Where did your reader have to guess?
Retrieve your own writing
Take the review note you wrote in Lesson 2. The main project is still open; the shared principle is a stable trial followed by an announced review.
Read your note to a partner without explaining it first. Ask them to identify its claim, reason and condition.
- Speak within the first minute. If you have no previous note, give a two-sentence summary of Mara and Ivo’s common ground.
- Underline one pronoun or linking expression in your note. Ask what it refers to or connects.
- Save any place where the listener had to guess. You will repair one of those places later in this lesson.
The same proposal, two reading experiences
Draft A · An intentionally unclear classroom draft
The organisers contacted volunteers and residents. They were worried about this. The timetable was published late, however people needed time to plan. We should have asked earlier. This would help. Although the trial is affordable, we should use it because it is affordable. We will count visits. Therefore, everybody will benefit.
We have not selected a main project. The workshop succeeded. Next month we could begin collecting evidence. This proves our decision was right.
Draft B · A revised proposal, not a report of real results
Before selecting a main project, the organisers should check whether volunteers can cover a dependable timetable. In this fictional scenario, the organisers published a provisional schedule late. Residents therefore had little time to plan. Earlier consultation might have prevented that problem; it would not, by itself, have guaranteed enough volunteers.
We propose a limited trial because it would let us investigate demand without making a permanent commitment. Although a trial would limit the initial cost, affordability alone would not establish its value. We should record attendance and ask users what they achieved. Conversations with non-users could also help us identify obstacles to access.
The review should connect that evidence to the project’s purpose. For example, a busy study room would not necessarily be useful if visitors could not complete their tasks. If the evidence supports the intended benefit, the group could consider continuing. Otherwise, it should explain what needs to change before making another commitment.
Compare how the drafts guide a reader. Diagnose the problem rather than simply preferring the longer version.
1. Why is “They were worried about this” difficult in Draft A?
2. What does the affordability sentence in Draft A fail to establish?
3. Why is “The workshop succeeded” unsuitable at this point?
4. How does Draft B improve the final judgement?
Four decisions a reader cannot make for you
Consolidate the B2 tools
| Decision | Useful pattern | Reader check |
|---|---|---|
| Which idea is being carried forward? | The schedule appeared late. This delay reduced preparation time. | Does the noun after this name the intended idea? |
| What is the relationship? | Because staffing is uncertain, we need a trial. Although the space is cheap, staffing remains uncertain. | Does the link express a reason, concession, contrast or result that the content supports? |
| What grammatical form follows the link? | Because volunteers are unavailable… / Because of staff shortages… / Despite the shortage… | A clause has a subject and verb; a noun phrase is not a complete clause. |
| What time and certainty are intended? | Earlier consultation might have helped. A trial could help now. | Are a past possibility, a current proposal and an observed result kept distinct? |
Sentence boundaries matter. The space is affordable. However, staffing is uncertain. Two complete clauses can also be joined with a semicolon before however. A comma alone does not make that join in standard edited prose. By contrast, Although the space is affordable, staffing is uncertain forms one sentence with a dependent clause.
A linker identifies a relationship; it cannot create evidence for a conclusion. Ten visits do not automatically mean ten successful outcomes.
Choose the wording that preserves the stated meaning and gives the reader a grammatical connection.
1. Staff shortages are the reason for a shorter timetable. Choose the correct noun-phrase pattern.
2. A low cost is a benefit, but staffing is a limitation. Choose the accurate contrast.
3. Which version correctly connects two complete clauses in edited prose?
4. No one knows whether earlier consultation would have solved the problem. Choose the accurate retrospective judgement.
Reference and prosody · Three minutes
Take one sentence from Draft B containing this, that, it or otherwise.
Explain exactly what the word carries forward, then read the sentence and its context with clear thought groups.
- Your listener points to the antecedent or alternative you intend.
- Rewrite only if a reader could reasonably choose a different referent. Keep a clear pronoun when repetition would add no value.
Choose the link; check the whole chain
Select the expression that fits both the grammar and the stated relationship. Read the completed mini-argument before checking.
The group needs a realistic timetable. It cannot open every evening several volunteers work late. this limitation, a Saturday session may still be feasible. The team has not yet checked demand; , it should avoid promising that the room will be full. It can make a more informed decision it has compared attendance with feedback about completed tasks.
Restore the order of this review paragraph. Follow the opening proposal, its two measures, the limit of the first measure, and the concluding condition.
- The second measure would address this limitation by asking what visitors managed to do.
- The first measure would show how many people came to use the room.
- If both measures support the intended benefit, we could consider continuing the project.
- We propose two measures for the trial: attendance and reports of completed tasks.
- That number alone, however, would not show whether the visits were useful.
Edit for a reader who missed the discussion
Editorial task · Preserve the writer’s position
A forum member will read your proposal without seeing either essay. Your job is to make its reasoning self-sufficient.
Produce a coherent 120–150-word proposal paragraph, starting from your Lesson 2 note or a position from today’s input.
- Plan for two minutes: identify the main claim, one reason, one limitation and a condition for continuing. Do not invent a final choice by Mara and Ivo.
- Write for six minutes. Use precise reference, two logical relationships, and time forms that distinguish the proposed trial from earlier possibilities. Retrieve one B2 emphasis or hedging pattern only where it helps the message.
- Peer-review for three minutes: underline a claim, draw arrows from references to their antecedents, and label each connection. Check a sentence boundary near however, if present.
- Use two minutes to revise and read aloud. Success means the listener can restate the proposal, its reason and its condition without asking what this or they means. Save both versions for Lesson 6.
A repair should change the reader’s experience
Choose the revision principle that addresses the actual problem.
1. A reader cannot tell whether they refers to volunteers or residents. What is the most direct repair?
2. A paragraph says the trial might help, then concludes it has already succeeded. What needs repair?
Update the error log
Choose one sentence you revised during the editorial task.
Record the original, the revision and a one-sentence explanation of how the reader benefits.
- Classify the issue as reference, logical relationship, sentence boundary, or time/certainty.
- Add a second category only if the sentence really involved both. Bring the log to Lesson 6.
Notice a connection you could borrow
Exit ticket and informal input
Continue the unit’s accessible 80,000 Hours episode and TED talk on futures.
Write a claim and a qualified conclusion in two connected sentences before leaving.
- Outside class, use a short section of the episode and talk, with transcript or captions where available. Keep the title, speaker and date.
- Find one reference chain or logical link. Record the idea it connects to, not only the linking word.
- Say a short paraphrase aloud, using a pause or emphasis to show the relationship. Bring it to Lesson 4.
- If access is unavailable, use a paragraph from today’s revised proposal and arrange an accessible listening sample with your teacher. The lesson itself needs no network connection.