5.

4 Writing Section Workshop

 Independent Writing Tasks
1. People do many things to relieve stress. What do you do to 9. If you could make one change at your school or workplace, what
relieve stress? Use specific examples and details. would it be? Use specific examples to illustrate your suggestion.
2. There are many reasons for which people choose a job or 10. Imagine that you could make one wish regarding your future.
career. In your opinion, what are the most important reasons for What wish would you make? Use specific examples to explain your
choosing a job? Use specific reasons to support your answer. choice.
3. People rely on their family for many things. For what reasons 11. If you could choose any career for your future, which career
do you rely on your family? Use examples to explain your answer. would you choose? Use specific examples to support your choice.
4. People are living longer and longer lives. Why do you think this 12. Eating habits vary from country to country. What specific eating
is true? Use specific reasons to support your ideas. habits do the people from your country have? Use details to explain
your answer.
5. Imagine that you have inherited a large building. What would
you choose to do with this building? Use specific examples to 13. Getting along with one’s colleagues at work or at school is
support your choice. important. What things must one do to preserve a good working
relationship with a group of people? Use specific reasons to explain
6. Friends are important for people of all ages. Why do you think your answer.
friends are important? Explain your answer using specific details.
14. Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? One
7. Which is your favorite season? Use examples to support your should always trust one’s first impression of people. Use specific
choice. reasons to explain your answer.
8. Traditional forms of communication such as writing letters or 15. Working and living in a large city can be difficult. Some people
person-to-person meetings are more and more rare. Pick one prefer to live in the suburbs and to commute to work everyday.
traditional form of communication and explain why we use it less Others prefer to live as close as possible to their workplace. Which
and less. Use specific examples to explain your answer. do you prefer? Use specific reasons to explain your answer.
 Integrated Writing Task 1
You have 3 minutes to read the following text. You may take notes. Now listen to a lecture
The state-sponsored Social Realism art dominated USSR’s politically charged art scene from an art history class.
after the October revolution in 1917. The simple goal of this new artistic form was to
further the communist ideology, whether through art or literature.
a typical social realist painting depicted strong and good-looking peasants and workers
working happily in utopian factories or fields. any pessimistic or critical element was
discouraged, though certain characteristics considered negative by the Soviet
administration, such as laziness or personal wealth, were conveyed as detrimental to the
construction of a true communist state. The government’s support of this art movement
contrasted remarkably with its approach to other types of art at that time. Many forms of
artistic experimentation were condemned as a sign of decadent Western influence and
anticommunist principles. Furthermore, the Communist Party prohibited modern styles
such as impressionism and cubism, as these movements existed before the revolution and
hence were associated with “decadent bourgeois art.”
Socialist Realism became state policy in 1932 when Stalin promulgated the decree “On
theReconstruction of Literary and art Organizations.” Stalin and the Communist Party, in
fact, took direct control of the art of the entire nation. The Union of Soviet Writers was
founded to control the output of authors, and the new policy was rubber-stamped at the
Congress of Socialist Writers in 1934. artists who strayed from the official line were
usually prohibited from publishing their work.
 Integrated Writing Task 2
You have 3 minutes to read the following text. You may take notes. Now listen to a lecture
It has become fashionable for investors to think they no longer need brokers to from a finance class.
help them with their investments. a computer, a modem, and an online account
are all you need to make a fortune in stocks. Fast and easy execution, faster
trading, and immediate confirmation are some of the advantages of self-
trading. The problem, though, is that the ability to follow markets 24/7 is an
essential part of successful trading. The possibility to get and respond quickly to
new information provides an edge that is beyond the capacity of most busy
investors. Successful self-trading takes time and effort to study, practice, and
learn new skills and disciplines. Many investors do not have the time,
experience. or inclination to trade in the markets themselves.
Fortunately, hundreds of brokerage firms offer online trading services to
millions of investors. Managed accounts are created for investors with risk
capital who do not necessarily want to trade on their own. a big part of an
honest stock broker’s job is to keep customers away from investment mistakes.
Computers do not have the ability to perform this task. This places a
heightened responsibility on online investors for their own decisions.
 Integrated Writing Task 3
You have 3 minutes to read the following text. You may take notes. Now listen to a lecture
Hurricanes require specific conditions in order to develop, usually maturing from a from a meteorology class.
tropical depression. The first requirement for hurricane formation is a low-pressure area
that forms over a body of warm water. The deepening low-pressure center gathers moist
air and thermal energy from the ocean surface; convection lifts the air and high pressure
higher in the atmosphere and pushes it outward. Rotation of the wind currents tends to
spin the clouds into a tight curl; as the winds reach gale force, the depression becomes a
tropical storm.
Hurricanes form over water near the equator (such as the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of
Mexico) because the water is exceptionally warm there. The moist, warm air rises,
forming the clouds that eventually develop into hurricanes. as long as the hurricane has
warm water, it will continue to grow. Hurricanes are measured with the Saffir-Simpson
Scale from 1 to 5. Most of the destructive force from hurricanes is caused by high winds. a
category 3 hurricane has winds of 100 to 120 miles per hour. a category 5 hurricane will
have winds of 200 miles per hour. Warm waters such as those of the Gulf of Mexico only
strengthen these winds. Once a hurricane reaches land, it loses its energy and eventually
dissipates.
In the U.S., the official hurricane season is from June 1 to november 30, but hurricanes
can happen any time of the year. Between June and november, an average of six tropical
storms per year mature into hurricanes along the east coast of north america, often over
the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico.
 Integrated Writing Task 4
You have 3 minutes to read the following text. You may take notes. Now listen to a lecture
Patients with bipolar disorder (or manic-depressive disorder) swing between major from a psychology class.
depressive, mixed, hypomanic, and manic episodes. a major depressive episode is when
the patient has either a depressed mood or a loss of interest/pleasure in normal activities
for a minimum of two weeks. At the other end of the spectrum, a hypomanic episode
must be a period of at least four days, during which the affected person feels elevated or
irritated.
One common feature in mania or hypomania is the increase in unusually creative thinking
and productivity. The manic perception of life is one without bounds. The manic factor
contributes to an increased frequency and fluency of thoughts due to the cognitive
difference between normalcy and mania. For example, manic people often speak and
think in rhyme or alliteration more than non-manic people.
The most common method of treatment for bipolar disorder is medication. Treatment
consists of mood stabilizers – medications that balance the manic and depressive states
experienced by patients with bipolar disorder. anticonvulsants are also used to alleviate
the symptoms of bipolar disorder. However, the problem with bipolar disorder in present
time is that drug treatment often vanquishes the creativity in the patient.