Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
A text can come in any form and be any kind of writing. Letters, adverts, user-guides,
emails, postcards, notes and magazine articles are all different types of text. When reading
something, it helps to know what type of text it is. It also helps to know why it has been
written. For example:
An advert is written to persuade you to buy something.
A user-guide is instructive and is written to tell you how to use something (such as a
video recorder or washing-machine).
Persuasive texts
Scattered across the Indian Ocean lie islands with the finest white sand beaches and
clearest crystal blue waters. These are the MALDIVES! Over 1,000 coral islands.
Temperatures here are always in the 80s.
Luxurious accommodation aboard the fabulous Orient Explorer. Water sports for
the entire duration of your holiday.
Drinks and entertainment included at no extra charge.
Chauffeur-driven limousine to and from the airport.
Combine this with another seven-night holiday in our opulent apartments at the
Kelai Country Club.
Prices start from just £899 per person.
It’s important to understand the difference between what is a fact and what is the writer’s
opinion. Try and work out what is fact and what is opinion in the text above.
Instructive texts
An instructive text tells you how to do something. It will often use commands and
pictures. It will be direct, without extra words, like adjectives.
For example: Cut the bread into small squares.
Arrange in layers and sprinkle with sugar and raisins.
Informative texts
An informative text should give facts, information or news in a clear, step-by-step way.
For example: Your course will start with an initial assessment in week 1, followed by a
guided tour of the building.
Descriptive texts
A descriptive text tells you what something is like. The writer is trying to help you
imagine or ‘see’ a person, place or thing. Describing words, such as adjectives and
adverbs are used, as well as descriptions of the five senses: look, sound, smell, touch,
taste.
For example:
He was a big man with short curly hair, brown teeth and a flat nose. A scar crossed his
right cheek from ear to chin.
Descriptive Paragraph
Sunset is the time of day when our sky meets the outer space solar winds. There are blue,
pink, and purple swirls, spinning and twisting, like clouds of balloons caught in a blender.
The sun moves slowly to hide behind the line of horizon, while the moon races to take its
place in prominence atop the night sky. People slow to a crawl, entranced, fully forgetting
the deeds that still must be done. There is a coolness, a calmness, when the sun does set.
Informational Paragraph
On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched from the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida. Its mission was to go where no human being had gone before—the moon! The
crew consisted of Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. The spacecraft
landed on the moon in the Sea of Tranquility, a basaltic flood plain, on July 20, 1969. The
moonwalk took place the following day. On July 21, 1969, at precisely 10:56 EDT,
Commander Neil Armstrong emerged from the Lunar Module and took his famous first
step onto the moon’s surface. He declared, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap
for mankind.” It was a monumental moment in human history!
Persuasive Paragraph
This is Mr. Hadi’s house. It has a living room, a dining room, two bedrooms, a bathroom,
a kitchen, and a garage. There are six chairs and a dining table in the dining room. The
dining room is between the living room and the kitchen. There are four armchairs, a
table, a room divider, a sofa and a TV set in the living room. In each bedroom you can
and a wardrobe and abed. There is a bucket in the bathroom. In the kitchen there are many
kitchen utensils. And Mr. Hadi’s car is in the garage.
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Parts of a Paragraph
Glenn Gould is widely regarded as Canada’s most famous and eccentric pianist. He is
renowned for his recordings of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. For example, Bach’s
Goldberg Variations, Gould’s first recording, was among the best-selling classical music albums
of its time. Gould is also famous for his unusual behaviour. He would only play concerts while
sitting on an old chair his father had made, and he usually hummed while he played. Contrary
to most pianists, he disliked playing in concert halls, and devoted most of his career to the
recording studio until his death in 1982. In brief, Glenn Gould was an unconventional pianist
who made a significant impact on the world of music.
2. What is the topic sentence? How is it different from your answer to question 1?
Number the sentences below (from 1 to 5) to form a paragraph. On each line, write topic
sentence, supporting detail or concluding sentence to indicate the sentence’s purpose. Then
write the paragraph in order, adding appropriate transitions.
Canada offers a variety of natural resources that are used for different purposes. _____