Unit 4 • Givingyouropinion
4C Personal advice
Writingadvice- tofriends, orin amagazine -is anotheropportunityto express
an opinion. Butwhat distinguishesthis from most of theother writing in this unit
is that you areoftenw ritingona person-to -person basis. Unlike inthe argument
andthe review, the writer addressesthe reader asyou- and the reader is often
justoneindividual.1.0 Problem page
The following advice was printedon the 'Problempage' of awomen'smagazine,
in response to areader's letter. Studythe advice, and decide what the reader's
problem is.Ina partnershipwhere bothofyoue xpec t to
dowell.success almostnever co mes for two
people at the same time .You are at the
crucial breakthroughstageofyour career.so
it ' sonly natural to feel unsure. Your
boyfriendmusta lso be feelingvulnerab leas
he is buildinghis career. too. Nomatte r how
much men may accept intellectuall y that
womenareentitledtosucceed, it can still be
hard for the mwhenwepush ahead.
Ta lk this over hon e stly and establis h
precise ly whatis bothering him. Reassurehimo f yourconfidence in hima ndremind
him. too, that it'smuchbetter to be with a
successful woman than with a dissatisfied
one. Makesure he reaps the benefitofyo ur
new prosperityin the form of fun and treats,
so that he sees atangiblerewardfor his loya l
suppo rt. The ng ivehim time toadj ust. But
don't le t his problem of confide nce
undermine you. If he can't cope with a
womanwho makes money, yo u may have to
look fo r someo new hocan.1 .1 Advice structures
Whengiving advice,a range of structuresmay be used. Some of themare
strongerthan others -Do this!- whereasothersare more tentativesuggestions- Iwonderifyou've everconsidereddoing this.Your choice of structureshould
suitthesituationratherthan justyourstrengthof character. Two of the following
are particularly strong and shouldonly be addressed, in moments of anger and
frustration, to a close friend or relative.
Grade the advice structureson a scale of 1 -5: 1for very weak or tentative; 5 for
aggressive or authoritarian.
a I'dreco mme ndthatyoujoi n thearmy.
h It's not f o r me to say,ofcourse, butIdo n'tsnpposcYOU'\l~everconsidered
loo kinginto thepossiln litvofamilitarycareer?
c Iwo nde rifyou\"Ceverthough t ahoutjoiningtheannv?
d Yo nmust jo inthe army
e Perhapsyou couldjo in thearmy.
f ~lyadviceis to join the army.
g ' ''e ll.what doyouthink yo ushoulddo?
h Youpathetic wo rm!I fyo u hadanypride , you'djo inthearmy.
Ithinkyo u'dhe\1SCtojoin the army.
j Istronglyrecom me ndthatyou join the tm ny.
k jo inthearlllY
I Ireallythinkthaty OIlshouldjoin thearmy.
IIIIt'shighttmcyoustoppedfeelingsorryforyourself,gotoff yourbacksideand
joinedthear lll )'.
76 • Types of writing