Language functions: practice 1
time to complete: 10-15 minutes
Here we will practice identifying and using functional language for presentations by examining a presentation transcript. Each task focuses on a different part of the presentation/transcript.
Task: Read the first extract and answer the multiple choice questions that follow.
Extract 1
Take a look at this image on the top left here. It’s blurry right? It’s very blurry. And if you’ve never had… if you’ve never had the opportunity or pleasure of waking up one morning just to realize that your favourite novel, or your favourite newspaper, is out of focus, then let me tell you that day is coming. And it’s going to hit you hard. Because presbyopia, which is the age related loss of nearby vision, affects us all. Now there are currently two major treatment options for presbyopia. You could either purchase a pair of bifocals, which are essentially reading glasses, or you can go through surgery. Now surgery is… it’s expensive, it’s invasive, it’s bloody, it’s dangerous. And as you can tell from this image here, you could quite easily lose an eye. Now usually there’s a third treatment option, and that is a pharmaceutical or drug treatment. But unfortunately, that hasn’t been developed yet. And that’s where I come into play.
Extract adapted from YouTube transcript (University of Waterloo 2016)
Now, check the explanations below.
- use of image
Take a look at this image on the top left here. It’s blurry right? It’s very blurry.
- everyday example
And if you’ve never had… if you’ve never had the opportunity or pleasure of waking up one morning just to realize that your favourite novel, or your favourite newspaper, is out of focus, then let me tell you that day is coming. And it’s going to hit you hard.
- definition
Because presbyopia, which is the age related loss of nearby vision, affects us all.
- new point: treatments
Now there are currently two major treatment options for presbyopia. You could either purchase a pair of bifocals, which are essentially reading glasses, or you can go through surgery.
- new point: evaluation of treatment
Now surgery is… it’s expensive, it’s invasive, it’s bloody, it’s dangerous. And as you can tell from this image here, you could quite easily lose an eye.
- new point: third treatment
Now usually there’s a third treatment option, and that is a pharmaceutical or drug treatment. But unfortunately, that hasn’t been developed yet. And that’s where I come into play.
Task: Read the second extract and complete the gaps using the language in the list.
Extract adapted from YouTube transcript (University of Waterloo 2016)
Now, check the explanations below.
So to tell you a bit about how I’ve done this and about my project, let’s take a look inside the human eye.
(= inviting the audience to look at a visual and telling them what the purpose is)
So this image on the left here, is essentially a cross-section or human eye cut in half.
(= explaining the term in context)
And as you can see at the front of the human eye,
(= referring to a specific part of the visual)
there’s an oval structure known as the crystalline lens.
(= giving a definition, then the term)
Now how the crystalline lens works is if you bring a newspaper closer to your eyes, there’s a muscle around the crystalline lens that contracts.
(= explaining a cause–effect relationship)
Contraction of that muscle causes the lens to round. When the lens rounds, it increases the power of our eyes, so we can focus on those nearby objects.
(= explaining a cause–effect relationship)
The problem with this mechanism is as we get older, the crystalline lens actually gets stiffer, and our muscle gets weaker.
(= introducing a problem)
The combination of these two factors means that as we age, we lose the ability to focus on these nearby objects.
(= giving an explanation)
So you can kind of see how if it was possible to soften the crystalline lens in some way, then perhaps we can develop a treatment to presbyopia. So just keep that in mind for now okay?
(= cause-effect relationship as a hypothesis)
By now, you will have noticed that studying a presentation transcript reveals a great deal of information about signposting and functional language and its importance for communicating ideas effectively in presentations. You can now move on to the next page to continue working on the same presentation/transcript.