I.

Exploratory Task: paraphrasing scientific facts

Look at the original text and the paraphrases, and then complete the table that follows.
Original text

Much of chemistry is concerned with chemical reactions. The factors that control whether a reaction will or will not
take place fall into two categories: thermodynamic and kinetic. Thermodynamic concepts relate to the energetics of a
system, while kinetics deal with the speed at which a reaction occurs. Observations of reaction kinetics are related to
the mechanism of the reaction, and this describes the way in which we believe that the atoms and molecules behave
during a reaction.
C. E. Housecroft and E. C. Constable, Chemistry:
An Introduction to Organic, Inorganic and Physical
Chemistry, (4th Edition), Harlow, Pearson
Education, 2010, 339.

Paraphrase A
A great deal of chemistry is concerned with chemical reactions. The factors that control if a reaction will or will not
take place fall into two classes: thermodynamic and kinetic. Thermodynamic ideas are related to the energetics of a
system, whereas kinetics deal with the speed at which a reaction occurs. Observations of reaction kinetics relate to
the reaction’s mechanism, the way in which we think that the atoms and molecules behave during a reaction.

Paraphrase B
Chemical reactions, and the factors affecting them, are central to chemistry. Whether or not a reaction will occur is
determined by thermodynamics, which relates to the energetics (the nature of energy in transformation) of a system,
and kinetics, which relates to the speed of a reaction.

Paraphrase C
Chemical reactions, and the factors affecting them, are central to chemistry. Whether or not a reaction will occur is
determined by thermodynamics, which relates to the energetics (the nature of energy in transformation) of a system,
and kinetics, which relates to the speed of a reaction.1
References
1. C. E. Housecroft and E. C. Constable, Chemistry: An Introduction to Organic, Inorganic and Physical Chemistry,
(4th Edition), Harlow, Pearson Education, 2010, 339.
II. Practice Task: synthesising information from multiple sources

You are going to write an introduction to the following essay question:

“Are antibiotics a thing of the past?”

1) Start by noting down what you already know in the table. What is an antibiotic?

How does it work?

How have antibiotics beneftted society?

What are the current problems associated with

Is there anything else you think might be relevant

2) Now use the table to make notes from the texts that follow.
• Use the information in the texts to form your stance, i.e. your response to the question: the
extent to which you agree or disagree with the proposition.
• Select information which is relevant to your response.
• Use your own words, except for technical terms or anything that you think is ‘quotable’.
• Distinguish between fact and opinion.
• Indicate any differences of opinion or perspective, including anything which may challenge
your stance.
• Note down any questions or comments of your own. (Is anything unclear? Does anything need
further explanation or clarification?).
• Add references, indicating where information comes from more than one source.
Text A
Antibiotics, also known as antibacterials, are types of medications that destroy or slow down the
growth of bacteria. The Greek word anti means ‘against’, and the Greek word bios means ‘life’.
Antibiotics are used to treat infections caused by bacteria. Bacteria are microscopic
organisms, some of which may cause illness. The word bacteria is the plural of bacterium.
Such illnesses as syphilis, tuberculosis, salmonella, and some forms of meningitis are caused
by bacteria. Some bacteria is harmless, while others are good for us.
(Nordqvist, 2013)
Text B
Antibiotics are drugs used for treating infections caused by bacteria. Also known as microbial
drugs, antibiotics have saved countless lives.
Misuse and overuse of these drugs, however, have contributed to a phenomenon known as
antibiotic resistance. This resistance develops when potentially harmful bacteria change in a
way that reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of antibiotics.
(U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
Text C
It is tempting to think that infections are no longer a widespread cause of death and morbidity.
In some places and for some groups, this belief is reasonably valid but elsewhere, despite many
advances in infection control and treatment, infectious diseases remain a major threat. New
antibiotics are being developed for some conditions, but new and some resurgent viral
conditions (such as avian and swine fu, SARS, viral encephalitis, and several others) are of
course not amenable to antibiotics, and antivirals are rarely very effective. Moreover, certain
‘superbugs’, such as MRSAs, are emerging in both hospitals and the community, raising the real
threat that antibiotic resistance will become ever more common.
(McCracken and Phillips, 2012: 152)
Text D
The discovery of penicillin in 1929 and streptomycin in 1943 heralded the age of antibiotics,
and, coincidentally, the founding of the American pharmaceutical industry. Within a decade
after World War II, a number of important antibiotics were discovered and developed for
therapeutic use. They became the foundation for the treatment of infectious disease. This, along
with the introduction of better hygiene, led to a dramatic reduction in worldwide morbidity and
mortality due to bacterial infections.
The period from 1950 to 1960 was truly the golden age of antibiotic discovery, as one half of
the drugs commonly used today were discovered in that period. Unfortunately, the increasing
use of antibiotics for human and non-therapeutic animal use (growth promotion) led all too soon
to the development of resistant bacterial pathogens. Recognizing the correlation between
antibiotic use and resistance development, much of subsequent antibiotic research has been
devoted to the discovery and design of new compounds effective against the successive
generations of resistant pathogens.
(Davies, 2006: 287)
Text E
Britain’s most senior medical advisor has warned that the rise in drug-resistant diseases
could trigger a national emergency comparable to a catastrophic terrorist attack, pandemic fu or
major coastal fooding.
 Dame Sally Davies, the chief medical officer, said the threat from infections that are resistant
to frontline antibiotics was so serious that the issue should be added to the government’s
national risk register of civil emergencies.
She described what she called an ‘apocalyptic scenario’ where people going for simple
operations in 20 years’ time die of routine infections ‘because we have run out of
antibiotics’.
(Sample, 2013)

3) Now use your notes to write your introduction, with references.