STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS
125
12.5
WRITING SKILLS
AN OPINION ARTICLE
10
Work with a partner and read the title of the
article. In what ways do you think our brain is changing
because of new technologies?
11
Read the article, then choose the statements which
are an accurate paraphrase of Susan Greenfield’s ideas.
1
New technology will affect the way we think
and behave.
2
Our brain changes in good and bad ways over time.
3
We will not be able to achieve our goals in the
modern world.
4
We will probably be very surprised at the changes in
our brain in the future.
5
Technology will have no physical effect on our brains.
6
There is no evidence that the modern world is
changing human behaviour.
7
In the future, our sense of identity will be lost.
8
There could be advantages for us because the brain
is so flexible.
9
The writer looks forward to more discoveries about
the human brain.
10
She is worried that we are not taking seriously the
effects of technology on our brain.
12
a
Stylistic features
Opinion articles that appear in
newspapers and magazines often have a number of
stylistic features. Work with a partner and find examples
of the following in the article by Susan Greenfield.
1
Strong vocabulary: strong nouns, adjectives and
adverbs
crisis, vital
2
Use of the personal pronoun
I
3
Use of the dash – for punctuation
4
Use of informal language (e.g. abbreviations)
5
Compounds (noun adjective, adverb adjective)
ever-expanding
6
Use of imagery
It goes to the heart – or the head –
of us all.
12
b
Compare your examples with other pairs.
13
Write an opinion article on the topic below. It
should be 300–350 words. Try to use some of the
above techniques in your article.
The increased use of mobile technology, social networks
and gaming is changing the way people think and behave.
Technology:
Modern technology is changing the way our brains work,
says neurologist.
By Susan Greenfield
1
Human identity, the idea
that defines each and every one
of us, could be facing a crisis.
It is a crisis that would threaten
our ideas of who we are, what
we do and howwe behave.
It goes right to the heart – or
the head – of us all. This crisis
could change howwe interact
with each other, alter what makes us happy, andmodify
our capacity for reaching our full potential as individuals.
It’s caused by one simple fact: the human brain. This most
sensitive of organs is under threat from the modern world.
2
Of course, there are benefits from technical progress –
but there are great dangers as well, and I believe that we
are seeing some of those today. One vital fact I have learnt
is that the brain is not the unchanging organ that we might
imagine. It not only goes on developing, changing, and in
some tragic cases, eventually deteriorating with age, it is
also substantially shaped by what we do to it, and by the
experience of daily life.
3
The pace of change in the outside environment and
in the development of new technologies has increased
dramatically. This will affect our brains over the next 100
years in ways we might never have imagined. Our brains
are being influenced by the ever-expanding world of new
technology: multichannel television, video games, MP3
players, the internet, wireless networks, Bluetooth links – the
list goes on and on.
4
Electronic devices and pharmaceutical drugs all have
an impact on the structure and biochemistry of the brain.
And that, in turn, affects our personality, our behaviour
and our characteristics. In short, the modern world could
well be altering our human identity.
5
With our brains now under such a widespread attack
from the modern world, there’s a danger that our sense
of self could be decreased or even lost. For example, it’s
pretty clear that the screen-based, two-dimensional world
that so many teenagers – and a growing number of adults
– inhabit is producing changes in behaviour. Attention
spans are shorter, personal communication skills are
reduced and there’s a decrease in the ability to think
abstractly.
6
But we mustn’t be too unhappy about the future. It
may sound frightening, but there may be some potential
advantages to be gained from our growing understanding
of the human brain’s tremendous flexibility. What if we
could create an environment that would allow the brain
to develop in a way that was of universal benefit?
7
I do see potential in one particular direction. I think it
is possible that we might one day be able to use outside
stimuli in such a way that creativity – surely the best
expression of individuality – is actually increased rather
than diminished.
8
I am optimistic and excited about what future
research will reveal into the working of the human brain.
However, I’m also concerned that we seem so unaware of
the dangers that are already upon us.
