Now let's move forward and look at another academic task.
Number one graph chart type.
We're now going to examine the table strategy.
Looking at the introduction, general overview and specific details.
First of all, as you know, with the task one strategy, academic task one strategy, we have to paraphrase
the introduction to a general overview and have to specific detail paragraphs.
The examiner is going to be looking for your organisation, and this is one great way that you can show
it.
Now with the introduction in general overview, let's talk about timing a little bit because that's
so important for the Isles exam.
First of all, you want to take 2 minutes and just look over the graph, chart, diagram or process.
Look at everything that you have to do.
What am I going to use for my general overview?
What information can I pull, pull out and use for the introduction?
How am I going to separate this into two specific body paragraphs?
Take the time to organize those thoughts, because if you do, you can write much faster.
You're going to write your introduction in 2 to 3 minutes, and also your general overview is going
to be done in 3 minutes.
So these first three parts analyzing the grab chart process, 2 minutes, introduction max 3 minutes.
General Overview Max 3 minutes.
So really what we're talking about is roughly about 8 minutes maximum to take care of these first three
parts.
Now here we're looking at a table.
And for some students, the table can be quite daunting because as you can see, we have a lot of information,
there's a lot of data that we can play with and compare and contrast, but you don't need to compare
and contrast everything.
So our first step is let's look at what it says in the description, the general description they give
us, keeping in mind that you cannot copy what they're doing, you don't want to copy what they're doing.
So we look at that information.
We're dealing with fair trade of copy, coffee and bananas, 1999 2004.
We have five countries coffee and we have 1999, 2004 in millions of euros, and then also for bananas,
the same five countries.
So we're going to take that information and create a really well written introduction sentence.
Then we also have to look at this and decide, well, what are we going to utilize to create our general
overview?
So with a general overview, we're looking at the main trends that we can see.
So we're looking at 1999 for coffee.
What's the highest in the lowest?
Which three are the highest?
And which two are the lowest?
The same for 2004.
What are the highs and the lows for bananas?
The general trend in 1999.
Which ones were the highest?
Which ones were the lowest?
Same for 2004.
That's the kind of information you use in a general overview.
So what we're going to do right now is I'm going to first show you my introduction, but what I want
you to do is go ahead and stop the lecture and write your own introduction.
Write your own introduction because this will give you an opportunity to be able to compare your writing
to mine, to be able to look at what you've done and see if you're using the same information that I'm
using to write the introduction, or if you have missed something that you should have stated in your
introduction.
So right now, set your clock for 3 minutes.
Stop the lecture and write your introduction right now.
Let's take a look at my introduction.
So it states.
This report relates to two tables presenting fair trade coffee and banana sales data measured in millions
of euros from 1999 and 2004 in five European countries.
There.
We have an introduction.
We have all the information that we need to be able to score very, very well.
And now we're going to go ahead and move forward with writing the general overview.
As I told you earlier, look at the coffee table.
Look at 1999, in 2004, and look for the highs and the lows.
Look at the banana table.
Look for the highs and the lows.
So go ahead and set your clock on 3 minutes.
Write your general overview and then compare.
This is a comparison exercise.
Compare the information you use to write the general overview to what I use.
Now it's possible we may have some different items we look at in terms of a general overview.
And you may use different vocabulary that I use.
But try to look at my writing and look for ways that you can improve what you're doing.
So go ahead and set your clock on 3 minutes and you should write your general overview now.
Okay.
Let's take a look at mine.
So here we have my general overview.
By and large, coffee sales mushroomed in all countries between 1999 and 2004.
On the other hand, while monetary exchange involving involving bananas climbed in three territories,
it fell in Denmark and Sweden on the whole in 2004.
The UK conducted the highest levels of exchange for coffee.
Now, this language that I've highlighted in yellow, this language is the type of language that lets
the examiner know you're writing a general overview.
Right.
This is that language says I'm talking about things in an overall perspective.
Now, what makes the difference in the score?
Look at my language that I'm using.
The word mushroomed means increase.
Here.
I said the word country's here.
I said the word territories.
I'm showing vocabulary range.
Here.
I'm talking about monetary exchange.
Instead of using the word sales.
The highest level of exchange.
Another way of wording it or phrasing it.
Also, you'll note that I'm using the words or verbs in the past tense.
Mushroomed.
Ed climbed.
Ed conducted.
Ed.
Finally, when you look at this paragraph, do you see any weak verbs?
Do you see any weak B verbs?
Is our was were.
Have having the auxiliaries have has having had those weak verbs.
Create low scores.
Use strong verbs.
If you use strong verbs, you're going to score better.
But there we have it, everybody.
We have an introduction and we have a general overview.
These are the first two paragraphs that I need you to write and to write them with mistake free sentences.