Underline four key points in the following text.
Estimates suggest that there are now more than 350 million cases of malaria a year – a total four times the level of the early 1970s. In Africa alone the disease kills one million children each year.
Several factors are responsible for this disturbing development. Spreading world poverty has deprived nations of funds for sanitation, so that many health projects have been stopped, while
increased movements of migrant workers and tourists have carried infections more rapidly from one country to another. At the same time, the overuse of drugs, especially antibiotics, has led to
the establishment of resistant strains of diseases.
As well as this, hopes that genetic engineers might soon develop the world’s first malaria vaccine, a long-sought goal, have been questioned recently by several scientists. ‘There are so
many strains of malaria parasite,’ said one scientist, ‘and each is able to alter its chemical surface and trick its way past the body’s defences. We’d need a remarkable vaccine to cope
with that. However, a malaria vaccine is now undergoing human trials and may be available for use if proved successful.’
6. You are preparing to write an essay on ‘The impact of climate on history’. The text below is taken from page 221 of a book called Volcanic Disasters
by E.B. Pitnam, published in 1993. Underline the relevant points and make notes.
One of the greatest explosions in modern history occurred in 1815, when an Indonesian volcano called Mt. Tambora blew up. The eruption involved about 100 cubic kilometres of
material being blown into the sky, with huge loss of life both on land and sea. Large quantities of volcanic dust were ejected into the atmosphere, and this dust gradually spread around the
world, causing alarming events on the other side of the world.
In New England in north eastern USA farmers were hit by bitterly cold weather in June and July 1816. Much of the harvest was lost due to repeated waves of frost and snow in the
middle of summer. The same pattern was recorded in Europe, where agriculture was still suffering the effects of the Napoleonic Wars. In France wheat prices reached their highest
point of the century in 1817.
As European demand for food rose, prices doubled in America. Although some profited from the shortages, others were driven to emigrate into the unexplored lands to the west. Numbers
leaving Vermont, for example, increased by 100 between 1816–17.
Paraphrasing involves changing a text so that it is quite dissimilar to the source yet retains all the meaning. This skill is useful in several areas of academic work,
but this unit focuses on using paraphrasing in note-making and summary writing. Effective paraphrasing is vital in academic writing to avoid the risk of plagiarism.
1. Although paraphrasing techniques are used in summary writing, paraphrasing does not aim to shorten the length of a text, merely to
restate the text. For example,
Evidence of a lost civilisation has been found off the coast of China.
could be paraphrased:
Remains of an ancient society have been discovered in the sea near China.
2. A good paraphrase is significantly different from the wording of the original, without altering the meaning at all.
Read the text below and then decide which is the best paraphrase, a or b.
Ancient Egypt collapsed in about 2180 BC. Studies conducted of the mud from the River Nile showed that at this time the mountainous regions which feed the Nile suffered from a prolonged
drought. This would have had a devastating effect on the ability of Egyptian society to feed itself. a The sudden ending of Egyptian civilisation over 4,000 years ago was probably caused
by changes in the weather in the region to the south. Without the regular river flooding there would not have been enough food.
b Research into deposits of the Egyptian Nile indicate that a long dry period in the mountains at the river’s source may have led to a lack of water for irrigation around
2180BC, which was when the collapse of Egyptian society began.