Empty Oceans - Academic Writing

1. Empty Oceans September 25, 2023

2. 1. What do you think overfishing means? Do a quick Internet search for the term overfishing. Write three facts that you learn.2. What are some possible solutions to the problem of overfishing?

3. Words to know • collapse: (n) destruction, breakdown • compensate for: (v phr) to make up for • compound: (v) to make something worse • deplete: (v) to decrease • downplay: (v) to minimize the importance of something • enclosed: (adj) surrounded • gravity: (n) seriousness • incentive: (n) a reason or motivation to do something • revolutionize: (v) to change in a significant way • suspend: (v) to stop something, usually for a short time • sustainable: (adj) able to continue to use longer

4. Modals • Modals are auxiliary verbs that perform various functions—such as expressing ability, possibility, or obligation. Modals are helpful in argument essays because they can show a clear opinion about the topic. For example, the modals must and have to strongly assert a point and tell readers that something has to happen. Although should is not as strong as must or have to, it gives a clear recommendation and is therefore often used in argument essays. In addition, writers may use modals such as may and might to weaken a counterargument.

6. Working with modals Circle the most appropriate modals to complete Paragraph 7.1. More than one answer may be possible

7. Grammar: Adverbs of Degree with Adjectives • One way to make your writing more precise is to use adverbs of degree to modify adjectives. Adverbs of degree give information about the extent of something. Many are used with particular adjectives. For example, you can say incredibly excited but not completely excited. While very and really can be used with many adjectives, a common error is to overuse these adverbs in academic writing. It is important to use a variety of adverbs, not just these two. Below are common academic adverbs of degree and the adjectives they often go with

9. Working with adverbs of degree Unscramble the words and write each sentence correctly 1. completely / the speaker’s remarks / was / by / the audience / disgusted 2. accurate / the medical tests / are / highly / used / heart disease / to diagnose 3. is that it can be / about the weather / that we know / unpredictable / utterly / one thing 4. is expensive / highly / to be / the drug / although / effective / it has proven 5. to persuade / it can be / higher taxes / to vote for / difficult / citizens / extremely

10. Complete each sentence with an appropriate adverb of degree. More than one answer is possible. 1. It is becoming _______________ impossible to live without a cell phone these days. 2. Scientific breakthroughs into new cures for cancer are ____________________ slow in coming. 3. Investors will be ______________________ disappointed by the poor earnings report. 4. It is __________________________ believable how badly Puerto Rico was hit by Hurricane Maria in 2017. 5. The three new restaurants downtown feature an array of ____________________________ amazing dishes. 6. It is ________________________________ likely that many customer service jobs will disappear with the rise of artificial intelligence. 7. Unions representing pilots said that the pay cut proposed by the airline was __________________________ unacceptable.

11. BUILDING BETTER VOCABULARY • assumption (n) • collapse (n) • compensate for (v phr) • compound (v) • considerably (adv) • deplete (v) • downplay (v) • enclosed (adj) • framework (n) • gravity (n) • in a new light (adv phr) • incentive (n) • invalidate (v) • revolutionize (v) • subsidized (adj) • suspend (v) • sustainable (adj) • trigger (v)

12. Word associations:Choose the word or phrase that is most closely related to the word or phrase on the left

13. Collocations:Fill in the blank with the word that most naturally completes the phrase.