- In my opinion, there is a beef steak in Sunny’s refrigerator.
- There is a beef steak in Sunny’s refrigerator.
- In my opinion, beef tastes better than pork.
- Beef tastes better than pork.
Which one sounds strange? Why? What is odd about it?
What does each sentence do? Which ones do the same thing? How close is that sameness?
And the most important question: which of the above sentences would not normally be found in academic writing? Why is that sort of language not normally used in academic writing?
Where is such language fairly commonly used in academic English? Why the difference?
These questions arise out of your first writing assignment, on the image on page 165 of Quest. They address a common weakness which we will also look at in class; you might also like to add a comment to share your opinion first, or after. Your opinion can include a question.
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References
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As you covered very thoroughly in your discussion this morning, sentences 1. and 3. must be true because they are about what's in my head, not the world. For that reason, they do not need any support, and are very weak.
ReplyDeleteSentence 2, on the other hand, is strong statement about the world, and it needs support. When we did the research this morning by asking Sunny, it turned out that we cannot support the idea in sentence 2. - it's false.
So, that leaves my question about which sentence sounds a bit strange. What do you think? Which of sentences 1 through 4 sounds odd? Why?