Writing an article with advice and warnings
General Introduction:
In this section, you will have opportunities to practice your listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. The task section is divided into three steps and each step is preceded with a skills building activity. Through the three steps, you will learn how to identify degrees of obligation and categorize notes about warnings, how to ask for and offer alternatives and how to write warnings. After the learning, you are expected to write for the school news letter an article containing advice and warnings on the dangers of taking medicine unnecessarily.
Skills building 1: identifying degrees of obligation
In this part, we will learn how to identify the degree of obligation when listening to advice. You should judge whether the advice is a suggestion or a necessity through the modal form or phrase used in the sentence. Look at the following sentence patterns:
You do not have to…
You ought (not) to…
You should (not)…
You had better/ had better not…
You have to…
You must/ must not…
Do you know which pattern expresses the strongest obligation, which expresses less strong obligation and which expresses the least strong obligation?
Let’s go on to look at some sentences and decide which are suggestions and which are necessities.
1. You don’t have to go school tomorrow if you are feeling ill.
2. You ought to eat some fruit every day
3. You had better wake up earlier tomorrow.
4. You must not forget to do your homework.
5. You should get enough rest every night.
6. You must not forget to do your homework.
7. You ought not to eat so much ice cream.
8. You should not play computer games all evening.
9. You have to take medicine if you want to get better.
10. We must finish our project today because it is due tomorrow.
(Encourage students to give their own opinions. Any reasonable answers are acceptable)
Step 1: Categorizing notes about warnings
In this part, you will listen to a lecture by Dr Grey and write down the modal forms the doctor uses, and then categorize the obligation levels of the doctor’s advice.
1. Read the guidelines and the sentences in Part A. (give them some necessary explanations to some new words.)
What does the word ‘chemist’s’ mean from the context of the whole sentence? (It is a place where medicine is sold.)
What does the word ‘painkiller’ mean? (The first part of the word is ‘pain’, and the second part is ‘killer’, so we can know that ‘painkiller’ refers to a kind of medicine that can be used to stop one feeling pain.)
Can you guess the meaning of the word ‘prescription’? (from the following sentence’…talk to your doctor…’ we can learn that ‘prescription drugs’ are ones that we should be careful taking because they could be dangerous if used incorrectly.)
2. Let’s listen to the first part of the lecture by Dr Grey and find modal forms used for Sentences 1 to 9.
Tapescript
Dr Grey: I am here today to talk to you about the dangers of taking unnecessary medicines. We
live in a world where many things move at a very fast speed, and sometimes people
expect their bodies to do things quickly as well. However, you should realize that human
bodies are not machines; machines can be fixed in a hurry when they are broken, but
bodies cannot be. Some people run to the chemist’s every time they are ill, asking form a
quick cure when their bodies just need some rest. For instance, you do not have to take
any medicine for a common cold. You should just get enough sleep, drink a lot of water
and keep warm to cure a common cold.
People must learn that medicines sold at the chemist’s might be very strong and must be
used carefully. Even the simplest medicines can have serious side effects. Take painkillers
as an example. You must not take too many of them as they can damage organs like the
stomach and the liver. Another danger of taking unnecessary medicines is that a person
could take a dangerous combination of prescription drugs. You should always talk to your
doctor before you start mixing medicines. You must also make sure that you know if there
are medicines that your body does not react well to.
An additional-and perhaps unexpected-danger of taking
unnecessary medications is hat there are more bottles of pills in
the house, which children could pick up and eat the pills s if
they were sweets. This is a very important reason why you must
not leave any medicine lying around.
3 Play the tape again for students to check their answers.
Answers:
1. should 2. do not have to 3. must 4. must not
5. should 6. must 7. must not
4. Read the guidelines of Part B, and then listen to the second half of the lecture to write down the modal from for sentences 10-12.
Tapescript:
Dr Grey: Now I would like to talk about antibiotics and the dangers of taking them unnecessarily.
I will tell you what antibiotics are in case you are not sure. An antibiotic is a medicine
that can destroy or stop germs from growing.
Antibiotics are used to cure serious infections such as ear infections, but they do not
help with illnesses like colds fro the flu, which are not infection. You should remember
this the next time you think you can cure a cold quickly with antibiotics. In fact, taking
antibiotics unnecessarily can cause antibiotic-resistant bacterial to grow in the body. As a
result, when a person who uses antibiotics to cure the flu is seriously ill with infections,
the antibiotics may not work. Worse yet, this person could develop an antibiotic-resistant
super virus in his or her own body. The powerful virus can be passed to other people and
make them very ill. This is a huge problem in hospitals, where many patients already
have weak immune systems, and the super virus can be passed easily from patient to
patient.
For this reason, you should not go to hospital unnecessarily if you have a cold or flu that
is not very serious. Instead, you should do exercise often and eat well to keep your body
healthy without taking medicine.
Answers:
A 8 should 9 should not 10 should
5. Read all the sentences in which they have used modal forms and decide the obligation level of each sentence.
Answers:
B Obligation level:★ 2
Obligation level: ★ ★ 1,5,8,9,10
Obligation level: ★ ★ ★ 3,4,6,7
6. Now you are going to read an article on the Internet about how taking antibiotics unnecessarily can be dangerous. After reading it, you should take notes on the things that Mr. and Mrs. Tang did wrong. (The students do it individually, and then check the answers together.)
Answers:
C Mr. Tang gave Mrs. Tang some unknown medicine.
Mr. Tang gave Mrs. Tang some antibiotics he had left from a previous illness.
Mrs. Tang took some antibiotics without knowing what they were.
Skills building 2: asking for and offering alternatives
1. This part will tell you how to ask for or give alternatives when you are receiving or offering advice. First go over the instructions and the patterns given in this part to make yourselves understand how to ask for alternatives and how to offer alternatives.
2. Let’s practice using these patterns. Suppose you were Mrs. Tang, and you wanted to know what should be done to cure your cold. You went to ask a doctor for some advice. Make some sentences using the patterns asking for alternatives given in this part. For example:
What can I do instead of taking large amounts of vitamins and painkillers when I have got a headache or a runny nose?
Suppose were the doctor, what advice would you like to give to Mrs. Tang? Use the patterns offering alternatives to make some sentences.
Step 2: asking a doctor for alternatives
In this part, you will work in pairs to make up a dialogue. One of you will act the doctor and answer some questions about alternatives to medicine. Some prompts are presented in this part to help you ask for and offer alternatives.
1. Read the guidelines and work in pairs to decide who will be the doctor first. Each pair goes over the prompts in the two columns and then practice your dialogue. After you have finished your dialogue, you should switch roles.
Sample answers
S=Student D=Doctor
S: Dr Grey, I’d like to know more about avoiding taking medicine unnecessarily. Can I ask you
some questions?
D: Certainly. I think it’s very important for everyone to know about this.
S: Sometimes my mother suffers from headaches and she usually takes some headache tablets.
What can she do instead of taking the tablets?
D: Instead of taking the tablets, she could lie down in quiet, dark room. After having a good
sleep, she’ll feel better.
S: I’ve found that medicine for sore throats doesn’t have much effect on me when my throat
hurts. What’s a good substitute for sore throat medicine?
D: Substitute sore throat medicine with a glass of hot water with honey and lemon in it.
S: What about painkillers for aches and pains? Are there any good replacements for painkillers?
D: Don’t take too many painkillers as they can be addictive. Replace painkillers with a long, hot
bath.
S: In order to avoid catching the flu, some of my friends have got a flu vaccination. Is there
another way?
D: A better way to avoid the flu is to eat healthily, exercise and keep warm.
S: Must I take antibiotics when I catch a cold? Rather than taking antibiotics, is there a better
way to recover from a cold?
D: Sure. You should gibe your body the strength to fight the illness by getting a lot of rest rather
than taking antibiotics.
S: Dr Grey, I often get a blocked nose when I catch a cold. What can I do to clear my nose
besides taking cold and flu medicine?
D: Another way to clear a blocked nose is to put a towel over your head and breather in the
steam form a bowl of boiling water.
It’s important never to take too much medicine, especially antibiotics.
S: I think I’ve learnt a lot about what to do to avoid taking medicine unnecessarily. Thank you
very much.
2. Time permitting, ask the students to make some other dialogues.
Skills building 3: writing warnings
In this part, you will read about how to include warnings in an article as well as giving advice. You should know what language is often used to express warnings and what information is usually included in a waning.
Read the instructions to learn how to express warnings and read the two points to know what the imperative is, and how to show consequences. While reading, write down some sentences to express warnings by using the two patterns given in this part.
Step 3: writing an article for the school newsletter
In this part, you are required to write an article containing advice and warnings. You will use the information you have gathered in Steps 1 and 2 and the patterns presented in the three skills building parts to write your articles.
1. Read the instructions to learn how to write and article to give advice and warnings. You are going to write for the school newsletter to talk about the dangers of taking medicine unnecessarily. 2. Each of you first write the article individually and then discuss it with your partners to make any necessary revisions. Pay attention to the style of your articles.
Possible example:
A recently taken survey at our school showed that a lot of students do not know how to use medicine properly. They often take medicine, especially antibiotics, unnecessarily. Last week, Dr Grey was asked to give a lecture at our school. In his lecture, he told us that there were alternative ways to get better instead of taking medicine when we were not feeling well. He also gave us some warnings on the dangers of taking medicine unnecessarily.
The pieces of advice given by Dr Grey:
Lie down in a quiet, dark room instead of taking headache tablets.
Substitute sore throat medicine with a glass of hot water with honey and lemon. Replace painkillers with al long, hot bath. Always talk to the doctor before you take any medicine. Some good ways to avoid catching the flu and ways to fight the flu if we caught it:
A good way to avoid catching a cold is to eat healthily, exercise and keep warm, rather than getting the flu vaccination. To give our bodies the strength to fight the illness by getting a lot of rest is much better than taking antibiotics.
A good way to clear a blocked nose is to put a towel over one’s head and breathe in the steam from a bowl of boiling water.
The warnings given by Dr Grey:
Do not take too many painkillers fro aches and pains. They can damage organs like the stomach and the liver.
Do not take antibiotics without seeing a doctor first.
Never leave pills lying around where there are children as they may eat some thinking they are sweets.
I think all of us should learn what to do when we are ill instead of just taking medicine, so we can protect ourselves.
3. Come the Part A on page 121 in the workbook. Read the instructions, and then finish the written work in Part B as your homework.