[WRITING | LESSON 12]
LESSON 11. CONVINCING PEOPLE
EXAM READING 1 | Categorize information
Of which painting is the following stated?
It was considered not to be typical of paintings produced from certain sources. 1 A B
The artist likes to depict events and situations that are open to different interpretations. 2 B
It is of something that no longer exists. 3 C
The artist points out that it is based on things actually observed, even though it doesn’t depict them accurately. 4 A
The artist specializes in things that most people regard as ugly. 5 C
A deduction that could be made about what is happening in it is not what the artist is actually showing. 6 B
The artist took a risk while creating it. 7 B
The artist denies that there was a particular influence on its style. 8 D
The artist checks that nothing important is missing from preparatory work. 9 D
Its success suggests a change of attitude on the part of the judges. 10 A
It was completely altered in order to produce various connections. 11 B
The artist always tries to portray certain unique characteristics. 12 C
Its artist produces paintings in different locations. 13 B
In one way, it is unlike any other painting the artist has produced. 14 A
The artist likes to find by chance subjects that have certain characteristics. 15 D Watercolour competition
(1) A. Carol Robertson Interrupted field
(57) C. Arthur Lockwood Carbonizer Tower
This unique competition is now in its 19th year, and for
There were other, less proasic titles among the thousand-
much of that time you may be forgiven for thinking that
or-so entries to this year’s competition, but there were
the judges weren’t halfway bold enough. In the beginning, (60) few more fetching paintings - or, come to that, more
(5) the selection of an abstract painting for the exhibition, let
experienced painters in watercolour, Arthur Lockwood
alone as a prize-winner, would have been totally
has a big reputation among watercolour painters and
unexpected. Though changes began to occur some years
watercolour enthusiasts, chiefly for his accomplished
ago, an abstract painting has never won first prize. Until
pictures of industrial sites, subjects that are generally now.
(61) thought to be unsightly, but have striking visual qualities (10)
Carol Robertson’s Interrupted Field is a worthy
all their own. Among them is a kind of romanticism
winner, a more or less geometric composition that
stimulated by indications of decay and the passing of
exploits the qualities of evenly-applied washes of colour.
irrecoverable time. Lockwood’s subjects are, after all,
The painting is vast - ‘the largest I’ve ever attempted’- so
ruins, the modern equivalent of Gothic churches
the big, even area of blue in the centre is, apart from (62) overgrown by ivy. He aims not only to reveal those
(15) anything else, something of technical achievement.
qualities, but to make a visual record of places that are fast
Robertson is keen to stress that her abstract
being destroyed. This painting, a good example of his
compositions are firmly rooted in reality. Though she
work in general, is one of an extensive series on the same
doesn’t ‘seek to confirm or record the way the world
subject. What we see is part of a large industrial plant that
looks’, her work is never disconnected from the natural (63) once made smokeless coal briquettes. It has now been
(20) world, so the coloured stripes and hands in this painting
closed and demolished to make way for a business park.
have a specific source. Over the past five years, Robertson
D. Michael Smee Respite at The Royal Oak
has been working in Ireland, on the northwest coast of
Michael Smee was once a successful stage and television
County Mayo. The coloured stripes stimulate ‘memories of
designer. This is worth stressing, because this prize-
coastal landscapes, brightly painted cottages, harbour and (64) winning painting makes a strong theatrical impression.
(25) fishing boats, things seen out of the corner of my eye as I
Smee agrees, and thinks it has much to do with the
explored that coastline by car and on foot. The colour
carefully judged lightning. ‘As a theatre designer, you
mirrors the fragments of life that caught my eye against
make the set, which comes to life only when it’s lit.’ The
the background of sea and sky.’
obvious affinity with Edward Hopper’s work is ‘just a
B. Geoffrey Wynne Quayside
(65) coincidence’, Smee says. ‘The other picture I submitted
(30) Geoffrey Wynne describes himself as ‘an open-air
isn’t at all like Hopper.’ BOth artists, though, share an
impressionist watercolour painter’, though he adds that
interest in suggesting ambiguous narratives.
‘larger works’, this prize-winning picture among them,
Smee prefers to happen on pubs and cafes that are
‘are developed in the studio.’ It struck the judges as
intriguing visually and look as though they might be under
something of a tour de force, a complex composition in (70) threat. He has a strong desire to record ‘not only the
(35) which most of the detail had to be suppressed in order to
disappearing pub culture peculiar to this country, but also
preserve a sense of pictorial unity. It also has a vividness
bespoke bar interiors and the individuals therein.’ He
and directness not usually associated with paintings
works his paintings up from informative sketches. ‘I get
worked up from sketches and photographs.
there early, before many people have arrived, sit in the
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Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of this painting is (75) corner and scribble away. Then, once the painting is in
(40) the sheer number of people in it. According to the title,
progress in the studio, I make a return visit to reassure
they are on a quay somewhere, and the number of
myself and to note down what I’d previously overlooked.’
suitcases they have with them suggests they have just
His main aim isn’t topographical accuracy, however; it’s to
landed from a boat on the first stage of holiday. ‘Yes, that’s
capture the appearance of artificial and natural light
almost right,’ Wynne told me, ‘except that we’re on the (80) together, as well as the reflections they make.
(45) boat in the early morning, just arrived back from
Mallorca, and the people are waiting to get on. This
painting took a long time to finish, and many earlier (83)
attempts were abandoned. To achieve a unity, I immersed
the half-finished painting in the bath, then added the
(50) black with a big brush. It’s dangerous to do, because you
can’t really control the effects. Then I reworked
everything, establishing links with colour and tone
throughout the composition, creating a kind of web or net of similar effects. (55)
EXAM READING 2 | IELTS Reading Animal Personhood
A. Aristotle, a 4th-century-BC Greek philosopher, created the Great Chain of Being, in which animals, lacking
reason, ranked below humans. The Frenchman, Rene Descartes, in the 17th century AD, considered animals as
more complex creatures; however, without souls, they were mere automatons. One hundred years later, the
German, Immanuel Kant, proposed animals are treated less cruelly, which might seem an improvement, but Kant
believed this principally because he thought acts of cruelty affect their human perpetrators detrimentally. The
mid-19th century saw the Englishman, Jeremy Bentham, questioning not their rationality or spirituality, but
whether animals could suffer irrespective of the damage done to their victimisers; he concluded they could; and,
in 1824, the first large organisation for animal welfare, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
was founded in England. In 1977, the Australian, Peter Singer, wrote the highly influential book Animal liberation,
in which he debated the ethics of meat-eating and factory farming, and raised awareness about inhumane
captivity and experimentation. Singer’s title deliberately evoked other liberation movements, like those for
women, which had developed in the post-war period.
B. More recently, an interest in the cognitive abilities of animals has resurfaced. It has been known since the
1960s that chimpanzees have sophisticated tool use and social interactions, but research from the last two
decades has revealed they are also capable of empathy and grief, and they possess self-awareness and self-
determination. Other primates, dolphins, whales, elephants, and African grey parrots are highly intelligent too. It
would seem that with each new proof of animals’ abilities, questions are being posed as to whether creatures so
similar to humans should endure the physical pain or psychological trauma associated with habitat loss, captivity,
or experimentation. While there may be more laws protecting animals than 30 years ago, in the eyes of the law,
no matter how smart or sentient an animal may be, it still has a lesser status than a human being.
C. Steven Wise, an American legal academic, has been campaigning to change this. He believes animals, like those
listed above, are autonomous - they can control their actions, or rather, their actions are not caused purely by
reflex or from innateness. He wants these animals categorized legally as nonhuman persons because he believes
existing animal- protection laws are weak and poorly enforced. He famously quipped that an aquarium may be
fined for cruel treatment of its dolphins but, currently, the dolphins can’t sue the aquarium.
D. While teaching at Vermont Law School in the 1990s, Wise presented his students with a dilemma: should an
anencephalic baby be treated as a legal person? (Anencephaly is a condition where a person is born with a partial
brain and can breathe and digest, due to reflex, but otherwise is barely alert, and not autonomous.)
Overwhelmingly, Wise's students would say ‘Yes'. He posed another question: could the same baby be killed and
eaten by humans? Overwhelmingly, his students said ‘No’ His third question, always harder to answer, was: why
is an anencephalic baby legally a person yet not so a fully functioning bonobo chimp?
E. Wise draws another analogy: between captive animals and slaves. Under slavery in England, a human was a
chattel, and if a slave were stolen or injured, the thief or violator could be convicted of a crime, and compensation
paid to the slave’s owner though not to the slave. It was only in 1772 that the chief justice of the King's Bench,
Lord Mansfield, ruled that a slave could apply for habeas corpus, Latin for: ‘“You must have the body’, as few men
and women had done since ancient times. Habeas corpus does not establish innocence or guilt; rather, it means a
detainee can be represented in court by a proxy. Once slaves had been granted habeas corpus, they existed as
more than chattels within the legal system although it was another 61 years before slavery was abolished in
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England. Aside from slaves, Wise has studied numerous cases in which a writ of habeas corpus had been filed on
behalf of those unable to appear in court, like children, patients, prisoners, or the severely intellectually impaired.
In addition, Wise notes there are entities that are not living people that have legally become non-human persons,
including ships, corporations, partnerships, states, a Sikh holy book, some Hindu idols and the ‘Wanganui River in New Zealand.
F. In conjunction with an organisation called the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), Wise has been representing
captive animals in US courts in an effort to have their legal status reassigned. Thereafter, the NhRP plans to apply,
under habeas corpus, to represent the animals in other cases. Wise and the NhRP believe a new status will
discourage animal owners or nation-states from neglect or abuse, which current laws fail to do. Richard Epstein, a
professor of law at New York University, is a critic of Wise's. His concern is that if animals are treated as
independent holders of rights there would be little left of human society, in particular, in the food and agricultural
industries. Epstein agrees some current legislation concerning animal protection may need overhauling, but he sees no underlying problem.
G. Other detractors say that the push for personhood misses the point: it focuses on animals that are similar to
humans without addressing the fundamental issue that all species have an equal right to exist. Thomas Berry, of
the Gaia Foundation, declares that rights do not emanate from humans but from the universe itself, and, as such,
all species have the right to existence, habitat, and role (be that predator, plant, or decomposer). Dramatically
changing human behaviour towards other species is necessary for their survival - and that doesn’t mean declaring animals as non-human persons.
H. To date, the NhRP has not succeeded in its applications to have the legal status of chimpanzees in New York
State changed, but the NhRP considers it some kind of victory that the cases have been heard. Now, the NhRP can
proceed to the Court of Appeals, where many emotive cases are decided, and where much common law is formulated.
I. Despite setbacks, Wise doggedly continues to expose brutality towards animals. Thousands of years of
perceptions may have to be changed in this process. He may have lost the battle, but he doesn't believe he’s lost the war.
For questions 16-21, choose the answer A, B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text. Write your
answers in the corresponding numbered boxes you provided.
16. Why did Aristotle place animals below human beings?
A. He doubted they behaved rationally.
B. He thought them less intelligent.
C. He considered them physically weaker.
D. He believed they did not have souls.
17. Why did Kant think humans should not treat animals cruelly?
A. Animals were important in agriculture.
B. Animals were used by the military.
C. Animals experience pain in the same way humans do.
D. Humans’ exposure to cruelty was damaging to themselves.
18. What concepts of animals did Bentham develop?
A. The existence of their suffering
B. The magnitude of their suffering C. Their surprising brutality
D. Their surprising spirituality
19. Where and when was the RSPCA founded? A. in Australia in 1977 B. in England in 1824 C. in Germany in 1977 D. in the US in 1824
20. Why might Singer have chosen the title Animal Liberation for his book?
A. He was a committed vegetarian.
B. He was concerned about endangered species.
C. He was comparing animals to other subjugated groups
D. He was defending animals against powerful lobby groups.
21. What has recent research shown about chimpanzees?
A. They have equal intelligence to dolphin
B. They have superior cognitive abilities to most animals.
C. They are rapidly losing their natural habitat.
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D. They are far better protected now than 30 years ago. Your answers: 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.
For questions 22-28, read the following summary and fill in each blank with NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS
taken from the passage. Write your answers in the corresponding numbered boxes provided.
A new legal status for animals
There are several advocates for animal personhood that have stood the test of time. Steven Wise believes
some highly intelligent animals that are 22. _______ should have a new legal status. While animals are not humans, the
law has a status for 23. _______ already applied to ships, companies, and a river in New Zealand. If the legal status of
animals were changed, Wise and the NhRP could file for 24. _______, where a detainee is represented by someone else.
Then, they could take more effective action against animal abusers.
On the other hand, Richard Epstein believes the 25. _______ of animals is important, but if animals had rights,
the cost to human society would be too great. Others, like Thomas Berry, argue that rights are bestowed by the
universe and not by humans. Furthermore, 26. _______ species have an equal right to exist.
Currently in the US, although the NhRP has not 27. _______ in having the legal status of any animals altered, it
continues its struggle. Changing two millenia’s worth of 28. _______ could prove difficult. Your answers: 22. autonomous 23. non-human persons 24. habeas corpus 25. protection 26. all 27. succeeded 28. perceptions
WRITING | Problem - Solution Paragraph
There are three types (prompts) of Problem - Solution essays
1. P roblem and Solution : Since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of endangered species has
increased significantly and we have witnessed more mass extinctions in this period than in any other period of
time. State some reasons for this and provide possible solutions. 2. Ca
use and Solution : One problem faced by almost every large city is traffic congestion. What do you think the
causes are? What solutions can you suggest?
3. J ust the Solution : One problem faced by almost every large city is traffic congestion. What solutions can you suggest?
Processes in Writing Solution Paragraph
1. Analyse the Question
This is an essential step in the planning process and will ensure that you answer the question fully. You just need to
identify 3 different types of words a. Topic words b. Other keywords c. Instruction words
One problem faced by almost every large city is traffic congestion. What do you think the causes are? What solutions can you suggest?
2. Generate ideas
The easy ways out for every problem are:
a. Get Woke: Solutions happen at the individual levels. Stop air pollution? Refrain from smoking.
Lengthen life expectancy? Abstain from food high in cholesterol.
b. Drop the Money: The government (or other relevant organisation) can invest money for different
processes, such as gathering educated scholars to solve the problems, building appropriate
organisations with a purpose, or transferring technologies from overseas.
c. Enlighten: Educational programs with qualified instructors and hands-on learning approach.
d. Don’t Spare the Rod: Impose or increase punishments for wrongful actions. Think about the types of
penalties you see in your daily life.
e. Others: For problems that are smaller, more localized, the solutions may lie in a change in lifestyle, a
change in attitude, or a change in diet.
3. Structure of a Solution Proposal
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● Topic sentence: Briefly introduce the Solution
● Explanation sentence: Why would the Solution work? Does the Solution focus on a specific cause of
the problems or just make senses? What effects will the Solution have on the problem? Remember to
identify the people, setting, and culture relevant to the problem?
● How to implement the solution: Identify the who, what, how, when, and, where
● Evidence: Is there an example of a successful application of the solution or research to back up your solution?
Discriminate between Problem and Cause statement
● Problem: I failed to get the last ticket to my idols’ concert.
● Cause: I misread the timetable of the ticketing and thought the portal opened at 2.45 PM while it actually opened at 2.35 PM. Prompts:
1. In rural areas, many people do not have access to electricity, which has grown to be an essential need. What
can be done about this problem?
2. Many offenders commit more crimes after serving their first punishment. What measures can be taken to tackle this problem?
3. Nowadays people around the world are choosing to self-medicate rather than seeing a doctor and using
conventional medicine. What measures can be undertaken to solve this problem?
4. A lot of people these days suffer from sleep deprivation. What can be done about this problem?
5. Currently, many people fail to balance their work with other parts of life. Give solutions for this problems.
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