WEEK 8: IDENTIFYING STEPS/STAGES IN A PROCESS

TEXT ORGANIZATION 1: LISTING, PROCESS AND PASSIVE VOICE

Objectives:
1. To list relevant points in the appropriate category
2. To identify signals/clues that indicate listing
3. To list steps based on the correct order
4. To identify signals/clues that indicate processes
5. To distinguish active from passive sentences

1. Listing

One of the most common means of relating ideas is by listing them – in

other words, by taking items that refer to the same general idea and arranging
them one after the other. In its loosest form, listing can be a simple list of any
number of related items – for example, a list of adjectives used to describe some
object. However, there are some signal words that the writer uses to show listing.

The following are possible common signals to show listing:

And
first, second, third, last …
firstly, secondly, thirdly, finally…
parallel structures, e.g. adjective…., adjective…, and adjective…

Sample Passage 1

Human blood serves the body in three important ways. First, blood
carries substances needed to maintain and repair the body tissues. In this
way, blood serves as a provider. Second, blood also serves as a disposer,
since it carries wastes and gases away from the tissues of the body. In
5 addition, blood acts as a defender. The white corpuscles in the
bloodstream constantly guard against and try to destroy bacteria and other
agents that threaten the body’s welfare.

In the sample passage above, the topic sentence/main idea of the passage is:
Human blood serves the body in three important ways, with three important ways
as its controlling idea. The writer lists these three important ways by using the
signal words: First (line 1), Second (line 3), In addition (line 4).

Main Idea: Human blood serves the body in three important ways.
1) as a provider: carry substances needed to maintain and repair the
body tissues
2) as a disposer: carry wastes and gases away from the tissues of the
body
3) as a defender: guard against and try to destroy bacteria and other
threatening agents

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If the writer wants to change the order by putting “as a defender” first, “a provider”
second, and “a disposer” last, there is no significant difference since this is only a
matter of ordering. The case will be different if it involves process (will be
discussed in the later section).

Sample Passage 2
Food is a basic need of all living organisms. It provides the
materials they need to build their own tissues and to grow. It provides the
chemical substances vital for all the interconnected chemical changes of
an organism’s metabolism, and the energy needed to make these
5 changes take place. Food also provides animals with energy for
movement and, in the case of warm-blooded animals, for maintaining their
body temperature.

In the sample passage above, the writer does not use explicit signal words to
indicate the listing, but s/he uses a parallel structure “It provides (line 1), It
provides (line 2), Food also provides (line 4)”.Thus, the sample passage above
can be summarized as follows:

Main Idea/Topic Sentence: Food is a basic need of all living organisms.

Controlling idea: a basic need
Details:
1) provide materials to build tissues and grow
2) provide chemical substances for metabolisms and energy for chemical
changes
3) provide energy for movement and for maintaining body temperature

Exercises 1
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.
1)
Many uncertainties have been sprouting up in corn production.
Researchers and producers have been wondering whether precision
agricultural technologies can improve crop yield and quality or reduce their
variability. Farmers have been asking a number of questions from which
5 hybrid they should plant for best yield and quality to whether applying
nitrogen fertilizer at a uniform rate produces a better crop outcome, and if
it does not, what nitrogen fertilization strategy produces a better crop in
yield and quality.
2)
A number of scientists have been attempting to answer those
10 questions by investigating the potential impact of precision nitrogen
management on corn yield, protein content and test weight in a new
study.
3)
Precision agriculture is defined as the usage of available
technology to develop custom management of soil and crops to fit specific
15 conditions of a small area that is within a larger unit, such as a field. This
practice has revolutionized modern farming by allowing farmers to choose
the best management strategy at a specific time and place in their fields. It
has the potential to increase agricultural resource use efficiency, reduce
environmental contamination, and maintain or increase crop yield. Corn
20 farmers use this application by varying the rate of fertilizer depending on
differences in potential crop yield, soil type and landscape features across

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 the field. As grain markets shift to a greater emphasis on ethanol, more
attention is being directed to optimizing grain quality, where traditionally
the emphasis was on quantity. The significant variability of abundance in a
25 given area and abundance over a period of time in crop yield and grain
quality has not influenced use efficiency or profit of products made from
the crops, but made it difficult for farmers to get premium prices for their
products.

Answer the following questions based on the passage above.

1. Read Paragraph One.
a. Name two things that people do when they face uncertainty.


b. List three questions that farmers have been asking.



c. What markers does the writer use to show that there is a list of
questions?

d. Look at the word ‘uncertainties’ (line 1)
 What is the root for this word?
 What affixes does it get?
 What are the meanings of the affixes?
e. Write down two examples of noun phrases in line 1.


f. Write down four examples of noun clauses in Paragraph One.




g. Can you guess the meanings of the following words from the context?
 reduce (line 3)
 yield (line 8)
h. What do the following words refer to?
 they (line 5)
 it does not (line 7)
2. Read Paragraph Two
a. List three potential impacts that precision nitrogen management has
on corn.



b. What does ‘those questions’ (line 9-10) refer to?

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3. Read Paragraph Three
a. What is precision agriculture?

b. How many potentials does precision agriculture have? What are

they? Does the writer use certain signals to show the list of
potentials?



c. Name three factors that make corn farmers have to vary the rate of
fertilizer.



d. Find the following words and identify what they refer to.
 This practice (line 14-15)
 It (line 16)
 this application (line 20)
 their (line 27)
e. Refer to Paragraph Three and identify the parts of speech of the
following words:
 place (line 17)
 shift (line 22)
4. The following sentences are taken from the passage above. Can you
identify the tenses used in the following sentences? Why do you think the
writer uses such a specific tense? If you have not reviewed some of the
tenses in Unit 1, try to make some guesses.

a. Farmers have been asking a number of questions… (line 4).

b. This practice has revolutionized modern farming… (lines 15-16).
c. It has the potential to increase agricultural resource … (lines 17-18).
d. Corn farmers use this application… (line 19-20).
e. … traditionally the emphasis was on quantity. (lines 23-24).

2. Process

As stated earlier, there is another text organization that looks like “listing”
but it describes a fixed order. This organization is a “process” type, which mainly
describes continuous processes, consisting of events occurring one after the
other, or simultaneously, in sequences, stages and cycles.

The following are possible common signals to indicate processes:

Before When On + V-ing Subsequently Finally
Prior to As soon as During Later
First While After Afterwards
Initially At this stage Next Until
As Meanwhile Then Eventually

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Sample Passage
In processing coffee using a wet processing technique, the fresh
fruit is first pulped by a pulping machine. Some pulp still clings to the
coffee, however, and this residue is removed by fermentation in tanks. The
few remaining traces of pulp are then removed by washing. The coffee
5 seeds are then dried to a moisture content of about 12 per cent either by
exposure to the sun or by hot-air driers. If dried in the sun, they must be
turned by hand several times a day for even drying.

Based on the passage above, there are four different stages of the wet
processing technique:
(i) pulping
(ii) fermentation
(iii) washing
(iv) drying

The passage above states four different stages but only three of them are
signaled explicitly, using the markers “first” (line 1), “then” (line 4), “then” (line 4).

Structural Point
Passive Voice

In Unit 1 you have reviewed seven of the twelve existing tenses. Those seven
tenses you have learned in Unit 1 can be summarized as follows:

Active Sentences (with VERB)

Past Present Future

Simple S + V2 S + V1(+s/es) S + will + V1

Progressive S + was/were + V-ing S + am/is/are + V-ing

Perfect S + had + V3 S + has/have + V3

Perfect
Progressive

The seven tenses above can appear in either active or passive form. The main
difference is that the passive form will always have a component of BE + V3. The
summary of the passive form of the seven tenses can be summarized as follows:

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 Passive

Past Present Future

Simple S + was/were + V3 S + am/is/are + V3 S + will + be + V3

Progressive S + was/were + being + S + am/is/are + being +

V3 V3

Perfect S + had + been + V3 S + has/have + been +

V3

Perfect
Progressive

Exercises 2
Refer to the previous passages and identify the passive sentences.
1. Passage in Exercise 1 (line 11)
2. Passage in Exercise 1 (line 20)
3. Sample passage about coffee processing in the previous page.

Exercises 3
Change the following active sentences into passive forms.
1. Corn farmers use precision agricultural technologies in their farms.
2. Scientists are investigating the potential impact of precision nitrogen
management.
3. Has nitrogen fertilizer produced a better crop outcome?
4. Traditionally grain markets gave more emphasis on quantity.
5. The researchers were preparing some equipment in the laboratory.
6. Two scientists had modernized soap production.
7. Can precision agricultural technologies improve crop yield and quality?

Exercises 4
Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

1)
While washing your hands, have you ever wondered what
materials are in a bar of soap and why it cleans? Mary Kearns, a soap
maker in Falls Church, Virginia near Washington, creates soaps that
contain inventive combinations of herbs and essential oils. She uses
5 organic and fairly traded ingredients, and she takes great care to operate
her business in a way that is environmentally friendly.
2)
One way to learn more about soap-making is to watch Mary
Kearns at work. She shows us the ingredients she will use. They include
water into which she has dissolved lye, or sodium hydroxide. She warns
10 that working with lye can be dangerous because it burns the skin. She
makes sure to wear special protective glasses and gloves when making
soap.

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 3)
Oil is the other important ingredient in soap. Different oils give soap
different properties. For example, olive oil makes a harder soap, while
15 coconut oil makes a soap that produces suds. Ms. Kearns uses organic
coconut oil, or all organic oils. And the palm kernel oil is organic and
sustainably harvested.
4)
Once the ingredients have been gathered and measured, the basic
ingredients are mixed together. First, she adds the water and lye solution
20 little by little to a large pot of heated oil. Then, she uses an electric blender
to mix the oils with the lye and water. When the soap has reached “trace”,
it means the liquid soap has come to a point where it will not separate
back into oil and water. She then adds exact measurements of herbs or
flowers and essential oils. She adds the dried herbs and flowers for looks
25 and texture. The essential oils give the soap its intense smell. However,
not all of her soaps contain essential oils because some people’s skin is
too sensitive for essential oils, so Ms. Kearns also makes soaps that have
no intense smell. In fact, about half of her soaps have no added essential
oils. This is for people with very sensitive skin, or for those who want to
30 avoid essential oils for any reason.
5)
Next, she pours the liquid soap into wooden mold forms. The forms
make small rectangular soaps or large bricks of soap. Ms. Kearns puts
paper on top of the molds. She lets them sit for a day or two in a warm
place so the soap can dry and harden. Later, she takes the soap out of the
35 mold and places it in a storage area to cure or dry for four to six weeks.
This curing process permits water to evaporate from the soap. The soap
soon becomes firmer which helps it last longer.

A. Complete the following outline based on the passage above.

How to make soap

Ingredients:

Procedure:

B. Write T if the following statement is True or F if it is False based on

the passage above.

1. Mary Kearns owns a soap business.

2. Lye and sodium hydroxide are two different chemicals.
3. There are three basic ingredients needed to make soap.
4. The first step in making soap is heating the oil in a large pot.
5. The hardness of the soap depends on the quantity of herbs and flowers
added to the ingredients.
6. Herbs and flowers are not basic ingredients to make soap.
7. Essential oil is one of the most important ingredients in soap.
8. The liquid soap needs a warm place to harden.
9. According to the passage it takes a few days to make a hard soap.
10. Evaporating the water in the soap makes it last longer.

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C. Study the following sentences taken from the passage. If they are
active, change them into passive, and if they are passive, change
them into active.

1. Mary Kearns creates different kinds of soap.

2. She is wearing special protective glasses and gloves.
3. The ingredients have been gathered and measured.
4. The basic ingredients are mixed together.
5. Blending will not separate oil and water.
6. She pours the liquid soap into wooden mold forms.

D. Focus on grammar

1. Find 2 examples of Noun Clauses in Paragraph One, and 1 example of

Noun Clause in Paragraph Two.

2. Identify the parts of speech of the following words and write down their
base forms.

Word Part of Speech Base form

a. inventive (line 3)
b. combinations (line 3)
c. environmentally (line
5)
d. friendly (line 5)
e. dangerous (line 9)
f. sustainably (line 14)
g. solution (line 16)
h. harden (line 30)

3. Identify the referents of the following words:

a. it (line 2) d. This (line 25)
b. they (line 7) e. those (line 25)
c. that (line 24)

4. Find the markers that indicate processes.

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 Exercises for Tutorial Classes
(UNIT 6)

A. Exercise 1

Read the following passage

There are many different kinds of plants. Do you know that there are
plants that can kill and eat insects? It may sound very strange but it is true.
There are plants that use clever ways to trap insects from their found
and it’s called the pitcher plants. The pitcher plant is common insects eating
5 plant in many countries. This plant has a clever trap-shaped like a pitcher
or jug. The pitcher is covered with a sweet, sticky substance. When insect
come, they crawl into the pitcher and drink the honey that found at the
bottom. At this stage insect cannot climb out of the pitcher. It’s because the
inner wall of the pitcher is covered with fine hairs that point downwards.
10 Finally, they die inside it and the plant digests their body and absorbs the
insect as a food.
There is also the story of a giant flesh-eating plant in South America.
They say that the branches of this plant spread out like arms. Sometimes
an animal strikes against these branches. The branches quickly fold around
the animal and crush it to death.

A. Choose the best answer based on the text above.

1. The topic sentence of this text is stated in?

A. The first sentence C. The third sentence
B. The second sentence D. The fourth sentence

2. Why this plant called “the pitcher plant”?

A. Because the leaves are covered with fine hairs tipped with droplets of
fluids
B. Because it has a clever trap-shaped like a pitcher or jug
C. Because there are small green bladders
D. Because it has long leaves surrounded by sensitive hairs

3. What will happen in the first stage when an insect come to this plant?
A. The droplets of a golden fluid attract the plant’s prey
B. The edges of the leaf tend to curl over towards the insects
C. Insect crawl into the pitcher and drink the honey
D. Insect touched the sensitive hairs in the digestive glands

4. What is the main idea of paragraph 2?

A. The insect will alight on the plant
B. The process of how the pitcher plant eat
C. The insect will swim inside the plant
D. The function of the plant

5. The word ‘also’ in line 12 shows ...........................

A. contrast C. listing
B. process D. example

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B. Using information in paragraph 2, complete this diagram to show the
process of how the pitcher plant eats an insect. Please write the marker
as well.

an insect comes¹

(marker : _________________ )

2.

(marker : _________________ )

3.

(marker:___________________ )

4.

Exercise 2

¹ Cotton is a shrubby plant that is a member of the Mallow family. Its

name refers to the cream-colored fluffy fibers surrounding small
cottonseeds called a boll. The small, sticky seeds must be separated from
the wool in order to process the cotton for spinning and weaving. Cotton is
5 grown in fields, a long way from the processing plant.
² The manufacture of cotton cloth is a complex process involving many
highly skilled workers and each performing a particular critical step in the
overall process. The cotton making process begins with harvesting. Once
cotton is harvested, it is cleaned and separated from the seeds in a
10 process called ginning. This is done mechanically via machines created by
Eli Whitney. Such a machine helps to make the cotton process from
harvest to usage go much faster. Cotton gin is then wrapped up into bales
for further processing into materials. The cotton is then yarned and sold as
pieces of material to make cloths and other garments.
15 ³ Cotton fabric alone accounts for fully half of the fiber worn in the
world. It is a comfortable choice for warm climates in that it easily absorbs
skin moisture. Cotton is planted annually by using the seeds found within
the downy wool. The states that primarily cultivate cotton are located in
the "Cotton Belt," which runs east and west and includes parts of
20 California, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
Tennessee, and Texas, which alone produces nearly five million bales.
Together, these states produce approximately 16 million bales a year,
second only to China.
25 4The cotton plant is a source for many important products other than
fabric. Among the most important is cottonseed, which is pressed for

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 cottonseed oil, used in commercial products such as salad oils and snack
foods, cosmetics, soap, candles, detergents, and paint. The hulls and meal
are used for animal feed. Cotton is also a source for cellulose products,
30 fertilizer, fuel, automobile tire cord, pressed paper, and cardboard.

A. Answer the following questions briefly.

1. What is the topic of paragraph One?

2. What should be performed before the spinning and weaving process?
3. What is a boll in line 3?
4. What does the word ‘Its’ in line 1 refer to?
5. What is a ‘plant’ in line 5?
6. Is that is a member of the Mallow family (line 1) a noun clause?
7. What is the controlling idea of paragraph Two?
8. What is the text organization of paragraph Two?
9. What are the markers that support your answer in no 6?
10. How many noun clauses can you find in paragraph 3?
11. When will cotton fabric be a good choice?
12. What is meant by the ‘Cotton Belt’ in line 19?
13. What is the text organization of paragraph 4?
14. What are the markers that support your answer in no.10?
15. Is the topic sentence of Paragraph Four a statement of Intent or Opinion?

B. What is the part of speech of the following word (s)?

16. shrubby in line 1 ______________ 19. cultivate in line 18 ___________

17. plant in line 5 ______________ 20. nearly in line 22 ____________
18. skilled in line 7 ______________ 21. pressed in line 26 __________

C. Based on paragraph Two, arrange the following activities to show the

manufacture of cotton cloth. Write A, B, C only.

A. wrapping B. selling C. cleaning D. material processing

E. harvesting F. yarning H. ginning

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Exercise 3

A. Read the following text, and chose the best choice (A, B, or C) to
complete the text.

Yogurt is classified as a dairy product that (1.A.makes B. made C. is made)

by blending fermented milk with different ingredients that gives flavor and color.
The possible origin of yogurt is (2. A. says B. saying C. said) to be from Middle
line East, Turkey, or Iran. In 1900, Dr. Ilya Metchnikoff (3. A. sets B. set C. was set)
5 apart bacillus cultures that was used for making yogurt. In 1925, the first modern
yogurt plant (4. A. discovered B. was discovered C. was discovering) and in
1970s yogurt (5. A. gained B. was gaining C. was gained) an increasing (6. A.
popular B. popularity C. popularize) in the United States.
In the production of yogurt, cream, milk or skim milk is cultured with two
10 bacteria; namely, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Strptococcus thermophilus.
Sometimes, yogurt (6.A.treats B. is treating C. is treated) with heat after it has
been cultured in order to get rid of viable organisms and their extended shelf-life.
(7. A. Generation B. General C. Generally), there are three categories of
yogurt: first, firm yogurt which is also called set-style: just as the name implies, (8.
15 A.it B. its C. they) is a firm gel in a pack and it is consumed with a spoon.
Second, stirred yogurt: the gel (9. A. has B. has been C. have been) dissolved,
cooled, and packaged after coagulation. Finally, drinkable yogurt: this is similar to
stirred yogurt; the only (10.A.differ B. different
C. difference) is that it has been homogenized and reduced to liquid before
20 filling.
The composition of commercial yogurt includes fat which is about 0 to 3.5%,
milk solid non-fat (8.25-14%), sugar (0-10%), and stabilizer (0-2%). There are
different types of commercial yogurt, covering non-fat yogurt, 99% fat free, low-fat
yogurt, and whole milk which is just plain yogurt.

B. Indicate whether each of the following statement is TRUE or FALSE according to

the passage above.

11. The topic of the above passage is the classification of yogurt.

12. The basic ingredient of yogurt is milk.
13. Yogurt was fairly widespread in the U S soon after its first making.
14. The word ‘increasing’ in line 6 is a verb.
15. After cultured with Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Strptococcus thermophilus, all kinds of
yogurt need to be heated.
16. According to paragraph Two, there are two steps to produce all kinds of yogurt.
17. The controlling idea of paragraph three is three categories.
18. The word ‘their’ in line 12 refers to viable organisms.
19. The text organization of paragraph Three is mostly process.
20. Both ‘that gives flavor and color’ (in line 2) and ‘that it has been homogenized
and reduced to liquid’ (in line 17) are NOUN clauses.
21. Yogurt is divided into three categories according to its raw material.
22. Suffix ‘-able’ in the word “drinkable” (line 17) means ‘can be’.
23. The verb to ‘get rid of’ in line 12 can be best replaced by to ‘keep’.
24. The biggest composition found in all commercial yogurt is non-fat solid milk.
25. There are commercially three types of yogurt: non-fat, low-fat, and whole milk.

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C. Answer the following questions briefly (no more than TWO words)

26. The word “after” in line 11 is used as a marker for ________________________.

27. The word “Finally” in line 17 is use as a marker for _______________________.
28. The part of speech of the word “cultured” in line 9 is a/an _________________.
29. The word set-style in line 14 means __________________________________.
30. The topic of the last paragraph is _____________________________________.

D. Based on paragraph One, write the chronology of how yogurt was found and
became popular in the following table.

Time The occurrence

bacillus cultures were set apart

Exercise 4

There are a number of reasons why animals should not be kept in captivity.
This is wrong because zoos are often unsanitary and the animals suffer
unnecessary pain and suffering because they easily become sick and die. In
many cases zoos do not have effective breeding programes and they actually
5 contribute to the decline in numbers of certain endangered species. Moreover,
in many countries zoos have become less and less popular because of the
influence of natural history programmes on television.

A. Answer the following questions briefly

1. What is the topic sentence of the above text?

2. What are the controlling ideas?
3. How many reasons does the text mention?
4. What is the text organization of the text?
5. What are the signal words that show the text oraganization?
6. What does the word “this” in line 2 refers to?
7. What word in the paragraph that has the same meaning as “extinct”?
8. What is the part of speech of the word ‘endangered’ in line 5?
9. What does the prefix ‘un’ in the word ‘unnecessary’ in line 3 mean?
10. What does the word ‘they’ in line 3 refer to?

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