Course Title: GEN 0206 English for Academic Purposes 1
Your Name: …………………………
Student ID: ………………………...
Assignment of Unit 1 (with Answers)
Exercise 1: Circle the topic and underline the controlling idea in each of the following
sentences. The first one has been done for you as an example.
1. Driving on freeways requires skill and alertness.
2. Driving on freeways requires strong nerves.
3. Driving on freeways requires an aggressive attitude.
4. The Caribbean island of Trinidad attracts tourists because of its calypso music.
5. Spectacular beaches make Puerto Rico a tourist paradise.
6. Moving away from home can be a stressful experience for young people.
7. Many religious rules arose from the health needs of ancient times.
8. A major problem for many students is the high cost of tuition and books.
9. Participating in class discussions is a problem for several different groups of
students.
10. In my opinion, television commercials for cosmetics lie to women.
Course Title: GEN 0206 English for Academic Purposes 2
11. Owning an automobile is a necessity for me.
12. It is an expensive luxury to own an automobile in a large city.
13. Taste and appearance are both important in Japanese cuisine.
Controlling idea = opinions towards the given topic.
Topic is in a noun form.
Controlling idea determines what the text will talk/ explain about.
Exercise 2: Write good topic sentences for the following paragraphs. Remember to
include both a topic and a controlling idea.
Paragraph 1
Possible topic sentences:
• English speakers use many words which came from other countries’ words.
• There are many English words that originated from other countries’ words.
• Many English words have their origin from other countries.
• There are many English words with foreign origins.
• Many English words actually came from other languages.
English speakers relaxing at home, for example, may put on kimonos, which is a Japanese
word. English speakers who live in a warm climate may take an afternoon siesta on an
outdoor patio without realizing that these are Spanish words. In their gardens, they may enjoy
the fragrance of jasmine flowers, a word that came into English from Persian. They may even
relax on a chaise while snacking on yogurt, words of French and Turkish origin, respectively.
At night, they may shampoo their hair and put on pajamas, words from the Hindi language of
India.
Paragraph 2
Possible topic sentences:
• Universities around the world have different requirements of students’ class
attendance.
• Requirements of university students’ class attendance vary among countries.
• Universities around the world have different ways of management of students’ roles
in class.
• Managing students’ roles in class has different way in every university on the world.
Course Title: GEN 0206 English for Academic Purposes 3
In European universities, students are not required to attend classes. In fact, professors in
Germany generally do not know the names of the students enrolled in their courses. In the
United States, however, students are required to attend all classes and may be penalized if
they do not. Furthermore, in the European system, students usually take just one
comprehensive examination at the end of their entire four or five years of study. In the North
American system, on the other hand, students usually have numerous quizzes, tests, and
homework assignments, and they almost always have to take a final examination in each
course at the end of each semester.
Paragraph 3
Possible topic sentences:
• People in different parts of the world build their houses depending on the materials
that come from their own living area.
• People in different parts of the world build their habitats depending on the materials
that come from their own living area.
• People in different parts of the world build their houses from the natural resources
(that are) locally found in the area.
• People in different parts of the world build their houses from the natural resources
(that are) available in the area.
• People in different parts of the world construct their homes by using the natural
resources locally found in the area.
• People in different parts of the world construct their homes by using the natural
resources available in the area.
For example, the Eskimos, living in a treeless region of snow and ice, sometimes build
temporary homes out of thick blocks of ice. People who live in deserts, on the other hand, use
the most available materials, mud or clay, which provide good insulation from the heat. In
Northern Europe, Russia, and other areas of the world where forests are plentiful, people
usually construct their homes out of wood. In the islands of the South Pacific, where there is
an abundant supply of bamboo and palm, people use these tough, fibrous plants to build their
homes.
Exercise 3:
Step 1: Underline the topic sentence in each paragraph.
Step 2: Add a good concluding sentence to each paragraph. You may either paraphrase the
topic sentence or summarize the main points.
Step 3: Practice using end-of-paragraph signals by starting each concluding sentence with
one.
Paragraph 1
Course Title: GEN 0206 English for Academic Purposes 4
You can be a good conversationalist by being a good listener. When you are
conversing with someone, pay close attention to the speaker’s words while looking at his or
her face. Show your interest by smiling and nodding. Furthermore, do not interrupt while
someone is speaking; it is impolite to do so. If you have a good story, wait until the speaker is
finished. Also, watch your body language; it can affect your communication whether you are
the speaker or the listener. For instance, do not sit slumped in a chair or make nervous hand
and foot movements. Be relaxed and bend your body slightly forward to show interest in the
person and the conversation.
(Topic: How to be a good conversationalist)
Possible concluding sentences:
• In conclusion, learning to listen other speakers can help you be good at
communication.
• In short, meaningful conversation starts from being a good listener.
• Indeed, a good communicator must also be a good listener.
• In summary, meaningful communication means using both good facial expressions
and body language as well as showing interest in the speaker’s words.
• Thus, appropriate body language and learning to listen during conversation make
good communication.
• In short, to be a good communicator, listening is the best skill that a person can have.
• It can be said that to be a good communicator, you should learn how to be a good
listener and apply the strategies to do more interesting when you speak.
• Overall, listening and paying close attention are aspects of being a good
communicator and a good listener.
Paragraph 2
Modern communication technology is driving workers in the corporate world crazy.
They feel buried under the large number of messages they receive daily. In addition to
telephone calls, office workers receive dozens of e-mail and voice mail messages daily. In
one company, in fact, managers receive an average of 100 messages a day. Because they do
not have enough time to respond to these messages during office hours, it is common for
them to do so in the evenings or on weekends at home.
(Topic: The effects of modern communication technology)
Possible concluding sentences:
• Indeed, faster communication technology may be creating more problems than
workers can handle.
• These examples show that modern communication technology is raising the stress on
people.
• We could say that modern communication technology causes people work more under
stress.
Course Title: GEN 0206 English for Academic Purposes 5
• Indeed, despite the fact that communication technology has been advantages, it has
carried some troubles for working people nowadays.
• These examples show that working in the world of modern communication
technology can be stressful for corporate workers.
Review
1. A good topic sentence:
- is a complete sentence with a subject, a verb, and a controlling idea.
- Is neither too general nor too specific. It clearly states the main idea of the
paragraph but does not include specific details.
- Is usually the first sentence in the paragraph.
2. Good supporting sentences
- Explain or prove the topic sentence.
- Are specific and give facts.
- Can be examples, statistics, or information that is quoted from reliable sources.
3. A good concluding sentence:
- Signal the end of the paragraph.
- Summarizes the important points briefly or restates the topic sentence in different
words.
