Task 6 M1 LA4 Part 3

TASK 1

In this activity, you will have to read two texts. Make necessary notes of their key features. It may facilitate you in doing the other tasks. Enjoy it.

Text 1

            In all the discussion over the removal of lead from petrol there doesn’t seem to have been any mention of difference between driving in the city and the country.

            While I realise my leaded petrol car is polluting the air wherever I drive, I feel that when you travel through the country, where you only see another car every five to ten minutes, the problem is not as severe as when traffic is concentrated on city roads.

            Those who want to penalise older, leaded petrol vehicles and their owners don’t seem to appreciate that, in the country, there is no public transport to fall back upon and one’s own vehicle is the only way to get about.

            I feel that country people, who often have to travel huge distances to the nearest town and who already spend a great deal of money on petrol, should be treated differently to the people who live in the city.

(Source: Gerot, L., & Wignell, P. (1994). Making Sense of Functional Grammar).

Generic Structure Analysis

·         Thesis                          ; paragraph 1 (the removal of lead from petrol)

·         Argument 1                 ; paragraph 2 (different petrol car crowd in city and country)

·         Argument 2                 ; paragraph 3 (punishment to the old car is not followed by an increase in

                                    public transportation in the country)

·         Recommendation        ; paragraph 4 (the old car should be treated differently dealing with the region

                                    (country/city))

Language Feature Analysis

Focusing on the writer            : using the first personal pronoun "I"

Using abstract noun                ; discussion

Using action verb                    : treat,

Using thinking verb                ; think, seem

Using passive voice                 ; should be treated differently

Using simple present tense      ; there doesn't seem…, there is no public transport.., etc

Text 2

The Impact of Tsunami

            The Asian 2004 tsunami was probably the worst natural disaster in human memory because of the numbers of people affected. Many studies have been written about its impact on human life, communities and livelihoods. In this context, the fisheries sector has featured prominently as one of the areas most affected by the disaster. This study focuses on the issue whether or not fishery resources were affected by the tsunami, particularly in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the two most impacted countries. The answer to this question is fundamental to promote necessary efforts to recover fishery livelihoods in the regions.

            Data from the Aceh Province Fisheries Statistics Yearbooks (1995–2005 shows there was a general decrease then an increase in the overall number of boats from 1994 to 2004, but part of this was attributable to switching from many small boats to a smaller number of larger boats with inboard engines. Using only data on total number of boats, not the details of their capacity, the catch per boat increases from 4.4 tonnes/boat/year in 1994 to 8.4 tonnes/boat/year in 1998. Between 2002 and 2004 catch per boat decreased while the number of boats increased and production fluctuated. The number of vessels and the catch per vessel are almost mirror images and the best catches over the past decade tended to occur when the total number of boats was below 15 000.

            Minimal provincial fisheries data are available for the period since the tsunami, but at Lampulo, Banda Aceh, it was possible to obtain some monthly data on catch, catch per boat, trips and number of boats between February 2004 and May 2006. These data show that catch per boat and total catch actually increased in 2005 and 2006 compared with 2004. This is considered to be related to the reduced number of boats and fishing trips after the disaster.

            The quantity and productivity of marine fish resources in Sri Lanka is driven by the presence of a narrow continental shelf and the lack of significant areas of upwelling. Between 1977 and 1980, acoustic surveys of coastal waters were undertaken4 to estimate a potential yield of about 250_000 tonnes/ year. The yearly data give a good picture of how the fisheries were behaving over longer time frames before the tsunami. The monthly catch data show significant seasonal patterns that tend to repeat over the years and different responses to the tsunami which can be highlighted as follows:

            Monthly total catches in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, quickly rebounded after February/March 2005 so that catches were back in the normal range for that time of year. At Ampara catches rebounded but not back to the monthly equivalent levels of 2004.

            For small pelagic species one district showed an increase in catches after the tsunami, two districts had lower catches a year after the tsunami, while four districts showed no difference in catches and a continuation of long-term trends within a few months of the tsunami.

            The available evidence shows that overall, impacts of the tsunami on fisheries are more related to ongoing and new tsunami-related “human” factors, rather than the physical or biological effects of the disaster on resources and ecosystems. That is, existing overexploitation trends had already brought many of the fisheries under severe stress before the tsunami. (Adapted from http://www.fao.org/3/a-ai000e.pdf

           

Generic Structure Analysis

·         Thesis                          ; paragraph 1

(whether or not fishery resources were affected by the tsunami)

·         Arguments                  ; paragraph 2-6 (catch per boat and total catch actually increased in 2005 and 2006 compared with 2004, catches were back in the normal range for 2005, two districts had lower catches a year after the tsunami, while four districts showed no difference in catches)

·         Reiteration                  ; paragraph 7

Language Feature Analysis

Focusing on the non-human participants        : using the data

Using abstract noun                                        ; impact

Using passive voice                                         ; is considered, be related, is driven

Using simple present tense                              ; the available evidence shows that overall, Monthly total                                                                            catches in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

Can you identify the two texts above? Are they, both, hortatory exposition texts? Well, to confirm it you’d better watch the video available in below

I think the first text is absolutely a hortatory exposition, but I have any difficulties in analyzing the second text, I guess it is analytical text because of the last paragraph.