3.

9 Using connectives of addition

Level Intermediate
Time 40-50 minutes in class + out-of-class work
Aims To elaborate an argument using connectives of addition.
This activity attempts to demonstrate the point made in the
introduction to this chapter, that as students learn conjunctions.
they need to be aware of their grammatical restrictions. 1 have
deliberately taken addition as the example, as many teachers assume
this is an easy area; students, however, nave problems with the
position of'also' and 'as well as'.
Preparation
You need to make copies of the text and Worksheet 3.9 which present
connectives ofaddition and the grammatical constraints on them.
The topic chosen here is z-0os.
Procedure

1 Ask stude11ts to work in pairs. Write a few questions on the board for
them to ask each other.
Examples Do you think 200s are educationally useful for children 7
What arguments would you make against zoos 7
Do you have any personal reactions to zoos?
2 Ask some students to report back their findings. Use the reporting
session to expand vocabulary.
3 Ask students to,read the text and underline all the examples ofwords
and phrases which add one argument to another.
4 Ask students to study the table in Worksheet 3.9 and write down four
ot five arguments about zoos. They should try to use different words
and phrases from the table each time. As they do t:his, circulate and
help, watching for any particular problems which may need further
explanation and practice.
5 Ask students to exchange their writing and try to correct each other's
work.
6 They are now ready to use their first draft to produce a more detailed
set of arguments about zoos.

Worksheet 3.9
Zoos

Some people argue that zoos are a good thing because they are educational for
children. However, this is not a strong argument when the problems of zoos are
taken into consideration. Zoos are unnatural. They take animals from their natural
home and confine them. They are cruel, too. Many animals are kept in cages that
are too small for them. They also get very little exercise. In addition, the climate may
be wrong forthern and they become ill. As well as these arguments, I have a
personal response to zoos. I think the human race should respect other species and
it is undignified for wild animals to be stared at in cages.
Make sure you know how these words can link ideas. The table below shows their
normal position in sentences
aswe//as

too

in addition
also

and

Can go at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.

If it precedes a verb, the gerund is used, e.g. As well as
swimming, the wedes like rnany other water sports.

Goes at the end of a sentence or clause.

Usually goes at the beginning of a sentence and is followed by
a comma.
Normally comes mid-sentence and is placed:

-before a main verb, e.g. He is also the best student.

-after an auxiliary verb, e.g. The driver has also been arrested.
-after the verb to be, e.g. They also stole four watches.

With two co-ordinate clauses, addition can simply be indicated

by using and.

Now write a set of arguments on another controversial topic. You could choose one
of the following topics:
Smoking in public places
Government-funded nursery education
Censorship of films
Nudism on beaches
Try to use the con'nectives of addition shown in the table above.