Language III - Paragraph Writing I

Something that worries me is the widespread overuse of the Internet; resulting from the Technology Revolution which our world is undergoing. Thanks to instant messaging programmes - such as Windows Live Messenger - and to well-known social networks like Facebook or Twitter, we are losing the habit of talking face-to-face to other people. What's worse, we are losing the habit of hardly talking at all. Now, we can chat with anyone from anywhere in the world without having to pay fat phone bills, let alone writing letters or sending postcards! We can post a picture of us on the beach or write how our holidays are going in someone's wall on Facebook in only a few clicks. Also, even though we have to admit that websites like Wikipedia are wonderful tools for doing research, with their appearance we have lost all interest in flickring through the colourful papaer pages of actual encyclopedias, not to mention that we don't look up words in the dictionary anymore. Whenever we have some free time, instead of going to the park for a walk, we spend it reading the on-line newspapers and even the poor and forgotten television. I sometimes feel that, rather than shortening distances and facilitating our lives, the Internet is somehow threatening our communication and preventing us from doing things that used to be very healthy and pleasant.

TASK: Write a paragraph using vocabulary related to health
The end of the term is almost here and most probably things are starting to get on top of you. You feel bad tempered and the tension growing inside you is making your body ache from head to foot. Some would recommend your going on a balanced diet or taking some nutritional supplement to strengthen your body and get rid of the stress. But man does not live by bread alone and we believe that there are other and easy-to-follow tricks that you can try to change your state of mind in only a few minutes. For example, doing breathing excercises. Do three short inhales through your nose without exhaling. On the first one, lift your arms from the sides straight out to the front and up to the height of your shoulder. On the second one, open your arms to the sides – at the shoulder height too – and on the third, lift your arms over your head. Then, exhale through your mouth and move back your arms to the sides in an arc. Repeat the sequence three or four times. This excercise helps your body open your mind and spirit in only 10 minutes. Something else you can try is taking a 15-minute walk around the campus or your neighbourhood at a quiet time of the day, say early in the morning or after dinner. Stretch a bit afterwards. Apart from relaxed you’ll feel that your mind is actually clearer. Last but not least, listen to music! Make a short playlist in your cellphone or computer including quiet songs and listen to them laying in bed. You can browse “Signs” by Bloc Party – the original version from the album “Intimacy”; “Satellite” by Dave Matthew’s Band and “Island of Wonder” or “Childhood Dreams” by Nelly Furtado – their calm and sweet notes will help you chill out.

Macrofunction: Mainly directive but also informative.
Source: Seventeen Magazine.
Intended addressee: School or college young girls.
Register: Standard English: Common core with instances of colloquiality.



(TASK: Describe an issue with global impact that worries you.)