Curricular
Journalism and media: Hot off the press
2b Read the article again and answer the following questions. 1.What does the writer find upsetting in written English these days? The technical skill is that of creating clear and succinct sentences, which any profession should inculcate. This can be taught and should be part of any core curriculum. Its absence from so much of written English nowadays, from users’ manuals to student exam questions to government white papers, is deplorable. 2.What does the writer compare learning the technique of writing clear English to? Play the piano. 3.Which parts of speech did the writer’s subeditor like and which did he not like? 4.Where did the writer learn how to write clear English? The Times Newspapers. 5.What do the best journalists do when they meet an exciting person or visit a beautiful place? Communicate your experience through the written word. 6.What are the most important qualities for journalism? The qualities essential to journalism thus extend far beyond an ability to write. They are those of curiosity, an uninhibited mind, native cunning and an eagerness to communicate, summed up in the gift to narrate. 7.What is more important: a story or journalism? Story.
3.Which of the sub-editor’s rules does the following paragraph break?
It is interesting to see that the three key problems were punctuality, truancy and bad behaviour. Unfortunately, the police had to be called to the run-down state school on several occasions.
4.Find and underline adjectives in the text which mean the following:
1.based on opinions and feelings rather than on facts (paragraph A): Subjective 3.very bad (para. B): Deplorable 4.extremely useful (para. C): Invaluable 5.unnecessary (para. C): Superfluous. 6.carelessly expressed (para. D): Sloppy words.
9a Which of the verb patterns in Exercise 7 above do the following groups of verbs belong to?
a) likes or dislikes: I can’t stand listening. b) recommendations c) intentions: Try to imagine. d) thought
9b Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets in the correct form:
1. Working on a newspaper, I really enjoy seing (see) the publication process from start to finish. 2. The newspaper urged its readers not to vote (not vote) in the forthcoming European election. 3. The corporation will continue to bradcast (broadcast) controversial programmes. 4. With your health problems, you really need to consider not spending (not spend) seven days a week in the office. 5. The travellers were made to empty (empty) their bags on the airport tarmac. 6. Is everything OK with Kyle? He appears to be (be) rather short-tempered today. 7. The minister was criticised for not revealing (not reveal) the extent of the budget deficit. 8. Several paparazzi watched the two cars crash (crash) into each other and did nothing to help.
10 Use the correct verb pattern to complete sentences 1–9 in your own words. Then compare your sentences with those of a partner.
1.I don’t mind. +ing 2.My parents persuaded. to go 3.I promised. not to 4.Next year I really want. to 5.My parents always encouraged. to 6.I can’t stand. +ing 7.Once I blamed my friend. for… 8. I remember when I was a child. +ing 9.When you go out, you must remember. to.
Journalism and media: New Media
6a Match idioms 1–6 with their meanings (a–f). 1.keep a close eye on. d)monitor very carefully. 2.keep a low profile. e)avoid attracting attention to yourself. 3.keep an open mind. a)get all the facts before making a judgment. 4.keep your wits about you. b)stay alert. 5.keep your fingers crossed. f)hope for a positive outcome. 6.keep in with. c)stay friendly with.
6b Complete the gaps in the sentences with the idioms from Exercise 6a. 1.Try to keep in with the editor. He could help your career. 2.When you’re reporting from a war zone, you’ve got to keep your with about you. 3.We need to keep a close eye on this story. Things are changingfast. 4.Just keep your fingers crossed that we are the first ones to get this story. 5.It’s not clear yet if he’s guilty. We need to keep on open mind. 6.It will be hard to interview her. She tends to keep a low profile.
7a Look at the highlighted prepositional verbs in the article and complete the rule. Prepositional verbs are the combination of a verbs and a preposition.
7b Does the verb look have the same meaning in these sentences? If not, what changes the meaning? a)I haven’t had time to look at the news on the Internet. observe. b)Police are looking into the disappearance of two children. investigated. c)His dad left him here to look after the business while he’s away. to care.
7c Replace the words in bold with the correct form of prepositional verbs in the box.
1.Anyone who doubts the power of the social web only needs to observe the activity on Twitter. look at 2.How are you progressing at work? Getting on 3.A free microblogging service that started a few years ago, Twitter resembles an onscreen bulletin. Looks like. 4.An opportunity has arisen for a Twitter correspondent at Sky News. board. Come up. 5.I am resisting an urge to investigate Twitter in case it is as addictive as Facebook. Look into. 6.If Twitter ever suffers a catastrophic failure it cannot recover from, you will still be protected from any data loss. Get over. 7.We inspected the new office to see if the building was suitable. Looked round. 8.I’ve seen a really interesting anecdote on Twitter. I found it by chance. Came across.
8.Put the words in italics in the correct order. 1.The article looked like exactly on Tweet the blog a. The blog article looked like ona exactly the Tweet 3.The media fast-moving had dealing events the problems with. The media had problems with fast-moving the dealing events. 4.Would mind story you into looking this ? Would you mind looking into this story? 5 People accuse falsely of a lot of things the media.
9.Complete the text with prepositional verbs. Journalists need to be familiar with technical developments in the media. They shouldn’t just 1,look at/look round social networking sites, they need to use them because familiarity with the tools is important. They need to 2,look into their sources from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and any other type of social media source as carefully as they would verify traditional sources. They need to restrict access to private profile information that they don’t want the general public to 3.come across by chance. They need to manage their time efficiently and manage their friends on social networks so they can 4, ________ tweets, status updates and endless emails. Although blogging and tweets may 5,look like conversation, journalists must be mindful that they represent more than just themselves.
Grammar:
Underline the correct tense in sentences:
+Leave the dishes – I’ll / I’m goingo to do them for you if you like. +It’s already five to eight – you’re going to miss the train. +I think I’ll have a break now; I’m exhausted. +Shall I go and get a video for this evening? +Look out, you’re going to step on the cat!
Elegir la correcta:
+I can’t come tonight – I’m visiting my in-laws. +Next month, the National Theatre are putting on a new production of Hamlet. +I’m going to be a successful author one day. +According to the programme, the show starts at 9 o’clock prompt. +I’m going to John’s party on Saturday – do you want to come?
+This time tomorrow I’ll be lying on the beach sunbathing and drinking freshly squeezed fruit juice! +By next August, I will have finished my exams and I’ll be ready for a holiday. +Shall I take your letters to the post office? I’ll be going there anyway. +The work will be finished by next week so we’ll be free to do what we want. +By August, I will live in this house for twenty years.
+If the strike’s still on we’ll have to put off our trip till another time. +She kept me up till the early hours listening to pop music. +As children, we were brought up to respect our elders. +They shoul bring back corporal punishment at school, if you ask me. +I wish you’d stop chatting and get on with some work.
+I think that waiter overcharged us. What cheek! +You mustn’t overdo things – you need to work less and relax more. +I can’t get my laces andone. They’re in a knot. +The music on the radio did not displease him. He simply paid no attention to it. +This food is a bit undercooked – ask them to put ir back in the oven.
Vocabulario:
a kind: , premeditaded; planned in advance, baffled; completely condused and amazed, a raid; an attack or burglary, tinted; not transparent, a wheedbarrow; a truch with one whed, loot; stolen money, to vanish into thin air; to disappear without a trace, a wheelie bin; . a spokesperson; somebody who speak on behalhf of an organisation, a culprint; somebody who commits an offence.
Expressing contrast:
+Although she joined the company only a year ago, she has already been promoted twice. +Fast food is cheap while food in a proper restaurant is more expensive. +We went out despite the rain. +Although he was only twelve he could run faster than any other child in the class. +Even though they loved each other, they decided to part. +The children are very clever. However, they can be very noisy at times.
+I like holidays in the mountains, whereas my wife loves the seaside. +Despite public protests, the Government decided to build a road through the wood. +In spite of high prices, consumer goods are selling well. +She works in a hospital, while her husband is a taxi driver. +The economic situation has been quite difficult. However, it is getting better now. +Even though I dont really like going to football matches, it’ll be better than staying at home.
Extension 2
Underline the words: +There’s a time limit for completing this task. +Wine growers in Bordeaus recorded a bumper harvest this year. +I’d better update you on the latest developments. +1 recall learning about such thing in the dim and distant past. +1989 was a momentous year for Europe. +They all synchronised watches before setting off in different directions. +I whole-heartedly agree with everything you said. +I’m satisfied with your progress so far. +I think her performance was adversely affected by the behaviour of the crowd. +I’m passionately committed to the idea of equality of opportunity.
The following sentences: +Let’s leave it at that for the time being and continue tomorrow. +Slowly but surely the band is becoming more and more popular. +In the twinkling of an eye the swindler had vanished, never to return. +In next to no time thay had become the best of friends. +The Whittington family have lived there since time immemorial. +I arrived in the nick of time to prevent a potential disaster. +I wandered around the city centre to kill time before my appointment. +Cooking good French food can be a very time-consuming job. +They had a long-standing agreement to keep each other fully informed of developments. +In a matter of minutes the whole building had been razed to the ground.
Passive:
eats / is eaten
ate / was eaten
has eaten / has been eaten
had eaten / had been eaten
will eat / will be eaten
would eat / would be eaten
1: +Is broadcast. +Is being interviewed. +Has been charged. +Will be istalled. +Will have been elected. +Was paid. +Had been burgled. +Was being evacuated. +Will be introduced. +Are sold.
2: + +A lot of new schools… +He has just been arrested on suspicion of murder. +Will her new book be published next month? +The new motorway will have been completed by Christmas. +The house hasn’t been cleaned for weeks. +The water was cut off because Mr and Mrs Dizon hadn’t paid their bill. +The new supermarket is going to be opened next week. + +A lot og books on information technology are published…
Cover Letter:
a) Antes de escribir la carta de presentación, identifique los requisitos clave
b) Escribir una carta de presentación. Debe incluir: a. Su posición actual (estudiando, trabajando…). b. Tu formación académica. c. Su experiencia laboral relacionada con el puesto vacante. d. ¿Por qué es usted el candidato ideal? requisitos en el anuncio)
a) Before writing the cover letter, identify the key requirements.
b) Write a cover letter. It should include: a. Your current position (studying, working…). b. Your academic background. c. You working experience related to the job vacancy. d. Why are you the ideal candidate? (make reference to the key requirements in the advert)
1) Lea la introducción de un ejemplo de carta de presentación e identifique las siguientes partes:
a. Dónde vio u oyó acerca de la posición. b. Una breve reseña sobre la organización y sus objetivos. c. Cómo su experiencia concuerda con la posición. d. Cómo ayudará a la organización a alcanzar sus objetivos. e. Su objetivo: una entrevista
1) Read the introduction of an example of a cover letter and identify the following parts:
a. Where you saw or heard about the position. b. A brief background on the organization and its goals. c. How your experience matches the position. d. How you will help the organization achieve its goals. e. Your objective: an interview.
Ejemplo de CL:
Francisco Martín Rodero, 5 el Pozo / Encinas de Arriba (Salamanca),Spain, 37892 / 682889529 / franciscogezo222@gmail.com / March 21, 2018
Mr. Antonio Caño / Editorial Director / El País / 40 Miguel Yuste / Madrid, Spain, 28037
Dear Mr. Caño:
As a journalism student at the University of Valladolid I am interested in the position of editor at “El País”. My academic background fits perfectly with the requirements presented in the job offer.
My skills: driving license valid in the state, experience in computer programming in university environments and excellent interpersonal communication skills.
As a person I am hardworking, friendly and pleasant. I enjoy teamwork and would be honored to report for your award-winning newspaper and work with your talented team of writers and editors.
Thank you so much for reviewing my CV. I look forward to receiving your call to arrange a job interview and find out.
Sincerely,
Francisco Martín Rodero