WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS



FOLLOWING WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS

Written instructions are common in examinations and coursework. Students must be able to read them with understanding and not rely on lecturers explaining them. In the English course, if a student asks for a written instruction to be explained, the lecturer will not oblige, but will instead encourage the student to highlight the exact word or words in the instruction that are hard to understand.

To understand a written instruction, the first step is to look for verbs. This is because instructions are about actions to be carried out, and verbs are the normal way of expressing actions. An instruction verb is usually without an ending and can start a sentence, e.g. Write your name. Go back again. The tasks below all have the verbs in their instructions underlined.

The tasks aim to show you how much further work, if any, you need to do in order to understand instructions without difficulty.

TASK 1: Underline the instruction verbs in the following text, and then carry out the instructions. Your result will show how well you understood the instructions.

Think of a number between 0 and 10. Any number will do, but do not say what it is. Now in your mind double it, add 4 and divide the total by 2. Take away the number you first thought of. Then write down your answer and compare it with that of another student to see if they have the same number.

TASK 2: Underline the instruction verbs in the following puzzle instructions, and then do what they say.

Take a clean sheet of paper. In the top half draw three small squares in a horizontal line with 3-cm gaps between them. These represent houses. Number the houses from 1 to 3 (write the numbers inside the squares). Next, on the bottom half of the paper, draw a horizontal line of 3 small circles. These represent sources of gas, water and electricity. Write G inside one circle, W inside another, and E inside the third. Now from each circle draw three lines, one to each "house". Try to connect every circle to every house, but do not let any lines cross each other.

Not all instruction verbs can be used by themselves at the start of a sentence. A common alternative is to put them after certain “modal” verbs, like should.

TASK 3: Read the following examination question in order to discover what exactly needs to be written. Then carry out the instructions below it.

Imagine you are someone with a disability. After a period of 10 years of

successful employment with a major company, you have been made redundant.

Following 10 months out of work, you are now applying for new jobs. You have

successfully used Information Technology in your past employment, but your

experience since you have been out of work has shown you that prospective

employers are sometimes unwilling to invite you for interview, when they know

you have a disability. This gives you the following options when making out your

job application:

I. Declare your disability, and take the opportunity to explain how I.T. enables

you to carry out the job effectively

II. Do not mention your disability, hoping that once you get an interview you

will be able to explain both why you didn’t declare your disability on the

form, and how I.T. enables you to work.

Discuss the ethics of the two approaches described above, coming to a reasoned

conclusion about which approach you would use. You may suggest alternative

approaches, but your answer must include a discussion of the two alternatives given

above. You must also discuss the reasoning behind your final choice.

Instructions

1. Underline all of the instruction verbs in the question.

2. Circle ONE of your underlined verbs that is not an instruction to write something.

3. Draw a box around a word in the text that means the same as “approach(es)” in the last 4 lines.

In addition to recognising instruction verbs, an important requirement for following instructions is to KEEP READING RIGHT TO THE END. What difference do the bracketed parts of the following instruction (from Task 2) make to what is required?

In the top half draw three small squares (in a horizontal line) (with 3-cm gaps between them).

A fuller analysis of the need to read everything can be read on the “Guinlist” website: (“15. Reading Errors 8: Half-Read Sentences”).

TASK 4: The following question was misunderstood by more than half of a class because they did not read all of it (the unread part is underlined). Write answers to the questions about it.

Explain the procedure by which the reader of an essay might discover the title of a book from which a quotation in the essay has been taken.

1. Which ONE word in the question indicates the type of thing that must be explained?

2. What is the purpose of the procedure to be explained?

3. Which particular books are the question about?

TASK 5: Underline the instruction verbs in the following, and then carry out the instructions.

Copy and complete the sentences after the box by writing ONE suitable word in each space marked _______, and finishing with the words of the most suitable question from the box.

|QUESTIONS |

| |

|what changes occur in the brain at puberty |

|how much longer cash will be in use |

|whether humans are the only intelligent beings |

|why people take less exercise than before |

|how mosquito numbers might be controlled |

|whether elephants can resist becoming extinct |

|when a world government might be necessary |

|(h) what can be done to reduce global warming |

1. The discovery of new inhabitable planets _______ the question of ……

2. In view of recent weather extremes, it is _______ to consider ……

TASK 5: Put the following instructions into the correct order. Then write them out as a paragraph, adding any link words (e.g. "First", "After this") that might help.

HOW TO USE A COMPUTER AS A DICTIONARY

Wait for the definition of the word to appear

Open an Internet browser such as Internet Explorer

In the search box type the word you want to look up

Read the required information on the screen

Type in the box at the top of the screen

Switch on the computer

Click the mouse on the word “Search”

Press ENTER and wait for the dictionary website to be displayed

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