An opinion text has four parts: 1) introduction – the topic; 2) advantages with reasons; 3) disadvantages with reasons; 4) conclusion and your own opinion. Linking words: First of all, Moreover, However, Despite this, In conclusion. An encyclopaedia text is short and factual: A telescope is an instrument for looking at distant objects. Mirzo Ulugbek (1394–1449) was a grandson of Amir Temur, the governor of Samarkand from 1409, and a great astronomer and mathematician. In the 1420s he built an observatory in Samarkand and made a catalogue of 1,018 stars (the Zij-i Sultani, or Ziji Kuragoniy). His observations gave a very precise length of the Earth’s year. Remember: the Sun, the Moon, the sky, the universe; as a planet, Earth (without the, or the Earth).
Worked examples
Topic: Mobile phones at school. First of all, phones help pupils find information quickly. Moreover, they can be used as dictionaries. However, they can distract pupils during a lesson. In conclusion, I believe phones are useful if the teacher controls how they are used.
A sundial is an instrument that shows the time by the shadow of a stick. Sundials were used in ancient Egypt and China. They work only when the sun shines. (A short encyclopaedia-style model.)
Class activity
Write an encyclopaedia entry: in pairs choose one instrument (clock, telescope, thermometer) and write a short text with four facts.
Practice
1
Choose a linking word: ___, phones are useful. (conclusion)
In conclusion
2
Of which city was Ulugbek governor?
Samarkand
3
How many stars are in Ulugbek’s catalogue?
1,018
4
Why do we also write disadvantages in an opinion text?