Advanced Writing with English in Use

Openingsandclosings • M odule9A

Herearesome possible closings forthesame article. Match them withthe six

differenttypes of closing referred to on page 126. Some of t he closings(a-g)

may illustrate more than oneofthe categories (1-6) ;someof the categories may

beillustrated by more thanoneclosin g.

r.:.1

Theysaythat ed uc ationpromotescivilized
val ues ,toleranceandunderstanding.They
say thateducationopens thedoorsto

happinessandsu ccess.Education,asIhave
shown, doespreciouslittleofthis.School
educationdoesevenless.

I!l

Inshort,it is high time wequestionedthe law requiring

all childrento be educated.This law is an abuse ofa

fundamentalhumanright, therighttoinnocenceand

individuality.

liI N o , I d onotbelieve in educatio n.

m

To quotefromthesong byPink Floyd, ' Teacher!Leave

those kids alone!"

l!I A nd inthis brave new world thatI envi sage,edu cation

willbea minorit yin terest,rather like the hobbyof

growingstunted bonsai trees. A ne w generatio nw ill

spri ng up,a virgin rainforest bearingthe exotic frui tof

blissfuli gnorance.

~

In the light ofall t his evidence, who couldst illbeli eve

in education?Whobut an educated fool?

l!l Asthe poet sorightlysays,'Wh ere i gn or ancei s

bliss,'tis folly t o be w ise.'

CPractic e

This is the openingof an article. Choosing from the six ways of closing an article,

writetwodifferentclosings. Youwill haveto imagine the fiveshort paragraphs

thathaven't been written.

'T he best things inlife are free ,' theyusedtosay,butfor

most of us having funusuall ym eans s pendingmoneyA nd

yet, even ina city, the rearc at l e ast fiveways you can enjoy

yourselfwithoutputting yourhandinyourpocket.

2.2 Writing

Usingthe opening given at t he top of t he page and oneof the seven closings

above,writean articleattackingeducation.Yourarticleshouldhavefour or five

paragraphs, andbeabout 250 wordslong.Alternatively,write an article

defend ingeducation,using your own openingandclosing. The articleis for

publicationin the magazine of your school, universityor language school.

Taskbank: Tasks 14, 15,39 and 40

Tas k types • 127