Academic Writing

6
Practice B
(Example answer)
Bill Gates was born in 1955, the second child in a middle-class Seattle family. At the age of 13 he
became interested in writing computer programmes, and in 1975 Gates and his school friend Allen
started a programming business called Micro-Soft. In 1980 IBM asked their company to write an
operating system for IBM’s new PC. This system was called MS-DOS. Five years later, Microsoft
launched the Windows operating system, and in 1995 Gates became the richest man in the world.
He stepped down from working at Microsoft in 2006 to focus on running his charitable foundation.
7
Practice C
(Example answer)
Trams
Trams were first introduced in the late nineteenth century, when they provided cheap and convenient
mass transport in many cities in America and Europe. But their drawbacks were that the rail-based
systems were expensive to maintain, and the fixed tracks made them inflexible as cities developed.
Consequently, by the 1950s, many European and Asian cities had closed their tramway systems.
Today, however, trams are regaining their popularity. They are seen as less polluting than cars and
relatively cheap to operate. As a result, cities such as Paris and Manchester have built new systems.
Despite this, the high cost of constructing tramways and difficulties with traffic congestion blocking
the tracks mean that trams remain a controversial transport option.
ANSWERS
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1.11 Introductions and Conclusions
1
Introduction contents
(a) (i)
A definition of any unfamiliar terms in the title
Y
(ii)
Your opinions on the subject of the essay
N
(iii) Mention of some sources you have read on the topic
Y
(iv) A provocative idea or question to interest the reader
N
(v)
Your aim or purpose in writing
Y
(vi) The method you adopt to answer the question (or an outline)
Y
(vii) Some brief background to the topic
Y
(viii) Any limitations you set yourself
Y
(b) (A) Background
(B) Outline
(C) Purpose
(D) Mention of sources
(E) Definition
(F) Limitation