and Climate & Weather and Climate combined
notes

If time permits, this could be started in class 1.2, however it is unlikely that there will be
sufficient time to do anything significant with the text. As a homework exercise, this may also
prove a little daunting, so I suggest doing the main body of this exercise in the following class as
a group work exercise.

give out the text, Weather and Climate, again and ask students to:
o ID technical (meteorological) and non-technical vocabulary
o Find and organise collocations
o Combine vocabulary lists with summary from class 1.2 homework
o Compare with text Weather and Climate notes combined and self-assess

END OF LESSON 2 & 3

1
Stressors are environmental stimuli and stress is our reactions to those stimuli. Many events things can be stressors;
things which they interfere with disrupt our way of life day-to-day lives. When we encounter come up against stressors, we
must deal cope with the challenge difficulties; how well we deal with the challenge do will determine our wellbeing health.

10

Supplementary exercise:

Direct students to the full report at: Blackboard\ Course Materials\ Text Analysis \ Climate
Indicators In order to evaluate the quality and academic relevance of the source material.

(Signs of quality: recent, peer reviewed, produced by a government agency, all contributors are
named, well-referenced)

11

Texts
Stress

WHAT IS STRESS?
The term stress has been defined in several different ways. Sometimes the term is applied to stimuli
or events in our environment that make physical and emotional demands on us, and sometimes it is
applied to our emotional and physical reactions to such stimuli. In this discussion, we will refer to
the environmental stimuli or events as stressors and to emotional and physical reactions as stress.
Many sorts of events can be stressors, including disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes, major life
events such as divorce or the loss of a job, and daily hassles such as having to wait in line at the
supermarket when you need to be somewhere else in ten minutes. What all these events have in
common is that they interfere with or threaten our accustomed way of life.
When we encounter such stressors, we must pull together our mental and physical resources in
order to deal with the challenge. How well we succeed in doing so will determine how serious a toll
the stress will take on our mental and physical well-being.
REACTING TO STRESSORS
The Canadian physiologist Hans Seyle has been the most influential researcher and writer on stress.
Seyle has proposed that both humans and other animals react to any stressor in three stages,
collectively known as the general adaptation syndrome. The first stage, when the person or animal
first becomes aware of the stressor, is the alarm reaction. In this stage, the organism becomes highly
alert and aroused, energized by a burst of epinephrine. After the alarm reaction comes the stage of
resistance, as the organism tries to adapt to the stressful stimulus or to escape from it. If these
efforts are successful, the state of the organism returns to normal. If the organism cannot adapt to
continuing stress, however, it enters a stage of exhaustion or collapse.
Seyle developed his model of the general adaptation syndrome as a result of research with rats and
other animals. In rats, certain stressors, such as painful tail-pulling, consistently lead to the same
sorts of stress reactions. In humans, however, it is harder to predict what will be stressful to a
particular person at a particular time. Whether a particular stimulus will be stressful depends on the
person's subjective appraisal of that stimulus. How threatening is it? How well have I handled this
sort of thing in the past? How well will I be able to handle it this time? For one person, being called
upon to give a talk in front of a class is a highly stressful stimulus that will immediately produce such
elements of an alarm reaction as a pounding heart and a dry mouth. For another person, being
called on to give a talk is not threatening at all, but facing a dead-line to complete a term paper is
extremely stressful. In humans, more-over, the specific stress reaction is likely to vary widely; some
stressful situations give rise predominantly to emotions of fear, some to anger, some to helplessness
and depression

Source:
Seal, B. (1997). Academic encounters (Reading, study skills, and writing). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (Cited in Emam, A., 2011)

12

Stress (redacted version)

WHAT IS STRESS?
REACTING TO STRESSORS
The Canadian physiologist Hans Seyle has been the most influential researcher and writer on stress.
Seyle has proposed that both humans and other animals react to any stressor in three stages,
collectively known as the general adaptation syndrome. The first stage, when the person or animal
first becomes aware of the stressor, is the alarm reaction. In this stage, the organism becomes highly
alert and aroused, energized by a burst of epinephrine. After the alarm reaction comes the stage of
resistance, as the organism tries to adapt to the stressful stimulus or to escape from it. If these
efforts are successful, the state of the organism returns to normal. If the organism cannot adapt to
continuing stress, however, it enters a stage of exhaustion or collapse.
Seyle developed his model of the general adaptation syndrome as a result of research with rats and
other animals. In rats, certain stressors, such as painful tail-pulling, consistently lead to the same
sorts of stress reactions. In humans, however, it is harder to predict what will be stressful to a
particular person at a particular time. Whether a particular stimulus will be stressful depends on the
person's subjective appraisal of that stimulus. How threatening is it? How well have I handled this
sort of thing in the past? How well will I be able to handle it this time? For one person, being called
upon to give a talk in front of a class is a highly stressful stimulus that will immediately produce such
elements of an alarm reaction as a pounding heart and a dry mouth. For another person, being
called on to give a talk is not threatening at all, but facing a dead-line to complete a term paper is
extremely stressful. In humans, more-over, the specific stress reaction is likely to vary widely; some
stressful situations give rise predominantly to emotions of fear, some to anger, some to helplessness
and depression

13

Stress (summary)

5 paragraphs = 5 main ideas
1
Define: environmental stimuli = stressors; emotional and physical reactions =
stress
W
h
a
t

i
s

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t
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e
s
s
?

2 Many events can be stressors, they interfere with our way of life
3
When we encounter stressors we must deal with the challenge; how well we deal
with the challenge will determine our well-being
4
Hans Seyle proposed animals react to stressors in 3 stages:
Alarm, resistance, exhaustion / collapse
R
e
a
c
t
i
n
g

t
o

s
t
r
e
s
s
o
r
s

5
In rats, stressors lead to same stress reactions; in humans, its harder to predict
reactions vary widely

14

Weather and Climate

eather is the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place. Most of the weather
that affects people, agriculture, and ecosystems takes place in the lower layer of the
atmosphere, the troposphere. Familiar aspects of weather include temperature,
precipitation, clouds, and wind. Severe weather conditions include hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards,
and droughts.
Climate is the long-term average of the weather in a given place. While the weather can change in
minutes or hours, a change in climate is something that develops over longer periods of decades to
centuries. Climate is defined not only by average temperature and precipitation, but also by the
type, frequency, duration, and intensity of weather events such as heat waves, cold spells, storms,
floods, and droughts. Weather can vary widely, and extreme events occur naturally, but average
conditions tend to remain stable unless the Earth experiences a force that can shift the climate. At
various times in the Earths history, the climate has changed in response to forces such as large
volcanic eruptions, changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, and shifts in the Earths orbit around
the sun.
The average temperature at the surface of the Earth has been increasing over the past century,
primarily because human activities are adding large quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gases to
the atmosphere. Unusually warm days and nights have also become more common in some places.
Generally, warmer surface temperatures lead to an increase in evaporation from the oceans and
land, leading to an increase in globally averaged precipitation. However, while some regions can get
more precipitation, shifting storm patterns and increased evaporation can cause some areas to
experience more severe droughts than they have in the past. Scientific studies also indicate that
extreme weather events such as storms, floods, and hurricanes are likely to become more intense.
However, because these extremes already vary naturally, it may be difficult over short time periods
to distinguish whether changes in their intensity and frequency can be attributed to lager climate
trends caused by human influences.
Climate variations can directly or indirectly affect many aspects of societyin both positive and
disruptive ways. For example, warmer average temperatures reduce heating costs and improve
conditions for growing some crops; yet extreme heat can increase illnesses and deaths among
vulnerable populations and damage some crops. Precipitation can replenish water supplies and sup-
port agriculture, but intense storms can damage property, cause loss of life and population
displacement, and temporarily disrupt essential services such as transportation,
telecommunications, energy, and water supplies.

Source:
Bell, G., Comiso, J., Luber, G., et al. (2012) Climate Change Indicators in the United States.
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. (p.23)
Available at: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/download.html

W
15

Weather and Climate (sample redacted)

eather is the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place. Most of the weather
that affects people, agriculture, and ecosystems takes place in the lower layer of the
atmosphere, the troposphere. Familiar aspects of weather include temperature,
precipitation, clouds, and wind. Severe weather conditions include hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards,
and droughts.
the sun.
to distinguish whether changes in their intensity and frequency can be attributed to larger climate

W
16

Weather and Climate (sample summary)

4 paragraphs= 4 main ideas
1 Weather is the state of the atmosphere (troposphere).
2 Climate is the long term (decades or centuries) average of the weather. Tends to remain stable
unless the Earth experiences a force that can shift the climate.
3 The temperature of the earth is increasing because of human activities. Extreme weather
events are likely to become more intense.
4 Climate variations affect society in positive and disruptive ways.

17

Stress (paragraphs 1-3)

WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress (paragraphs 1-3 ID new words)

WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress, stimuli, stressors, hassles, interfere, accustomed, encounter, determine, toll, well-being

18

Stress (paragraphs 1-3 ID collocations)

Paragraph 1

Define + term
Apply + term + to
Make demands on someone

Emotional reactions
Physical reactions
Refer to (n) as (n) Emotional demands
Physical demands
Reactions to stimuli Environmental stimuli

Reorganised notes:
Reactions Term Demands stimuli
Emotional _______
Physical _______
_______to stimuli
The _______
Define the _______
Apply the _______
Make _______on someone
Emotional _______
Physical _______
Reactions to _______
Environmental _______
Refer
______ to (n) as (n)

Paragraph 2

Life hassles Job
Way of _______
Major _____ events
Daily __________ The loss of a _______
Way of life
Our _______
Threaten our _____
Interfere with our _____
Our accustomed _______

19

Paragraph 3

Stressors resources toll
_______ stressors Pull together our ________
Mental _________
Physical _________
Take a ______ on + (n)
Well-being
Mental _________
Physical ________

20

Stress (paragraphs 1-3 technical &. non-technical language)


Technical Non-technical
P
a
r
a
g
r
a
p
h

1

Stress
Stressors
Physical
Emotional
Demands
Reactions
Stimuli
Term = word
Define = means

P
a
r
a

2

Stressors
Hurricanes
tornadoes

Events = things
Disasters = catastrophic events
Divorce = separation
the loss of a job = unemployment
hassles = irritations
wait in line = queue
interfere with = disrupt
threaten = pose a danger to
way of life = day-to-day lives
P
a
r
a

3

Stressors
Mental
Encounter = meet
resources = capacities
take a toll = damage
well-being = happiness

21

Stress (notes combined)
Technical Non-technical Collocations meaning
P
a
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h

1

Stress
Stressors
Physical
Emotional
Demands
Reactions
Stimuli
Term = word
Define = means

Reactions Term Demands stimuli Refer
Emotional
_______
Physical
_______
_______to
stimuli
The
_______
Define
the
_______
Apply
the
_______
Make
_______on
someone
Emotional
_______
Physical
_______
Reactions to
_______
Environmental
_______
______ to
(n) as (n)

Define: environmental
stimuli = stressors;
emotional and physical
reactions = stress
P
a
r
a
g
r
a
p
h

2

Stressors
Hurricanes
tornadoes

Events = things
Disasters = catastrophic events
Divorce = separation
the loss of a job = unemployment
hassles = irritations
wait in line = queue
interfere with = disrupt
threaten = pose a danger to
way of life = day-to-day lives
Life hassles Job Way of life
Way of
_______
Major
_____
events
Daily
__________
The loss
of a
_______
Our _______
Threaten our
_____
Interfere with our
_____
Our accustomed
_______

Many events can be
stressors, they interfere
with our way of life
P
a
r
a
g
r
a
p
h

3

Stressors
Mental
Encounter = come up against
Deal with = cope with
Challenge = difficulties
resources = capacities
take a toll = damage
well-being = general health and
happiness
Stressors resources toll Well-being
_______
stressors
Pull together our
________
Mental _____
Physical _____
Take a
______ on +
(n)
Mental ____
Physical ___

When we encounter
stressors we must deal with
the challenge; how well we
deal with the challenge will
determine our well-being

22

Weather and Climate (notes combined)

Technical
(meteorological)
Non-technical Collocations Summary
P
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1

Weather
Atmosphere
Ecosystems
Atmosphere
Precipitation
Clouds
Wind
conditions
Hurricanes/Tornadoes
Blizzards
Droughts
State = condition
Agriculture = farming
Layer = strata

The atmosphere Any given weather

The state of _____
The lower layer of ___
______ time
______ place
_____ takes place
Aspects of _____
Severe _____ conditions

Weather is the
state of the
atmosphere
(troposphere).
P
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2

Climate
Average
Temperature
Precipitation
Heat waves
Cold spells
Storms
Floods
Droughts
Extreme
Conditions
Volcanic eruptions
Greenhouse gas
Earths orbit
Decades = tens of
years
Centuries = hundreds
of years
Type = kind
Duration = how long it
continues
Intensity = how strong
Vary = change
Occur = happen
Tends to = usually
Remains = stays
Stable = unchanging
Experiences a force =
is affected by s.th
Shift = change

Average A given Weather Change
Long term
_____
_____
conditions
_____
place
_____ can
change
_____ events
_____ can vary
Weather can _____
A _____ in climate
_____ in response to
_____ in concentrations
Heat Cold Vary/ various Events
_____ waves _____
spells
_____ widely
Weather can
_____
various times
Weather _____
Extreme _____
Climate Volcanic Gas Earth
Shift the
_____
A change in
_____
The _____
changed
_____
eruptions
Greenhouse
_____
_____
concentrations
_____s history
_____ experiences a
force
_____s orbit

Climate is the long
term (decades or
centuries) average
of the weather.
Tends to remain
stable unless the
Earth experiences a
force that can shift
the climate.
23

P
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3

Surface
Greenhouse
Atmosphere
Evaporation
precipitation
Storm patterns
Extreme weather
Droughts
Storms
Floods
Hurricanes
Climate trends
Century= 100 years or
so
Primarily = mainly
Human activities =
human influences
Regions = areas
Shifting = changing
Indicate = suggest
More intense =
stronger
Vary = change
Distinguish = tell the
difference
Intensity = strength
be attributed to = can
be blamed on

Average The Earth Temperature Human
_____
temperature
_____
precipitation
The surface of
_____
Average _____
Increasing _____
Surface _____
_____
activities
_____
influences
Gases Increase in Shifting Drought
Heat-trapping
_____
Greenhouse
_____
_____
evaporation
_____
precipitation
Increased
evaporation
_____ patterns Experience
_____
Severe _____
Climate Changes Vary Weather
_____ trends Attribute _____
to
_____ naturally Extreme _____
_____ events
The temperature of
the earth is
increasing because
of human activities.
Extreme weather
events are likely to
become more
intense.
P
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4

Conditions
Precipitation
Variations = changes
Disruptive = negative
Crops = food
Vulnerable
populations = people
at risk
Damage = do harm to
Replenish = refill
Property = buildings
Cause loss of life = kill
Population
displacement =
migration
Disrupt = interfere
with

Climate affect Ways Crops
_____ variations Directly _____
Indirectly
_____
Positive _____
Disruptive
_____
Conditions for
growing _____
Damage _____
Population Supplies Services Extreme
Vulnerable _____
_____
displacement

Replenish
_____
Water _____
Disrupt _____
Essential _____
_____ heat
Intense
_____ storms

Climate variations
affect society in
positive and
disruptive ways.

References:

Available at: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/download.html

Emam, A., (2011) (citing Seal, B., 1997).: Cross-linguistic Summary Protocols, Journal of
Language Teaching and Research, 2.1, (p. 216-228)
Available at: http://ojs.academypublisher.com/index.php/jltr/article/download/0105596604/2163

Text analysis
26

Week 2

Taking notes on main ideas from an audio text and recording vocabulary in an organised way.
2.1
Aims:
To practice identifying main ideas in an aural text.
Taking notes from an aural text.
To reinforce summarizing skills (introduced earlier)
Secondary aims:
To practice whole/large-group information sharing
Using transcripts
Self-assessment
Outcomes:
Students will be better able to identify structure of an aural text using prosodic cues and signposting.

Suggested procedure
Introduction:
Required texts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjwmrg__ZVw; What is
Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide (waveform)

Play the video once and ask students to take notes, then rate their own understanding
(e.g. scale of 1-10)
Elicit the barriers to comprehension (e.g. background knowledge, blocking vocabulary,
speed, distracting visuals) what do they need in order to improve.

When writers change topic, there is clear evidence of this in paragraphing. Spoken texts also
have clues to topic change:
change in visuals, change in intonation, sudden increase in volume, extended pauses,
introduction of new vocabulary item, signposting (see the first section of the text)

Elicit and board clues to determining when a change of topic occurs in spoken texts
(equivalent to changes in paragraphs in written texts).
Show visual of wave form. And see if students can make educated guesses as to when
subjects change. Try to reach a consensus on how many paragraphs there are in the
spoken text. Then ask students to listen to the text one more time and take notes on the
main ideas (new topics introduced)
Discuss/share results in groups.

Student practice:
Required text: What is Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide
(transcript)
Text analysis
27

Hand out the text and ask students to cross out non-essential information, compare the new
summary with their own notes and assess their own level of comprehension.
Homework: Required text: What is Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide (video on
Blackboard)

Students should write up their notes into some organised format for subsequent retrieval.
Students should be encouraged to replay the video at home to go over any parts they
found difficult.

According to Rost (2013), being able to control the rate of listening material can improve
bottom-up processing skills (citing Zhao, 2005). Downloading the video from
Blackboard\Course Materials\EAP Special\Text Analysis\Week 2 and using a media player,
such as VLC, to control rate may lead to gains in processing connected speech.

Text analysis
28

2.2
Aims:
To practice identifying key vocabulary
Take notes on pronunciation
Using transcripts to create word clouds
Secondary aims:
Repurposing a text
Self-assessment
Outcomes:
Students will be better able to analyse a text for essential (technical) vocabulary and focus on
pronunciation.

Suggested procedure
Review
Required texts: What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (organised
notes)

Ask students to come up to the board (or give poster paper) to fill in a table summarizing the
previous days text. Compare with one another. Compare with sample version below.
Allow students to self/peer assess contributions.

Practice
Required texts: What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (Technical -
non-technical analysis)

Using the organised notes from yesterdays class, students should now attempt to identify
technical and non-technical language, i.e. which words are we free to substitute with a
synonym and which words are we not.

One critical element to successful communication is pronunciation. If students have identified
vocabulary as essential, they should be concerned with how it is pronounced.
In the spirit of preparing the students for success, point out this fact and allow Ss to listen to the
audio with the express purpose of focussing on pronunciation.
This may take repeated listening attempts, so having another student in control of the media
player may encourage students to ask for as many repetitions as they need.

Discuss how students record pronunciation.
Now ask students to paraphrase that which they can by substituting.
Ask students to read out loud their paraphrased sentences and monitor for content and
pronunciation.

Text analysis
29

Homework
Required texts: Hand-out word-cloud: What is Climate? - Met Office Climate
Change Guide

Using a logical approach to identifying technical vocabulary, we could say that:

There is concordance-like software available to analyse frequency, but for a quick analysis, word
clouds can be useful with the more high-frequency words being larger in the cloud than the
lower-frequency words.

Ask Ss to analyse the word cloud hand-out to see if there is a correlation between the larger
words and technical vocabulary.

As technical vocabulary has a specific meaning within its own field. These words
cannot be changed, so when a writer wants to express this concept, he must use the
same word each time.
This would mean that these words would have a higher frequency of use in a text
than other words (as writers tend to want to avoid repetition)
So an analysis of frequency of words in a text (or across multiple texts should reveal
which words are considered technical)
Text analysis
30

2.3
Aims:
To consolidate skills presented in previous classes
Secondary aims:
Repurposing a text
Outcomes:
Students will gain further practice with text analysis.

Suggested procedure
Review

Review all skills introduced: Identifying transitions in texts, summary by deletion, Identifying
technical vocabulary and using summaries and knowledge of technical vocabulary to create
paraphrased summaries.

Practice
Required texts: Climate Change: the state of the science (ID new paragraphs),
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EWOrZQ3L-c

Give hand-out and ask students to first draw boundaries (e.g. //) where they think the
boundaries between new ideas lay.
Results can be shared among group members.
Listen to the text to confirm.
ID main ideas in text using knowledge of transition points
Organise notes for clarity
ID essential vocabulary and pronunciation
Students practice paraphrasing main ideas

Homework
Required text: digital version of the transcript Climate Change: the state of the
science (data visualisation)

Ask Ss to search online for word-cloud software and copy and paste the transcript to analyse the
technical vocabulary for themselves.

Text analysis
31

What is Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide (waveform)

Extended pauses followed by sudden changes in volume and pitch indicate a change in subject (not an exact science but a reasonable correlation). You can
also see clause boundaries here in the shorter pauses between streams of sound.
Text analysis
32

Texts:
What is Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide

To be able to understand climate change, we need to be able to understand climate. What is it? And
how does it work? What is the difference between weather and climate? In this short video, well
explain what climate is, how our climate works and how different factors affect our climate. First of
all, lets answer the question of what is the difference between weather and climate.
Weather is the elements we see daily, such as temperature, rain and wind. These can change hour
by hour and day by day. Climate, on the other hand, looks at how the weather changes over a long
period of time; typically around 30 years.
Scientists have been able to define climate zones around the world. Here in the UK we have a
temperate climate. That is neither especially hot nor cold, wet nor dry when compared to other
climates. Ours is a very different climate to that in the Sahara, for example, which is known as arid,
because throughout the year, the weather is dry and hot.
Scientists have to look at how the atmosphere interacts with the oceans, ice-sheets, land masses
and vegetation. These different interactions create a climate system, and these interactions, as well
as the composition of the atmosphere itself, create a very complex system.
The sun also drives our climate. Sunlight provides energy which heats the earth. Without the earths
atmosphere and certain gasses our climate would be very different to what it is now.
The atmosphere stops the heat from escaping into space. If it didnt do this, our planet would be a
very cold place, indeed. Certain gasses allow the suns energy through but stop it from escaping back
into space; acting like a greenhouse. Thats why its called the greenhouse effect. The gasses
responsible for this effect, such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, and methane are called
greenhouse gasses.
Scientists explained the heat trapping effects of greenhouse gasses more than 150 years ago. They
discovered that, without the greenhouse effect, the earth would be about 30 degrees Celsius cooler,
making it uninhabitable to most forms of life.
Greenhouse gasses are so effective at keeping the earth warm, that any changes will affect the
earths temperature.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjwmrg__ZVw
Text analysis
33

What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (redacted version)

To be able to understand climate change, we need to be able to understand climate. What is it? And
how does it work? What is the difference between weather and climate? In this short video, well
explain what climate is, how our climate works and how different factors affect our climate. First of
all, lets answer the question of what is the difference between weather and climate.
Weather is the elements we see daily, such as temperature, rain and wind. These can change hour
by hour and day by day. Climate , on the other hand, looks at how the weather changes over a long
period of time; typically around 30 years.
Scientists have been able to define climate zones around the world. Here in the UK we have a
temperate climate. That is neither especially hot nor cold, wet nor dry when compared to other
climates. Ours is a very different climate to that in the Sahara, for example, which is known as arid,
because throughout the year, the weather is dry and hot.
Scientists have to look at how the atmosphere interacts with the oceans, ice-sheets, land masses
and vegetation. These different interactions create a climate system, and these interactions, as well
as the composition of the atmosphere itself, create a very complex system.
The sun also drives our climate. Sunlight provides energy which heats the earth. Without the earths
atmosphere and certain gasses our climate would be very different to what it is now.
The atmosphere stops the heat from escaping into space. If it didnt do this, our planet would be a
very cold place, indeed. Certain gasses allow the suns energy through but stop it from escaping back
into space; acting like a greenhouse. Thats why its called the greenhouse effect. The gasses
responsible for this effect, such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, and methane are called
greenhouse gasses.
Scientists explained the heat trapping effects of greenhouse gasses more than 150 years ago. They
discovered that, without the greenhouse effect, the earth would be about 30 degrees Celsius cooler,
making it uninhabitable to most forms of life.
Greenhouse gasses are so effective at keeping the earth warm, that any changes will affect the
earths temperature.

What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (organised notes)

Notes (the difference between weather and climate)
1
Weather = elements we see daily; climate= how weather changes over a long period of
time
2 Scientists define climate zones: in the UK = temperate; in the Sahara = arid
3 Scientists look at how different interactions create a climate system
4 Sunlight heats the earth
5
The atmosphere stops the heat from escaping like a greenhouse (the greenhouse
effect)
6 Without the greenhouse effect the earth would be cooler
7 If greenhouse gasses change, this will affect the earths temperature

Text analysis
34

What is climate? - Met Office climate change guide (Technical - non-technical
analysis)

Notes (the difference between weather and climate)
1
Weather = elements we see daily; climate= how weather changes over a long period of
time
2 Scientists define climate zones: in the UK = temperate; in the Sahara = arid
3 Scientists look at how different interactions create a climate system
4 Sunlight heats the earth
5
The atmosphere stops the heat from escaping like a greenhouse (the greenhouse
effect)
6 Without the greenhouse effect the earth would be cooler
7 If greenhouse gasses change, this will affect the earths temperature

Key:
xxxxxxxx = technical language
Text analysis
35

Climate Change: the state of the science (ID new paragraphs)
Our planet is vast. Its difficult to comprehend the scale. Its difficult too to comprehend the scale of
humanity and the vast changes weve wrought in a lifetime. Population, production and
consumption have grown exponentially. Roads; railways; airlines shipping routes; a digital
revolution; weve created a globally interconnected society. Evidence is mounting weve entered the
Anthropocene. Humanity is altering earths life support systems. Carbon dioxide emissions are
accelerating. Greenhouse gas levels are unprecedented in human history. The climate system is
changing rapidly. The inter-governmental panel on climate change assesses the risks and options for
societies. Its latest report states it is extremely likely humans are the dominant cause of warming in
the past 60 years. Without deep emissions cuts, it is likely earth will cross the target of 2 degrees
Celsius above pre-industrial levels; the target set by international policy. This could happen as early
as 2050. If emissions keep rising at current rates, a 4 degree rise by 2100 is as likely as not. Its very
likely heat waves will occur more often and last longer. The arctic will warm faster than the global
average. Its likely sea ice will all but vanish in summer within decades if high emissions continue. Its
very likely sea level rise will accelerate. Cities and coastal areas are vulnerable. In general, wet
regions are set to get wetter; dry regions drier. Monsoons are likely to become longer. Their
footprint likely to grow and downpours likely to intensify. The acidity of the ocean has increased 26%
since the start of the industrial revolution. The full consequences of all these changes on the earths
system are unknown. Humanitys carbon footprint is huge. Societies will need to adapt to climate
change. The scale of change depends on decisions made now. Can we remain below 2 degrees? It is
possible, but it is up to societies now to decide the future we want. For a likely chance of achieving
the 2 degree target, societies can emit another 250 billion tonnes of carbon. We burn about 10
billion tonnes of carbon a year. At current rates, we will use this budget in about 25 years.

Text analysis
36

Climate Change: the state of the science (data visualisation)
Our planet is vast. Its difficult to comprehend the scale. Its difficult too to comprehend the scale of
humanity and the vast changes weve wrought in a lifetime. Population, production and
consumption have grown exponentially. Roads; railways; airlines shipping routes; a digital
revolution; weve created a globally interconnected society. Evidence is mounting weve entered the
Anthropocene.
Humanity is altering earths life support systems. Carbon dioxide emissions are accelerating.
Greenhouse gas levels are unprecedented in human history. The climate system is changing rapidly.
The inter-governmental panel on climate change assesses the risks and options for societies. Its
latest report states it is extremely likely humans are the dominant cause of warming in the past 60
years.
Without deep emissions cuts, it is likely earth will cross the target of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-
industrial levels; the target set by international policy. This could happen as early as 2050. If
emissions keep rising at current rates, a 4 degree rise by 2100 is as likely as not.
Its very likely heat waves will occur more often and last longer. The arctic will warm faster than the
global average. Its likely sea ice will all but vanish in summer within decades if high emissions
continue. Its very likely sea level rise will accelerate. Cities and coastal areas are vulnerable.
In general, wet regions are set to get wetter; dry regions drier. Monsoons are likely to become
longer. Their footprint likely to grow and downpours likely to intensify. The acidity of the ocean has
increased 26% since the start of the industrial revolution. The full consequences of all these changes
on the earths system are unknown.
Humanitys carbon footprint is huge. Societies will need to adapt to climate change. The scale of
change depends on decisions made now. Can we remain below 2 degrees? It is possible, but it is up
to societies now to decide the future we want. For a likely chance of achieving the 2 degree target,
societies can emit another 250 billion tonnes of carbon. We burn about 10 billion tonnes of carbon a
year. At current rates, we will use this budget in about 25 years.
Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EWOrZQ3L-c

Text analysis
37

Waveform Hand-out


Mark on the waveform where you think the narrator changes topic.

How did you make your selection? What clues did you use?

Text analysis
38

Word Clouds


Text analysis
39

Climate Change: the state of the science (word cloud)

References

International Geoshpere-Bioshpere Programme, (Jan. 2014). Climate change the state of the science
(data visualisation). Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EWOrZQ3L-c

Met office, [Matthew Roberts], (Mar 2011). What is Climate? - Met Office Climate Change Guide.
Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjwmrg__ZVw

Rost, M., Wilson, J.J., (2013), Active Listening. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.

Text analysis
41

Week 3
Identify functional vocabulary in texts in order to create an outline

3.1
Aims:
Analysing a text for functional language
Repurposing a text
Working collaboratively
Experiment with web-based language learning tools
Outcome: students will collaborate to analyse a text in terms of functional language in order to
create create a detailed outline.

Suggested procedure
Introduction: Required texts: Climate and Weather (id function) - paragraph 1

Show first paragraph and ask what the colours indicate in general and then what function
each colour represents.
Categorize under columns on board and elicit further examples expanding with sample
sentences where necessary.
E.g.

Definition Desc. location Example Addition
X is Y X takes place in Y X includes A, B, and C and

Student practice: Required text: Climate and Weather (id function) paragraphs 2-4

Technology has long been creeping into language teaching: see http://www.tesl-
ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume15/ej57/ej57int/ for a (now outdated) list of online learning
tools for Language Teaching. The web-based tool introduced here used to be known as
Wallwisher, and has many potential applications beyond the one introduced here. One
strength is that there is no need to register to get up and running right away in class, a
second advantage is that everyone can see the edits in real time.

Navigate to padlet.com and click on build a wall. Start
Ask students to use their smart devices, copy the new URL and ask each group to take one
column each from the board and create one column per language function on the wall.
You should see (on the beamer), that as groups add to the wall, the wall itself is
automatically updated for all to see.
Text analysis
42

Divide the remaining paragraphs (2-4) between the rest of the class in small groups and
ask students identify functions in the text and to add to the columns or add new
categories to the wall where appropriate.
Add example sentences below each entry if required

As you probably havent registered for the site, it might be an idea, at the end of class to
take a snapshot of the finished wall by clicking on export then saving as an image of pdf to
upload to a group page on Blackboard.

Finally outline the entire paragraph in terms of functional elements:

E.g. Paragraph 1:
o Definition of weather.
Description of location
Example of familiar weather
Example of severe weather conditions

Text analysis
43

3.2
Aims
To show complete outline of an essay
To provide further practice in terms of analysis of function
To understand the concept of tense in relation to communicative function
Outcomes: students should further practice analysing texts in terms of function, tense

Suggested Procedure

Review
Required texts: Climate and weather full outline; and Climate and weather
analysis of function to outline
Hand out the outline
Beam up the fully analysed text check that students can see where the outline has come
from
Introduction: Required texts: A safe operating space for Humanity (Paragraph 1)
Introduce the text by looking on blackboard and showing the full text from the magazine
Nature.

This is in no way an adapted text and may appear daunting to students. Looking at how well
this article is supported by graphics and visual data, it would suggest that even native
speakers and readers of Nature would find this text tricky. Try to bolster confidence by
pointing out they already have the skills necessary to read an article like this even without
reference to all the visual support.

Beam up the first paragraph and ask students to identify the functions. (they can add them to the
wall they created yesterday if they wish to persist with this exercise)

E.g.

Desc. Change Define Cause/effect Future
Undergo change
Has been stable
Has seen X arise
Has arisen
Known (to s.o) as A Driver of Y is X
X Pushes Y (somewhere)
Have consequences that
Could see

Draw attention to the use of tense in this paragraph and its relation to function. That the
perfect tense has a near 1-1 correlation with describing change. That known as would
not be in the perfect tense although it has undergone ellipsis here, students should
understand that this, as well as the , the Antropocene, implies which is known as and
that present simple tense correlates with definition. And that in the last sentence, the use
of could, which is used to show caution about the future, dominates the verb form.
compare this to will see or is going to see.
Text analysis
44

Student practice: Required text: A safe operating space for humanity

Give students the rest of the text and ask them to look at the content of the second
paragraph to analyse for the function of tense. It should be clear that 3 tenses are at work
here. Past simple, present perfect and future. Try to elicit their functions.

E.g.
Past. Function = contrast past causes of change describe past change (largely to contrast with
previous paragraph and following sentence)
Present perfect Function = contrast current causes of change
Future (could be/ could lead to/ is expected to)Function = cautious prediction of effects of current
change

Begin to outline the first two paragraphs for students

Paragraph 1 - introduction
Describe stable state of the
environment and define Holocene
(positive) develop/ thrive
Define Anthropocene
Predict consequences of these effects
(negative) outside stable state/
detrimental/catastrophic
Paragraph 2 Develop consequences of
human actions
Describe Holocene (past positive)
naturally/regular/ freshwater
Contrast Anthropocene (present -
negative) fossil fuel/ damage
Predict consequences (negative)
irreversible/ abrupt/ less conducive/
pressure

Ask students to continue. Working in groups.

This is a long and dense text. And to a large extent, the process of analysis is open to
interpretation. The point is not for students to finish or get the right answer, but for them
to start thinking about how tense choices have communicative impact and that during the
editing process of their writing, this is something they should analyse in their own work and
discuss with their teacher during feedback sessions.

Text analysis
45

3.3
Aims
To look at text analysis from another perspective reading to write.
Repurpose a text
Show the value of good quality note-taking
Outcomes: student will gain practice in reconstructing a text using notes. (outlines and notes on
vocabulary)

Suggested Procedure

Introduction
Required texts: Climate and weather (outline); climate and weather (notes
combined); functional language cheat sheets
Make sure students have all the required texts for this step.
Students are now going to reconstruct the text using only their notes. In this instance, the
notes are provided as models.
Using the outline, walk the students through the first part of the first paragraph: Define
weather.
Show how using the functional language cheat sheets, plus knowing which words cannot be
replaced (technical words) there are more than a few possible variations that can be produced.
E.g.
- Weather refers to atmospheric conditions.
- Weather can be defined as the state of the atmosphere.
- A generally accepted definition of weather is what is going on in the atmosphere.
- Changes in the atmosphere is commonly known as weather.

Elicit the rest of the paragraph with reference to the outline and cheat sheets.

NB. I have not provided a section on describing location students will have to rely on existing
knowledge to do this part.

Once students have finished this part, they should see that they have created a paraphrased
version of the original text staying true to the original meaning, but fundamentally altering the
surface structure of the language. They should also see that there are many possible correct
answers. Encourage students to take risks in this regard, but if they have never used a particular
functional phrase before, its necessary to use whatever tools at their disposal to get exposure to
example sentences.

Student practice: Required texts: as above

Ask students to work on the next paragraph in small groups.
When they have finished, they should upload their work to padlet.com to share their
different versions publicly for analysis of differences.
Offer praise for those that took risks.
Review for tense choices.
Text analysis
46

Texts

Climate and Weather (id function) - paragraph 1

eather is the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place. Most of the
weather that affects people, agriculture, and ecosystems takes place in the
lower layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere. Familiar aspects of weather
include temperature, precipitation, clouds, and wind. Severe weather conditions include
hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, and droughts.

W
Text analysis
47

Climate and Weather (id function) paragraphs 2-4

the sun.

What is happening?
to distinguish whether changes in their intensity and frequency can be attributed to larger climate

Why does it matter?

Text analysis
48

Climate and weather analysis of function to outline
Weather is the state of the atmosphere at any given time and place.
Most of the weather that affects people, agriculture, and ecosystems
takes place in the lower layer of the atmosphere, the troposphere.
Familiar aspects of weather include temperature, precipitation, clouds,
and wind. Severe weather conditions include hurricanes, tornadoes,
blizzards, and droughts.
Define weather
Describe location of
weather
Example of familiar
aspects of weather
Example of severe
weather conditions
Climate is the long-term average of the weather in a given place. While
the weather can change in minutes or hours, a change in climate is
something that develops over longer periods of decades to centuries.
Climate is defined not only by average temperature and precipitation,
but also by the type, frequency, duration, and intensity of weather
events such as heat waves, cold spells, storms, floods, and droughts.
Weather can vary widely, and extreme events occur naturally, but
average conditions tend to remain stable unless the Earth experiences a
force that can shift the climate. At various times in the Earths history,
the climate has changed in response to forces such as large volcanic
eruptions, changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, and shifts in the
Earths orbit around the sun.
Define climate
Define climate
contrast weather
Define climate
addition example
Contrast weather
probability vs climate
probability
Cause of change
Example of causes
The average temperature at the surface of the Earth has been increasing
over the past century, primarily because human activities are adding
large quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Unusually warm days and nights have also become more common in
some places. Generally, warmer surface temperatures lead to an increase
in evaporation from the oceans and land, leading to an increase in
globally averaged precipitation. However, while some regions can get
more precipitation, shifting storm patterns and increased evaporation
can cause some areas to experience more severe droughts than they
have in the past. Scientific studies also indicate that extreme weather
events such as storms, floods, and hurricanes are likely to become more
intense. However, because these extremes already vary naturally, it may
be difficult over short time periods to distinguish whether changes in
their intensity and frequency can be attributed to larger climate trends
caused by human influences.
Describe change
temperature and
cause of change
Describe change in
temperature
Effects of
temperature change
Contrast probability
some regions inc rain
with other regions inc
drought
Add probability
extreme weather
intensity
Contrast probability
of causes of change
Climate variations can directly or indirectly affect many aspects of
societyin both positive and disruptive ways. For example, warmer
average temperatures reduce heating costs and improve conditions for
growing some crops; yet extreme heat can increase illnesses and deaths
among vulnerable populations and damage some crops. Precipitation can
replenish water supplies and support agriculture, but intense storms can
damage property, cause loss of life and population displacement, and
temporarily disrupt essential services such as transportation,
Possibility of climate
change effects
Example positive
effects
Contrast possibility
negative effects
Examples of essential
services
Text analysis
49

Climate and weather full outline

Paragraph
1
Define weather
Describe location of weather
Example of familiar aspects of weather
Example of severe weather conditions
Paragraph
2
Define climate
Define climate contrast weather
Define climate addition example
Contrast weather probability vs climate probability
Cause of change
Example of causes
Paragraph
3
Describe change temperature and cause of change
Describe change in temperature
Effects of temperature change
Contrast probability some regions inc rain with other regions inc
drought
Add probability extreme weather intensity
Contrast probability of causes of change
Paragraph
4
Possibility of climate change effects
Example positive effects
Contrast possibility negative effects
Examples of essential services

Text analysis
50

A Safe Operating Space For Humanity (Paragraph 1)

Although Earth has undergone many periods of significant environmental change, the
planets environment has been unusually stable for the past 10,000 years. This period of
stability known to geologists as the Holocene has seen human civilizations arise,
develop and thrive. Such stability may now be under threat. Since the Industrial Revolution,
a new era has arisen, the Anthropocene, in which human actions have become the main
driver of global environmental change. This could see human activities push the Earth
system outside the stable environmental state of the Holocene, with consequences that are
detrimental or even catastrophic for large parts of the world.

Text analysis
51

A Safe Operating Space for Humanity
Identifying and quantifying planetary boundaries that must not be transgressed could help prevent
human activities from causing unacceptable environmental change, argue Johan Rockstrm and
colleagues.
Although Earth has undergone many periods of significant environmental change, the
planets environment has been unusually stable for the past 10,000 years. This period of
stability known to geologists as the Holocene has seen human civilizations arise,
develop and thrive. Such stability may now be under threat. Since the Industrial Revolution,
a new era has arisen, the Anthropocene, in which human actions have become the main
driver of global environmental change. This could see human activities push the Earth
system outside the stable environmental state of the Holocene, with consequences that are
detrimental or even catastrophic for large parts of the world.
During the Holocene, environmental change occurred naturally and Earths regulatory
capacity maintained the conditions that enabled human development. Regular
temperatures, freshwater availability and biogeochemical flows all stayed within a relatively
narrow range. Now, largely because of a rapidly growing reliance on fossil fuels and
industrialized forms of agriculture, human activities have reached a level that could damage
the systems that keep Earth in the desirable Holocene state. The result could be irreversible
and, in some cases, abrupt environmental change, leading to a state less conducive to
human development. Without pressure from humans, the Holocene is expected to continue
for at least several thousands of years.
Planetary boundaries
To meet the challenge of maintaining the Holocene state, we propose a framework based
on planetary boundaries. These boundaries define the safe operating space for humanity
with respect to the Earth system and are associated with the planets biophysical
subsystems or processes. Although Earths complex systems sometimes respond smoothly
to changing pressures, it seems that this will prove to be the exception rather than the rule.
Many subsystems of Earth react in a nonlinear, often abrupt, way, and are particularly
sensitive around threshold levels of certain key variables. If these thresholds are crossed,
then important subsystems, such as a monsoon system, could shift into a new state, often
with deleterious or potentially even disastrous consequences for humans.
Text analysis
52

Most of these thresholds can be defined by a critical value for one or more control variables,
such as carbon dioxide concentration. Not all processes or subsystems on Earth have well-
defined thresholds, although human actions that undermine the resilience of such processes
or subsystems for example, land and water degradation can increase the risk that
thresholds will also be crossed in other processes, such as the climate system.
We have tried to identify the Earth-system processes and associated thresholds which, if
crossed, could generate unacceptable environmental change. We have found nine such
processes for which we believe it is necessary to define planetary boundaries: climate
change; rate of biodiversity loss (terrestrial and marine); interference with the nitrogen and
phosphorus cycles; stratospheric ozone depletion; ocean acidification; global freshwater
use; change in land use; chemical pollution; and atmospheric aerosol loading.
In general, planetary boundaries are values for control variables that are either at a safe
distance from thresholds for processes with evidence of threshold behaviour or at
dangerous levels for processes without evidence of thresholds. Determining a safe
distance involves normative judgements of how societies choose to deal with risk and
uncertainty. We have taken a conservative, risk-averse approach to quantifying our
planetary boundaries, taking into account the large uncertainties that surround the true
position of many thresholds.
Humanity may soon be approaching the boundaries for global freshwater use, change in
land use, ocean acidification and interference with the global phosphorous cycle. Our
analysis suggests that three of the Earth-system processes climate change, rate of
biodiversity loss and interference with the nitrogen cycle have already transgressed their
boundaries. For the latter two of these, the control variables are the rate of species loss and
the rate at which N2 is removed from the atmosphere and converted to reactive nitrogen
for human use, respectively. These are rates of change that cannot continue without
significantly eroding the resilience of major components of Earth-system functioning. Here
we describe these three processes.
Source:
Rockstrm et al. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461, 472-475. Retrieved from:
http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/ro02010z.html
Text analysis
53

Weather and Climate (notes combined)

Technical
(meteorological)
Non-technical Collocations Summary
P
a
r
a
g
r
a
p
h

1

Weather
Atmosphere
Ecosystems
Atmosphere
Precipitation
Clouds
Wind
conditions
Hurricanes/Tornadoes
Blizzards
Droughts
State = condition
Agriculture = farming
Layer = strata

The atmosphere Any given weather

The state of _____
The lower layer of ___
______ time
______ place
_____ takes place
Aspects of _____
Severe _____ conditions

Weather is the
state of the
atmosphere
(troposphere).
P
a
r
a
g
r
a
p
h

2

Climate
Average
Temperature
Precipitation
Heat waves
Cold spells
Storms
Floods
Droughts
Extreme
Conditions
Volcanic eruptions
Greenhouse gas
Earths orbit
Decades = tens of
years
Centuries = hundreds
of years
Type = kind
Duration = how long it
continues
Intensity = how strong
Vary = change
Occur = happen
Tends to = usually
Remains = stays
Stable = unchanging
Experiences a force =
is affected by s.th
Shift = change

Average A given Weather Change
Long term
_____
_____
conditions
_____
place
_____ can
change
_____ events
_____ can vary
Weather can _____
A _____ in climate
_____ in response to
_____ in concentrations
Heat Cold Vary/ various Events
_____ waves _____
spells
_____ widely
Weather can
_____
various times
Weather _____
Extreme _____
Climate Volcanic Gas Earth
Shift the
_____
A change in
_____
The _____
changed
_____
eruptions
Greenhouse
_____
_____
concentrations
_____s history
_____ experiences a
force
_____s orbit

Climate is the long
term (decades or
centuries) average
of the weather.
Tends to remain
stable unless the
Earth experiences a
force that can shift
the climate.
Text analysis
54

P
a
r
a
g
r
a
p
h

3

Surface
Greenhouse
Atmosphere
Evaporation
precipitation
Storm patterns
Extreme weather
Droughts
Storms
Floods
Hurricanes
Climate trends
Century= 100 years or
so
Primarily = mainly
Human activities =
human influences
Regions = areas
Shifting = changing
Indicate = suggest
More intense =
stronger
Vary = change
Distinguish = tell the
difference
Intensity = strength
be attributed to = can
be blamed on

Average The Earth Temperature Human
_____
temperature
_____
precipitation
The surface of
_____
Average _____
Increasing _____
Surface _____
_____
activities
_____
influences
Gases Increase in Shifting Drought
Heat-trapping
_____
Greenhouse
_____
_____
evaporation
_____
precipitation
Increased
evaporation
_____ patterns Experience
_____
Severe _____
Climate Changes Vary Weather
_____ trends Attribute _____
to
_____ naturally Extreme _____
_____ events
The temperature of
the earth is
increasing because
of human activities.
Extreme weather
events are likely to
become more
intense.
P
a
r
a
g
r
a
p
h

4

Conditions
Precipitation
Variations = changes
Disruptive = negative
Crops = food
Vulnerable
populations = people
at risk
Damage = do harm to
Replenish = refill
Property = buildings
Cause loss of life = kill
Population
displacement =
migration
Disrupt = interfere
with

Climate affect Ways Crops
_____ variations Directly _____
Indirectly
_____
Positive _____
Disruptive
_____
Conditions for
growing _____
Damage _____
Population Supplies Services Extreme
Vulnerable _____
_____
displacement

Replenish
_____
Water _____
Disrupt _____
Essential _____
_____ heat
Intense
_____ storms

Climate variations
affect society in
positive and
disruptive ways.

Text analysis
55

Language functions (cheat sheets)

Definition
Z refers to/ is known as/ is understood to mean/ encompasses/includes/ is/ means/ is defined as/
consists of .
Z can be defined as
A generally accepted definition of Z is
The term Z implies/embodies/ is used to refer to

Contrast
A is different from B in a number of respects
There are a number of differences between A and .
A differs from B in that
While A (Verb) , B (different Verb)
In contrast to A, B (verb)
Although A (Verb), B (different Verb)

Example
X includes
such as
For example/ for instance
Take X as an example
By way of illustration
This can be illustrated by

Causes/effects
The (most likely) cause of X was Y
The reason for X is Y
X makes/creates/pushes/causes/affects/influenced/drives/increases/decreases/produces
A driving factor of Y is X
X leads to Y
X results in Y
Y results/stems from X
A factor which contributes to Y is X
A consequence of X
Thereby

Prediction
X could (verb)
We could see
Y will happen.
X is likely to..

References

Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/download.html

Rockstrm et al. (2009). A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461, 472-475.
Retrieved from: http://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/abs/ro02010z.html

57

4.1
Aims
to model a pre-listening strategy for a complex text by analysing a definition in order to
predict
o vocabulary
o function
Outcomes
Students will get practice in preparing for a challenging listening text by guessing content from a
definition.

Suggested procedure
Introduction: Required texts: N/A

Navigate to Blackboard EAP Special\Text Analysis\Week 4 to show the title of the video
(alternatively write Welcome to the Anthropocene on the board).
Write the following definition of the Anthropocene
2
on the board:
the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on
climate and the environment
Confirm that students understand, i.e. it is the name of a period of time; in this time
period people (have become powerful enough to) change their environment. You may
need to contrast with other time periods, or use a timeline to be explicit.

Practice:
prediction
Required text 1: spider diagram
Required text 2: Welcome to the Anthropocene - Transcript

Help students to analyse the definition given above for key ideas:
e.g. the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the
environment.

Draw the table below on the board
Time; people; human activities; the environment; change/cause & effect

Time People Human Activities
The
environment
Function:
Change/cause
& effect

2
This word has been introduced in an earlier text. You could try to elicit the meaning of the word. However, as
it is not essential vocabulary, students may not fully recollect.

58

Give out/ project the spider diagram for students to brainstorm vocabulary /synonyms
they might expect when talking about these topics
Once students are finished board the results

Some examples that students generate might be:

Time People Human Activities
The
environment
Function:
Change/cause
& effect
Years
Ago
Now
The past

Human beings
Us
Industry
Pollution
Oil extraction

The earth
Greenhouse
gases
Temperatures
(rise)

Influence
Change
Affect
Due to
Present perfect
(for change)

Play the text for students to confirm/ refine lists
3

Finally, hand out the transcript for students to ID words for each category (either for
homework or the remainder of the class).

3
If you use the IDrive version (EAP Special\Text analysis\source material), you can control the playback speed
in VLC which can be found on the computers by searching for VLC in the start menu (if installed locally). Use
the * key (open square brackets) to slow down playback and the + (close square brackets) key to speed up.
As the rate of speech is high, you can get down to 60% of initial speed and maintain a high degree of clarity.

59

4.2
Aims
To review
o summary by deletion
o analysis of functions
to raise awareness of rhetorical devices for persuasion.
Outcomes:
Students will gain further practice in analysing a text for main ideas and function in order to create
an outline.

Suggested procedure
Introduction:
Required text 1: Welcome to the Anthropocene Analysed text
Required text 2: Welcome to the Anthropocene Completed Table

Hand out the analysed text and ask students to work in groups to check/complete their
columns from yesterday
Hand out/ project the completed table for comparison.
The list is fairly exhaustive but not definitive and words may be challenged or lists added to.
Encourage students to discuss the language. Depending on their level of awareness/
competence you might ask them to think about:
o which words are interchangeable synonyms (e.g. humanity/we/you and I/people),
o which words look like synonyms but are not (humanity noun vs human adj.),
o which words are technical (almost all in the columns under human activities and
environment),
o important collocations,
o the use of morphemes (ize/ ify) to denote change
o which words are interesting (the use of fuel and ignite in this context),
o progression of tenses (simple past full range of present tenses (simple, perfect,
continuous)),
o any unusual tenses (our story begins 250 years ago present simple for narrative
// be to come future in the past)

Student practice: Required text: Welcome to the Anthropocene Summary/Function
Ask students to identify the main idea of each paragraph and fill in the summary table in
the hand-out.
Confirm answers.
E.g.
1. One species (humans) changed a planet (Earth)
2. The Great Acceleration
3. We (humanity) have become a global force
4. This pressure risks destabilisation.

60

Ask students to continue to the second part of the hand-out to analyse the functions of
each paragraph and note down how these functions are realised.

Confirm that students can see how each function is realised in the text.

Rhetorical devices for persuasion
The overall purpose of this text is to be persuasive. This is realised in the overall pattern of
development of the text, and most obviously in the conclusion where a range of techniques are
used:
Use of words with negative connotation (fear):
Relentless, threat, risk, destabilisation
Contrast (hope)
But offer hope
Anaphora (building emotional effect):
We have shaped our past, we are shaping our present and we can shape our future.
Intimacy with the reader
The use of you and I and we to show solidarity/unity
Appeal to emotion
for the sake of (the children) future generations

Analysis of Functions
Function Example from text
1
Introduction This is the story of/ our story begins/
Cause Fuelled by, ignited,
Effect Rose
Contrast nothing compared to
2
Cause Helped fuel
Effect became/ engines / improved
Contrast yet
3
examples of our current
power,
Present simple (We move / we manage)
effects of our influence,
Present perfect (have not been seen for/ have
made/ entered)
Present continuous: (are losing/ sinking/altering)
definition of the Anthropocene use of comma (,) after term
4
persuade
unprecedented destabilisation (fear) + but offer
hope (contrast with hope) + we must find (call to
action) + for the sake of future generations (appeal
to emotion)
concluding sentence Title: welcome to the Anthropocene

61

4.3
Aims
To compare a text with an outline
To practice paraphrasing
Outcomes:
Students will select chunks of text to paraphrase.

Suggested procedure
Introduction: Required text: Welcome to the Anthropocene - Outline

Hand out the outline and ask students to compare the original text with the outline
Ask students to circle and label each part of the text to make sure they can identify each
part.

Practice:
Paraphrase
Required texts:
Ask students to put away the transcript and group students into threes or fours. They will
now select part of the text to re-write in their own words using just the notes
(vocabulary/ analysis of functions/ outline). Any part will suffice: a sentence, a key
element such as a topic sentence, thesis or stages of persuasion in the conclusion,
functions elements such as cause/ effect, or entire paragraphs.
Review the fact that technical language should not be changed, whereas functional
language should certainly be changed.
Encourage risk taking and playing with the language.

Plagiarism
Students may plagiarise for a variety of reasons, some cultural, but perhaps also because
they see their own language skills as weak. Students may see the act of writing out a chunk
of text as an essential stage of learning new language. Being asked by a teacher to avoid
this may be confusing. Furthermore, changing a text into their own words may seem like a
pointless exercise as the resulting text will invariably be inferior to the original. It may seem
to some that this request not to copy text is actually contrary to their main aim of learning
the language.
Open discussion of this matter is beneficial to students in transition. You may point out that
notes for the students own consumption/learning can be copied freely, and that translation
back and forth between a target chunk of language and their L1 is a valid language learning
strategy. Contrast this with language they produce for others consumption (usually
teachers). This needs to demonstrate understanding of the underlying meaning of a text/
lexical chunk and copying achieves no such thing.
You might also add that their own interpretation of texts adds value to the original text for
the reader possibly offering a new perspective, and for the language teacher, further
information about the students developing language skills.

62

Texts and Handouts

63

Brainstorm - Spider Diagram
Welcome to the
Anthropocene
Time
People
Human
activity
the
Environment
Change
Text analysis
64

Welcome to the Anthropocene Transcript

This is the story of how one species changed a planet. The latest chapter of our story begins
in England 250 years ago. Fuelled by coal, then oil, several brilliant inventions appeared.
They ignited the Industrial Revolution which spread like wildfire through Europe, North
America, Japan, then elsewhere. The great railways, then cars and highways connected
people across the globe. Medical discoveries saved millions of lives. New artificial fertilisers
meant we could feed more people. Population rose rapidly. But this was nothing compared
to what was to come.
The 1950s marked the beginning of the Great Acceleration. Globalisation, marketing,
tourism, and huge investments helped fuel enormous growth. People swarmed to cities
which became even more powerful engines of creativity. In a single lifetime, the wellbeing
of millions has improved beyond measure. Health, wealth, security, longevity; never have so
many had so much, yet one billion are malnourished.
In a single lifetime, we have grown into a phenomenal global force. We move more
sediment and rock annually than all natural processes such as erosion and rivers. We
manage three quarters of all land outside the ice sheets. Greenhouse gas levels this high
have not been seen for over one million years. Temperatures are increasing; we have made
a hole in the ozone layer. We are losing biodiversity. Many of the worlds deltas are sinking
due to damming, mining, and other causes. Sea level is rising. Ocean acidification is a real
threat. We are altering earths natural cycles. We have entered the Anthropocene, a new
geological epoch dominated by humanity.
This relentless pressure on our planet risks unprecedented destabilisation. But our
creativity, energy and industry offer hope. We have shaped our past, we are shaping our
present and we can shape our future. You and I are part of this story. We are the first
generation to realise this new responsibility. As the population grows to 9 billion, we must
find a safe operating space for humanity, for the sake of future generations. Welcome to the
Anthropocene.
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGtCkv7_nIs

Text analysis
65

Welcome to the Anthropocene Analysed Text

America, Japan; then elsewhere. The great railways, then cars and highways connected
people across the globe. Medical discoveries saved millions of lives. New artificial
fertilisers meant we could feed more people. Population rose rapidly. But this was nothing
compared to what was to come.
Anthropocene.

Text analysis
66

Welcome to the Anthropocene Completed Table

Time People
Human
Activities
The
environment
Function:
Change/cause
& effect
250 years ago,
The 1950s,
A lifetime (in a
single),
over one
million years,
the
Anthropocene,
epoch,
our past,
our present,
our future

one species,
people,
millions of
lives,
people,
Population
(rise),
Millions,
so many (had
so much),
one billion,
we,
humanity,
You and I,
the first
generation,
the
population
(grows),
future
generations
Industrial
Revolution,
Medical
discoveries,
New artificial
fertilisers,
the Great
Acceleration,
Globalisation,
Marketing,
Tourism,
Investments,
Move
sediment and
rock,
Manage land,
Damming,
Mining,
Creativity,
Energy,
industry
a planet,
sediment and
rock,
erosion,
rivers,
Greenhouse
gas levels
(high),
Temperatures
(increasing),
a hole in the
ozone layer
(made),
biodiversity,
deltas
(sinking),
Sea level
(rise),
Ocean
acidification,
earths
natural
cycles,
geological,
our planet
Changed,
Begins (our
story),
Fuelled by,
Appeared,
Ignited,
helped fuel,
became,
engines (of
creativity),
improved
(beyond
measure),
grown (into),
altering,
shape,
new
(responsibility)

Grammar:
Past
Present
(macro -
organisation)
Present
perfect

Morphemes
ification/
ization
Globalisation
Destabilisation
Acidification
Text analysis
67

Welcome to the Anthropocene Summary/Function
Summary Table

Function Examples from text
1
2
3
4

Text analysis
68

Welcome to the Anthropocene Summary/Function Filled
Summary Table
1. One species (humans) changed a planet (Earth)
2. The Great Acceleration
3. We (humanity) have become a global force
4. This pressure risks destabilisation.

Function Examples from text
1
Introduction

Cause
Effect

Contrast
This is the story of/ our story begins/

Fuelled by, ignited,
Rose

nothing compared to
2
Cause
Effect

Contrast
Helped fuel
became/ engines / improved

yet
3
examples of our
current power,

effects of our
influence,

definition of the
Anthropocene
Present simple (We move / we manage)

Present perfect (have not been seen for/ have made/ entered)
Present continuous: (are losing/ sinking/altering)

use of comma (,) after term

4
persuade,

conclude
unprecedented destabilisation (fear) + but offer hope (contrast with
hope) + we must find (call to action) + for the sake of future
generations (appeal to emotion)

Repeat title

Text analysis
69

Welcome to the Anthropocene Transcript

America, Japan, then elsewhere. The great railways, then cars and highways connected
people across the globe. Medical discoveries saved millions of lives. New artificial fertilisers
meant we could feed more people. Population rose rapidly. But this was nothing compared
to what was to come.
Anthropocene.

Text analysis
70

Completed outline

Intro.
Intro topic: how humans changed the earth

Transition: Changes began during the I.R. 250 y.a (positive)
effect: transportation
effect: medical advances
effect: artificial fertilisers

Thesis: these changes were nothing compared to changes to come

Body 1

Topic: the Great Acceleration (1950s)

Support: human activity economic growth + migration improved well-being

Contrast: rich : poor (malnourished)

Body 2

Topic sentence: Humans as a global force

Examples:
We move a lot of sediment and rock
we manage a lot of land

Negative effects:
Greenhouse gases
Increased temperatures
Hole in the ozone layer
Loss of biodiversity
Sinking deltas
Ocean acidification

Definition: The Anthropocene

Conc.

Persuasion:
Fear unprecedented destabilisation
Hope offer hope/ we can shape our future
Call to action we must find
Appeal to emotion for the sake of future generations

Conclusion: Welcome to the Anthropocene

Text analysis
71

References:

A/V text:
International Geoshpere-Bioshpere Programme, (Jan. 2014). Welcome to the Anthropocene.
Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGtCkv7_nIs

Text analysis
72

Week 5

Text Analysis
Week 5

Aims
To review the main skills to date in preparation for the final test.

March 2014
Text analysis
73

Contents
5.1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 74
5.2 ......................................................................................................................................................... 76
Hand-out 5.1 ..................................................................................................................................... 77
Handout 5.2 ...................................................................................................................................... 79

Text analysis
74

5.1
Aims
To review identificaion of language, function and parapharase.

Suggested procedure
Introduction Required Text: Handout 1
1. Give hand-out 1 and ask students to complete the table.
2. Confirm answers (see table below for one analysis)

What technical words are there? Greenhouse gas; atmosphere; climate
What is the function of?
- The verb increase
- The verb lead to
Increase = link cause (human activity) to effect (change
greenhouse gas levels)
Lead to = link cause (previous clause) to further effect
(global warming etc.)
Why has the writer chosen?
- The present perfect
- The future will
Perfect = often used for change and/or present results of
past action
Will = predicted outcome
Which words are unnecessary? Around the world
Substantially (arguably unnecessary opinion i.e. what
constitutes a lot?)
Think of synonyms or examples
for the other words:
- Human activities
- The amount of
- warming
Human activities of course these must be greenhouse gas
producing e.g. industry/ transportation/ agriculture/
energy production
The amount of = how much/the quantity
Greenhouse gases = CO2/ methane
Warming = rise in temperature / addition of energy/ energy
absorption/ an increase of X degrees

3. Direct students attention to the grid below the table; ask:
What does the bold font represent? (words that can be replaced)
What does the underline represent? (technical language)
What does the strikethrough represent? (words that are unnecessary)
What does the shading represent? (functional language)

4. Ask students to explain how the note-form corresponds to the grid (what the arrows
represent)
5. Ask students to combine the ideas in the table with the note form to create a paraphrased
sentence.
E.g.
Because of things like industry, transportation and energy production, there has been an increase
in CO2 emissions, resulting in changes in climate etc.

(NB. this is still fairy rudimentary, but all that is required for students to do well on the final test)

Text analysis
75

Student
practice
Required text: Handout 1
6. Let students attempt text 2, but this time speeding up the process by skipping the first
step.
7. If there are no problems, let students continue with texts 3 and 4, confirming the use of
= for definition.

Should there be any students who find this easy, you might increase the level of difficulty by
restricting language choices to ones they are less familiar with. For example,
because of consequently (cause/effect)
known as (definition)
and the like. (e.g.)
which has the potential (possibility)
a constituent (sub-class)

Text analysis
76

5.2
Aims
Review and synthesize all skills in preparation for the final test

Suggested procedure
Review I Required text: Hand-out 2
1. Review the skills introduced in the previous class by asking students to analyse the
fragment of the introduction sentence in the same way as they did in the previous lesson.
NB: the phrase, that is part of performs the function of classification ask students what symbol
they would use to show that something is a sub-class in the note form.

Further
Practice
Required text: Hand-out 2
2. Ask students to answer parts 2 and 3 and check results.

Identifying signposts for introductions and conclusions should raise awareness of the
possibilities for radical paraphrasing.
If we say that giving a definition is a legitimate way to signal an introduction then we
might come up with the following paraphrase:
Urbanisation, the migration of people to the cities, is affecting biodiversity,
Or perhaps if we want to shift the word urbanisation to the end of the sentence:
Biodiversity is being put at risk as our cities expand to accommodate the influx of people
from rural areas, otherwise known as urbanisation.

If we say that making a general statement is a tried and tested way to signal an
introduction, then we might come up with the following:

It is widely known that urbanization impacts the environment, in particular biodiversity.

3. Ask students to do part 4. Stress that simply copying across is all that is required, it is the
identification that is being asked for.
4. Ask students to attempt the last part. When they think they have finished, exchange with
a partner for suggestions and feedback.

Sample summary - paraphrased
Life on earth is under threat from urbanisation as urban areas are currently undergoing rapid
expansion, but this is not necessarily bad news. If done with thought and care, the growth can be
benefit both the environment and ourselves.

Text analysis
77

Hand-out 5.1
Text 1
Human activities have substantially increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
leading to warming of the climate and many other changes around the world.

Take notes in the table below:
What technical words are there?
What is the function of?
- The verb increase
- The verb lead to

Why has the writer chosen?
- The present perfect
- The future will

Which words are unnecessary?

Think of synonyms or examples for
these words:
- Human activities
- The amount of
- Greenhouse gases
- warming

Analysis
Human activities have substantially
increased
the amount of
greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere
leading to warming of
the climate
and many
other
changes
around the
world

Note form
Human activities greenhouse gas inc. climate change etc.
Paraphrase

Text analysis
78

Text 2
Variations in weather and climate cause changes in temperature, precipitation, and extreme event
patterns, which can directly or indirectly affect many aspects of society.

Variations in
weather and
climate
cause changes in
temperature,
precipitation, and
extreme event
patterns
which can directly
or indirectly
affect
many aspects of
society

Note form:
Climate change temperature, precipitation and storms (e.g.) many problems
Paraphrase:

Text 3
The cryosphere is a term for all parts of the Earth where water exists in solid form such as snow,
sea ice, glaciers, icecaps and frozen ground.
The cryosphere is a term for
all parts of the Earth
where water exists in
solid form
such as
snow, sea ice,
glaciers, icecaps
and frozen
ground.

The cryosphere = places with solid H2O e.g. snow, ice
Paraphrase:

Text 4
A consequence of urbanization, the migration of people into cities, is urban sprawl, a term for the
uncontrolled expansion of urban areas.

Urbanization = ____________________ ____________________ = ____________________

Paraphrase

Text analysis
79

Handout 5.2
Text
This is the story of how urbanization is changing the surface of our planet and the biodiversity that is
an essential part of it.
Over the next 40 years earth will undergo the largest and fastest period of urban growth in human
history. By 2050, an additional area the size of South Africa is projected to become urban. By then,
6.3 billion people will live in towns and cities; an increase of 2.8 billion from 2010; a more than
doubling of the world's urban population in just forty years.
The most rapid and extensive urban expansion is occurring in places adjacent to some of the world's
most biodiversity rich areas. In many of these areas people have limited economic and technological
resources to deal with the challenges that come with the growth.
But urbanization also provides opportunities. Cities are hubs of change. Cities can and must take the
lead for sustainable development. Cities can provide the solutions to conserve and protect nature
and the ecosystems we depend on, because we know that rich biodiversity can exist in cities and
urban ecosystems can significantly improve human health and well-being. We know that more
conscious lifestyles and smarter development can help protect and support a rich biodiversity both
inside and outside of urban areas.
Well-functioning ecosystems can help reduce risks of water shortage, droughts, storms and heat
waves. They can help to curb environmental degradation. That is why unleashing the potential of
cities is vital to securing our sustainable future.
Souce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPi4zwEpswE

1. Analyse this sentence as you did before.
urbanization is changing the surface of our planet and the biodiversity that is
an essential part of it.
Urbanization is changing the surface of our planet and the biodiversity that is part of it

Note form:

Paraphrase:

Text analysis
80

This part of the sentence signals an introduction: This is the story of how
2. What other ways do you know to signal an introduction?
1)
2)

3. How is the conclusion signalled?

4. Identify the main ideas of the text and copy them into the table below
I. urbanization is changing the surface of our planet and biodiversity
II.
III.
IV.
V.

5. Now paraphrase these 5 sentences, connecting them to form a complete summary.
- Try making them into 2 or 3 sentences.
- The order of your ideas doesnt need to be the same.

Text analysis
81

Text Analysis Final Test

April 2014
Text analysis
82

Name: _______________ Group:_________

You have 40 minutes to complete this test. Answer the questions after each text.
Dictionaries are not allowed.
Text 1
Radiative forcing is the measurement of how substances such as greenhouse gases
affect the amount of energy absorbed by the atmosphere. An increase in radiative forcing
leads to warming, while a decrease produces cooling.

Analyse the paragraph above:
1) What technical words can you identify? (3)

1.
2.
3.

2) What function does this language perform in this paragraph (6)
1. is 2. such as
3. affect 4. leads to
5. while 6. produces

3) Define radiative forcing in your own words (4)

Text analysis
83

Text 2
Farmers today are turning production away from growing food to growing crops that can produce a
new kind of energy, biomass energy.
Biomass has a variety of forms. The two important ones are woody materials like willow and
miscanthus, which grow fast and can be easily burnt, and oil like sunflower oil, soy and palm oil,
which has a high calorific value when burnt. Other forms of biomass are cow-dung, chicken litter,
and methane from agricultural waste like manure, which are now proving to be cheaper energy
alternatives.
Although using biomass has many benefits, there are several major arguments against using fuel
produced from biomass. The main one is that both the transport system and the whole energy
infrastructure are organized around the use of fossil fuel. Biomass oils like palm oil and wood from
biomass materials can also cause unpleasant smells and smoke, and a shift in peoples perception is
required if using biomass is to become popular.
However, the pressure from fuel shortages and rising costs of fossil fuels are forcing companies to
seek alternative energy sources. Car companies are increasing the production of cars which run on a
combination of oil and ethanol, power stations are mixing biomass with fossil fuels to produce
energy, and some companies are already burning biomass to produce energy.
In a world that is changing faster than ever, it is no surprise that technology for energy production is
changing too. Although biomass is not the only solution to the worlds energy problems, it will be an
important part of it.

4) Identify the main ideas of this text. (5)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

5) Now paraphrase each sentence and connect them to form a complete summary. (6)

Text analysis
84

Text 1
1) What technical words can you identify? (3)
1. Radiative forcing
2. Greenhouse gas
3. Atmosphere (energy is also possible, although it could be argued that temperature
would be synonymous in this context)
2) What function words can you identify? (6)
1. Is (define) 2. Such as (example)
3. Affect (cause/effect OR change) 4. Leads to (cause/effect)
5. While (cause/effect) 6. Produces (cause/effect)
3) Define radiative forcing in your own words (4)

Radiative forcing = (1)greenhouse gases (e.g)(2) change energy (3) in the atmosphere. (4)

If the students answer:
1) Includes a definition of radiative forcing (paraphrased) 1 point
2) Includes an example substance 1 point (paraphrased)
3) Includes a cause effect relationship between the substance and atmospheric energy
absorption (paraphrased) - 1 point
4) Includes all the above AND is (largely) a grammatically correct sentence - 1 point

E.g.1 Radiative forcing means a change in atmospheric temperature (energy) due to things like
greenhouse gases.
E.g.2 The term radiative forcing can be defined as (1) the effects (2) of C02, for example,(3) on
the energy in the atmosphere.(4)

Text 2
1) Identify the main ideas of this text. (5) (can be directly copied or paraphrased if meaning
intact)
1. Farmers are producing biomass
2. Biomass has a variety of forms.
3. There are arguments against using biomass
4. Fuel shortages and costs make companies seek alternative energy sources
5. Biomass is not the only solution to energy problems, but an important part

Text analysis
85

Any (largely grammatically correct) summary which preserves and combines the above 5 sentences
(or the sentences the students have identified), borrowing only words you would consider technical
or hard to paraphrase (e.g. energy sources/ biomass)
E.g. There are many kinds (2) of biomass, an energy source we can grow(1). Although it is far from
perfect, (3) businesses are exploring new sources of energy (4), like biomass, to help solve our energy
crisis (5)
1 point for each of the 5 sentences connected.
1 point for a largely grammatically correct summary. (markers discretion)

Text analysis
86

Remedial Test

Text analysis
87

Name: _______________ Group:_________

Text 1
An ecosystem is made up of all living and non-living things in a given area that interact with
one another. The non-living part of an ecosystem includes water, rocks, air, light, and soil. All the
different organisms that live together in an ecosystem is called a community. Each ecosystem has its
own community.

1) Identify 3 technical words/phrases can you identify? (3)

1.
2.
3.

2) Write down 3 function words/phrases you can identify paragraph (3)
4.
5.
6.

3) Define ecosystem in your own words (4)

Text analysis
88

Text 2
The twentieth century saw a major increase in the worlds population, yet large parts of the globe
remain uninhabitable. Many people are drawn towards existing towns and cities. As a result, our
modern day cities face a number of serious problems due to overcrowding.
Cities teeming with people are put under great strain to supply housing, health care, education, jobs
and a certain quality of life for the inhabitants. However, the consequence of too dense a population
is that one or all of these areas must suffer.
Living in a city forces us to be part of an unhealthy society, which creates illness and environmental
crisis, rather than curing it. Cities are environmentally unfriendly places. This is because lighting,
heat, and food must all be supplied artificially. Hence, the greater the population, the more natural
resources are burnt up and the more pollution is created. A city crowded with people leads to roads
crawling with cars. The effect of the consequent levels of carbon monoxide in the air is said to be
equivalent to smoking twenty cigarettes a day in cities as crowded as Mexico City.
It is the Governments responsibility to find solutions for these problems. As a result, a lot of
taxpayers money is spent on trying to keep the effects of overcrowding under control. More
housing is built and more roads are planned. This tactic might alleviate some symptomatic problems,
but it will never solve the problem of overpopulation. For this reason, we must look to the cause of
the problem, which is simply an unchecked epidemic of people and governments must educate
people to limit the size of their family.
In China, couples are penalized financially as a consequence of having more than one child. This may
seem cruel, but the one-child policy is beginning to have an effect on the worlds most populous
nation. Similar such policies may also be necessary in other overcrowded nations and this, in turn,
would eventually result in solving the problem of overcrowding in cities.

1.our cities face a number of problems due to overcrowding
2. the consequence of too dense a population is that housing, healthcare, education, jobs etc suffer
3. Living in a city forces us to be part of an unhealthy society
4. It is the governments responsibility to find solutions
5. one child policies would solve the problem of overcrowding

Text analysis
89

Any (largely grammatically correct) summary which preserves and combines the above 5 sentences
(or the sentences the students have identified), borrowing only words you would consider technical or
hard to paraphrase (e.g. energy sources/ biomass)

E.g. Urban over population leads to problems such as
1) 1 point for each of the 5 sentences connected.
2) 1 point for a largely grammatically correct summary. (markers discretion)

Text analysis
90

Name: _______________ Group:_________

Text 1
An ecosystem is made up of all living and non-living things in a given area that interact with
one another. The non-living part of an ecosystem includes water, rocks, air, light, and soil. All the
different organisms that live together in an ecosystem is called a community. Each ecosystem has its
own community.

4) Identify 3 technical words/phrases can you identify? (3)

7.
8.
9.

5) Write down 3 function words/phrases you can identify paragraph (3)
10.
11.
12.

6) Define ecosystem in your own words (4)

Text analysis
91

Text 2
The twentieth century saw a major increase in the worlds population, yet large parts of the globe
remain uninhabitable. Many people are drawn towards existing towns and cities. As a result, our
modern day cities face a number of serious problems due to overcrowding.
Cities teeming with people are put under great strain to supply housing, health care, education, jobs
and a certain quality of life for the inhabitants. However, the consequence of too dense a population
is that one or all of these areas must suffer.
Living in a city forces us to be part of an unhealthy society, which creates illness and environmental
crisis, rather than curing it. Cities are environmentally unfriendly places. This is because lighting,
heat, and food must all be supplied artificially. Hence, the greater the population, the more natural
resources are burnt up and the more pollution is created. A city crowded with people leads to roads
crawling with cars. The effect of the consequent levels of carbon monoxide in the air is said to be
equivalent to smoking twenty cigarettes a day in cities as crowded as Mexico City.
It is the Governments responsibility to find solutions for these problems. As a result, a lot of
taxpayers money is spent on trying to keep the effects of overcrowding under control. More
housing is built and more roads are planned. This tactic might alleviate some symptomatic problems,
but it will never solve the problem of overpopulation. For this reason, we must look to the cause of
the problem, which is simply an unchecked epidemic of people and governments must educate
people to limit the size of their family.
In China, couples are penalized financially as a consequence of having more than one child. This may
seem cruel, but the one-child policy is beginning to have an effect on the worlds most populous
nation. Similar such policies may also be necessary in other overcrowded nations and this, in turn,
would eventually result in solving the problem of overcrowding in cities.



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