Graduate Diploma Reading & Writing Spring Term Session 9 Data Commentary Writing Practice Mini-tutorials

Probability Can you continue these sentences so that they are true? It is certain that… It is almost certain that… It is very probable / highly likely that… It is possible that… It is unlikely that… It is very / highly unlikely that… There is a definite possibility that… There is a strong possibility that… There is a good possibility that… There is a slight possibility that… There is little possibility that…

Distance Grade these claims from strongest (1) to weakest (5): a)The factory seems to have benefited from the recent technology upgrade. b)It seems that the factory has benefited from the recent technology upgrade. c)It has been said that the factory seems to have benefited from the recent technology upgrade. d)The factory has benefited from the recent technology upgrade. e)The factory appears to have benefited from the recent technology upgrade.

You can also create distance with expressions like these: Based on the limited data available… In the view of some experts… According to this preliminary study… Based on an informal survey of nine departmental managers…

You can also employ generalization. Underline the generalizations in the following statements: Children living in poverty tend to have a history of health problems. Many children living in poverty have a history of health problems. The majority of children living in poverty have a history of health problems. In most parts of the world children living in poverty have a history of health problems.

You can also employ generalization. Underline the generalizations in the following statements: Children living in poverty tend to have a history of health problems. Many children living in poverty have a history of health problems. The majority of children living in poverty have a history of health problems. In most parts of the world children living in poverty have a history of health problems.

Source of VirusPercentage attachments Disks from home Disks (other) Unknown Download (from internal or external sources) Distribution CD Disk (sales demo) Automated software distribution Disk (shrink-wrapped) Disk (from manager) Malicious person Browsing WWWD Disk (from repair person) Total survey respondents 87% 4% 2% 1% <1% 0% 299 Source: Data from ICSA Labs Computer Virus Prevalence Study. Note: Because respondents to the survey have indicated more than one means of infection, the totals exceed 100% What’s the title of this table?

Source of VirusPercentage attachments Disks from home Disks (other) Unknown Download (from internal or external sources) Distribution CD Disk (sales demo) Automated software distribution Disk (shrink-wrapped) Disk (from manager) Malicious person Browsing WWWD Disk (from repair person) Total survey respondents 87% 4% 2% 1% <1% 0% 299 Source: Data from ICSA Labs Computer Virus Prevalence Study. Note: Because respondents to the survey have indicated more than one means of infection, the totals exceed 100% Table 5 Source of Computer Virus Infections

Now read this commentary on the data: A computer virus is a program that is specifically and maliciously designed to attack a computer system, destroying data. 2. As businesses have become increasingly dependent on computers, , and the Internet, concern over the potential destructiveness of such viruses has also grown. 3. Table 5 shows the most common sources of infection for US businesses. 4. As can be seen, in a great majority of cases, the entry point of the virus infection can be detected, with attachments being responsible for nearly 9 out of 10 viruses. 5. This very high percentage is increasingly alarming, especially since with a certain amount of caution such infections are largely preventable. 6. In consequence, users should be wary of all attachments, even those from a trusted colleague or a known sender. 7. In addition, all computers used for need to have a current version of a good antivirus program whose virus definitions are updated regularly. 8. While it may be possible to lessen the likelihood of downloading an infected file, businesses are still vulnerable to computer virus problems because of human error and the threat of new, quickly spreading viruses that cannot be identified by antivirus software.

a)Where does the data commentary actually start? b)What are the purposes of sentences 1 and 2? c)What features of this text make it look like academic English? d)Which sentence contains the author’s key point? e)The author has chosen to comment only on attachments. Why? Do you think this is enough? If not, what else should be discussed? f) attachments constitutes 87% of the total. In sentence 4, this is expressed as “nearly 9 out of 10”. What do you think about this and about the following alternatives? about 90% just under 90% as much as 87% of all nearly all