Academic Writing

a
Quite good, but lack of precision (at that time) and unsuitable register (bosses).
b
The best paraphrase, with all main points included and a significantly different structure.
c
A poor paraphrase, with only a few words changed and extra and inaccurate information added
(Britain was the only country . . .).
9
Practice E – Brains and sex
(A number of possibilities are acceptable here. These are suggestions.)
(a) It is generally considered that males and females think and behave in different ways. Women
seem to have superior memories, better social abilities and are more successful at multi-tasking.
Men, by comparison, seem to focus better on subjects and have superior motor and spatial
abilities, although obviously many people do not follow these patterns.
(b) The explanation for these differences may be the way people behaved thousands of years ago,
when men were hunters while women stayed at home as carers for their children. But another
approach is to see the behaviour as resulting from the way our brains function.
(c) The brain functioning of 428 men and 521 women has been compared using brain scans, in
recent research by Ragini Verma’s team at Pennsylvania University. Fascinating differences were
found by tracking the pathways of water molecules around the brain area.
(d) The cerebrum is the name for the upper part of the brain, and this consists of left and right
halves. It is believed that logic is controlled from the left half, while the right side deals with
intuition. Dr Verma’s research discovered that the female molecule pathways were mainly
between the two parts, but the male pathways were generally within the halves. Her conclusion
is that these findings are an explanation for differences in skills between the sexes, for example
greater social ability in women in contrast to stronger male focus on single issues.