Guide to spelling, punctuation and grammar

Paragraph 2
However, 
(1)
it is not only the people who watch most
of their sport on television that are the fanatics. 
(2)
The real committed fans are those who follow their
team week in, week out, as they play around the
country. What, it could be asked, is wrong with that?
Is this not a harmless pastime that causes no one
any problems? Yes, it can be, but too often this
obsession with ‘your team’ can take over from a
proper concern with other important issues of
employment, family, relationships and even money.
We all probably know of some ‘sports nut’, to whom
the success or failure of their chosen team or
individual sporting god matters too much. 
(3) 
Often
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6 – S
AMPLE ESSAY
1:
A DISCURSIVE ESSAY

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belonging to a supporters’ club or unofficial
grouping takes priority over relationships that would
appear to be more important in an individual’s life,
for example, a wife or children. 
(4)
Paragraph 3
On the other hand, 
(1)
such an obsession with
watching sport may arise because of a lack of close
relationships in someone’s life. 
(2)
Individuals find a
sense of belonging in a shared interest and this
bonding can appear to fill a gap that wards off
loneliness and a sense of isolation. In a group who
come together to support a particular football team,
for example, the individual may feel he is
surrounded by friends and other people who
understand and share his fanaticism. How healthy
and meaningful this may be is open to question,
however. If it leaves the way open for other
friendships and relationships to blossom outside the
shared obsession, then surely that does no lasting
harm. If, however, the shared obsession starts to
dominate an individual’s life, then it could have a
negative effect on that person’s emotional and
maturing process. 
(3)
In addition, this obsessive
identification with a team can lead to aggression
towards supporters of other teams and this sometimes
erupts into violent behaviour. 
(4)