Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

Academic verbs and nouns

It is important to recognize both the verb and the noun form of academic writing, when you
are reading, and to spell them correctly when you are writing.

1. Look at the verbs in the table and find their noun forms in paragraph 1,
below. Write the nouns in the table next to the verb forms.

verb noun

injure

provide

reduce

suffer

encourage

solve

recognize

involve

Paragraph 1

Children need to do more sports. We need to see a reduction in the rate of obesity
and the suffering and injury it causes young people. The main solution is the
increased provision of sports in schools. We also require the involvement and
encouragement of parents, who are our main weapon against increasing obesity.
The first step is recognition that fat is a real problem for young people.
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

COLLOCATIONS

2. Look at the short text 2, underline ten collocations (noun + noun or

adjective + noun) related to health and fitness and match them with their
meaning in the chart. The first one has been done for you as an
example.

Paragraph 2

Obesity can reduce life expectancy and lead to serious illnesses such as heart
disease and diabetes. To address this problem, some governments run educational
programmes and advertising campaigns. These educate people about the dangers
of junk food and the importance of a balanced diet. They also show people how to
find out about the nutritional value of food. Another important way to tackle obesity is
regular exercise, because the more physical activity we have, the better we feel.

collocation definition

life expectancy how long a person can expect to live

moving around and doing things

a very bad medical problem

how good a particular kind of food is for you

sport or movement which people do at the

same time each day, week, month, etc.

projects to convince people to buy a

product or change their behaviour

classes or material to teach people about a

particular topic

food that is unhealthy but is quick and easy

to eat

an illness of the heart

a mixture of the correct types and amounts

of food
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

Subdividing arguments

When we plan an essay, we make a list of our arguments. We can then subdivide
them to allow us to better organize our essay.

1. Look at the ways we can increase life expectancy and decide which are
about exercise (E) and which are about diet (D). The first one has been
done for you as an example.

a. do sports in parks and sports centres ______

b. invest in school sports _______
c. eat healthily _______
d. tax junk food _______
e. do regular exercise _______
f. cut your calorie intake _______
g. ban advertising of unhealthy food_______
h. take advantage of free sports clubs for children _______
i. fund national sports teams and athletes _______
j. avoid salty food _______
k. keep active with gardening and housework _______
l. educate children about healthy food m build more sports centres _______

2. Complete the chart using the arguments (a-m) above. Decide whether
the arguments refer to individuals or to governments.
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

GRAMMAR FOR WRITING

Giving reasons

When we give reasons for our arguments, we can use to or in order to. Both are
followed by an infinitive verb.

Governments should promote to

healthy eating increase life expectancy.
in order to

We also use so or so that. This is followed by a clause with can.

Governments should build so people can do more sports.

more sports centres
so that

1. Complete the sentences below using to, in order to, so or so that. More
than one answer is possible.

1. Governments need to increase the tax on junk food _____________________ make

it more expensive.

2. Nutrition labels should be added to packaging _____________________ people can

see how healthy their food is.

3. Governments should provide free sports clubs _____________________ people

from poorer backgrounds can take part in sport.

4. Governments can promote the idea of eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per
day _____________________ improve people's diets.

5. It might be a good idea to tax unhealthy food _____________________ make it too

expensive to buy a lot of it.

6. Some people argue that the junk food advertising should be banned
_____________________ children are not influenced by it.
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

Giving examples
It is important to add detail to your writing by adding examples. It helps to give the
reader more information and adds strength to your argument.

2. Complete the sentences below using the words and phrases in the
box.

● gardening ● football ● chips

● cancer ● heart disease ● education
● pizza ● basketball ● salad
● fish

Advertising of junk food such as (1) ___________ and (2) ___________ should be
banned. Medical problems, especially (3) ___________ and some forms of (4)
___________ , are caused by bad diets. There are many low-fat foods to choose
from, like (5) ___________ and green (6) ___________. Team sports, for instance
five-a-side (7) ___________ and (8) ___________, are good social activities. One
example of a cheap way to keep fit is (9) ___________. Growing fruit and vegetables
is good exercise and puts food on the table. There are many ways to prevent
obesity. A case in point is (10) ___________. children about the benefits of a
balanced diet. We must teach children about the benefits of a bañanced diet.

3. Complete the sentences below using the words and phrases in the
box together with your own ideas. The first has been done for you as an
example.

such as for instance for example especially

1. There are many ways to lose weight, such as gardening and running.

2. Regular physical activity has a range of benefits,

______________________________________________________.

3. Obesity can result in medical problems

______________________________________________________.

4. Junk food can be found in many places,

______________________________________________________.

5. Schools offer children the chance to do many sports,

______________________________________________________.

6. There are a number of solutions to the problem of obesity

______________________________________________________.
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

WRITING SUPPORTING SENTENCES

Look at the words in bold in the paragraph below to see how supporting sentences
give reasons and examples.

Topic sentence Eating a balanced diet is a great way for individuals to

stay healthy, but too much fat in your diet can be a
problem.

Supporting sentence I: A balance of vitamins and minerals helps your body

reason maintain health.

Supporting sentence 2: For example, we need protein from meat and

examples carbohydrates from rice and bread, as well as
vitamins from fruit and vegetables, in order to stay
healthy.

Supporting sentence 3: However, consuming too much sugar and fat in junk
reason food such as fried chicken or cola drinks causes health
risks.

Supporting sentence 4: Obesity can lead to heart disease and diabetes.

examples

2. Now write your own sentences in the table below to support the topic
sentence about keeping fit.

Topic sentence Keeping fit is a great way for individuals to stay healthy,
and too little exercise can lead to problems later in life.

Supporting sentence I:
reason

Supporting sentence 2:
examples

Supporting sentence 3:
reason

Supporting sentence 4:
examples
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

WRITING TASK

What can people do to live longer? What can a government do to increase the
average life expectancy of its country's citizens?

1. Use the following words and phrases plan your essay.

● obesity and poor fitness

● governments and individuals
● diet
● physical activity
● life expectancy

Introduction (1) ____________________ decrease life expectancy

(2) ____________________ can work together to increase

life expectancy

Main body 1 Changes by individuals to their (3) ____________________ and

their (4) ____________________ can increase life expectancy.

Main body 2 Government initiatives to change their citizens' eating habits and
exercise habits

Conclusion Governments and individuals can work together to improve diet

and fitness so that we can improve (5) ____________________
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

2. Write an essay to answer the Writing task. Use the plan above to help you.
Remember to include an introduction, a main body paragraph giving individual
solutions, another main body paragraph giving government solutions, and a
conclusion.
Objective: At the end of this unit, you will write a problem-solution essay.

3. Use the task checklist to review your essay for content and structure. Write
“yes” or “no”.

TASK CHECKLIST

Have you followed the essay plan and included government and individual
solutions?

Have you used supporting sentences in each paragraph to give reasons and
examples?

Is there a conclusion which summarizes your essay and refers back to the
essay topic in the introduction?

4. Make any necessary changes to your essay.

5. Now use the language checklist to edit your essay for language errors which
are common to B1 learners. Write “yes” or “no”.

LANGUAGE CHECKLIST

Have you used a range of academic verbs?

Have you used such as, like, for instance, especially and for example correctly
to give examples?

Have you used to, in order to, so and so that correctly to give reasons?