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Need to know
Teachers and
Parents
UNITS
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
8-10
EVALUATE
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Unit 4 level
7-8
4. Ways of extracting information.
Notemaking, underlining, highlighting,
trash and treasure, skimming, scanning, selecting.
In the last lesson I suggested you copy
the text to a word processor rather than type it all out.
This works well for Web based resources, e-mails and CD-ROMs.
Frequently however we have to work with a printout and several
printed sources. In this case we usually mark the page
in some way.
It can be a good idea to photocopy
the relevant pages of a book so you can write over it.
You can use different coloured pens or highlighters to
mark different topics, or you can use underlines, stars and arrows
to show the important points. You can also cross a line through
sections which are not relevant.
One particular method is called "Trash
and Treasure" in which you put a line through everything
which is irrelevant and highlight everything which is useful.
You can miss out whole paragraphs or just keep a few words of
a sentence. The words remaining are notes for you to rebuild
into a piece of writing using your own words. The highlighted
notes remind you of good ideas.
On a word processor you can underline only
the words you want to "treasure" and delete anything
you want to "trash".
In the first place there may be no need to read the source information
in detail. Try "skimming" the source so you
pick up the key idea. Some people find it useful to look at the
centre of the page and move their eyes quite quickly down the
page instead of looking from left to write a reading every word.
Exercise 1.
 Copy the following article into a word processor
and reduce it to a quarter or less of the original length. Keep
only what you think is important.
from Guardian
archive at http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4036224,00.html
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Holiday firms urged
to protect Ibiza ravers
David Ward, Guardian
Monday July 3, 2000
Tour operators, airlines, hotels and clubs
should provide health education and advice to young ravers booking
sun and dance holidays in Ibiza, according to researchers who
found "disturbing" levels of drug abuse and unsafe
sex.
A team at Liverpool John Moores University
studied questionnaires distributed at Ibiza's airport. They found
that although less than 3% of those surveyed took Ecstasy on
five or more days a week in Britain, the figure jumped to 42%
while on Ibiza.
Use of cannabis soared from 29% on five
or more days while at home to 54% on Ibiza, and almost 31% said
they had used more than one drug during their stay. Nearly 90%
had drunk alcohol on five or more days while on the Spanish island.
With 700,000 British visitors expected
to head for Ibiza this year, the researchers called on holiday
companies to provide health education materials and advice.
"While the potential for substance-related
ill health is dramatically elevated in Ibiza, harm minimisation
measures in such resorts remain scarce," writes Professor
Mark Bellis in a paper in the International Journal of Drug Policy
today. "And although holiday companies attract a sexually
active market, safe sex messages are either absent or ineffective."
[Image] The research team found "disturbing" levels
of unprotected sex: almost 54% of the sample had had sex while
on holiday and more than a quarter did not use a condom, although
23% had sex with more than one partner.
Prof Bellis said many companies traded
on images of long nights of booze and sex. "Club 18-30,
one of the most successful youth tour operators, includes in
its mission statement, 'Try sex in the surf... drink all your
duty free on day one'. In the short term, harm minimisation measures
such as educational leaflets, information on seeking medical
assistance abroad and easy access to condoms seem essential steps
in protecting the health of young holiday makers."
But a spokeswoman for the Association of
British Travel Agents said: "Where the risks are exactly
the same as one would be facing in the UK, you can assume that
customers have a degree of responsibility for their own safety.
A holiday brochure is not the place for delivering advice, and
I don't think it would make one bit of difference anyway."
Club 18-30 said its customers were given
a voucher for free condoms, plus an advice booklet on drugs,
produced in conjunction with the Health Education Authority.
The company's general manager, Andy Tidy,
added: "While we are not moral guardians, it has always
been our stance to encourage young people to take a responsible
attitude towards drugs and sex. People of all ages tend to over-indulge
while on holiday, whatever their recreational preferences."
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Here are some brief notes from a longer
Guardian article about the island of Crete. Here the "trash"
has been discarded, leaving only the "treasure".
Exercise 2
Copy these notes into your word processor
and add your own words to fill out the information and make a
single piece of writing.
A
"crossing
White Mountains in Western Crete... walkers completed 18km (11.2
mile) hike down Samaria gorge (Europe's longest) from Agia Roumeli
to Hora Sfakion. epic walk... spectacular scenery ... sense of
achievement.
gorge leads from mountains to Libyan through "Iron Gates"
(narrowest point, rocks on 600m high.)
second only to Palace of Knossos, (Minoan palace) " |
Here are some notes from another source,
a book about the same place.
Copy these notes
into your word processor too and combine them with your earlier
notes into a single report. As you write, think carefully
about what is worth selecting and whether there are any contradictions.
B
"... most spectacular
adventure in Crete: Samaria Gorge (11 miles, allow 6 hours).
Starts at Xyloskalou, end of Omalos Plain, steep wooden staircase.
One mile on - sea level. 5 more miles to Samaria (14th century
frescoes).
River bed crossing (danger of floods) then walls soar to 300-600
metres. Next Sidheroportes (Iron Gates) and gorge is only 2 metres
wide.
Then Ayia Roumeli (on coast).
Only exit is by boat to Hora Sphakion - no roads. |
Finally...
You should now have a single article using
edited information from exercise 1
extra information from exercise 2 A and B
Present this carefully
in an appropriate style and appearance and save it in your portfolio
Go on to Unit Five
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Plan
a Holiday!