Academic English for International Exams

Course Book

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Read the prompt and think of ideas to list under the headings below.

Some people believe that it is important to know about one's heritage. Others feel that knowing about one's family history is unnecessary. Which do you believe? Give specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

Find arguments for these opposite opinions:

Knowing heritage is important Knowing heritage is not important

Read the sample response. Think about the role of the sentences in each part of the essay. Look at the transitions that link the ideas – they will help to restore the right logical order. Then put the sentences in the right order.

multicultural – involving or consisting of people from different cultures

heritage – the history and traditions of preceding generations

roots – a person's family background

overlook – to fail to notice something

relative – a person that is related by blood or marriage

origin – the place or situation where someone or something comes from

Introduction:

A. Perhaps for this reason, fewer people are interested in knowing about their heritage.
B. In fact, my recent attempt to discover my own heritage has led to a greater sense of identity and a closer connection with my relatives.
C. Despite this thinking, I believe that it is very important for someone to know about his or her heritage.
D. In today's multicultural society, it is becoming harder to keep track of where we come from.

Упорядочите текст, выбрав нужную последовательность селекторов.

Body paragraph 1:

A. Since taking the time to explore these Russian roots, I have come to appreciate an aspect of the world of which I was previously unaware.
B. I discovered that my family had emigrated from Russia.
C. After this discovery, I took some time to explore Russian literature.
D. Two years ago, I attempted to discover my own heritage so I could better understand and appreciate where I came from.
E. I found many of the books to be interesting and significant to me.
F. Consequently, my new appreciation for my Russian heritage has allowed many interesting paths of knowledge and passion to open up for me.

Body paragraph 2:

A. I also grew closer to many of my relatives and learned a number, of interesting things from them.
B. These lessons helped me realize that coming to understand one's heritage creates special bonds between relatives.
C. I came away from these discussions with a greater knowledge of my own heritage.
D. We both have something – an origin –` that is shared between us.
E. Inspired by my study of Russian literature, I took the time to sit down with some of my older relatives and discussed what they knew about our heritage.

Conclusion:

A. I continue to find meaning in the roots I discovered and explored.
B. It is a process that can be rewarding to all people if they are open to it.
C. Ultimately, learning about my heritage has been a truly interesting process.

Look back at the ideas you wrote for the prompt. Write your own response using the ideas opposite to the ones in the sample and following the structure of the sample.