One idea, four different jobs
Retrieve the connection you noticed
Use the two connected sentences you brought from Lesson 3, or the final two sentences of your revised proposal.
Read them aloud, then identify whether the writer needs contrast, exception, calibrated certainty or a judgement about an unrealised past possibility.
- Name the job before naming a grammar structure.
- If the sentences already do the job clearly, keep them. A plain sentence is a deliberate option.
Choose the discourse job described in each situation.
1. A writer wants to correct the belief that cost, rather than reliability, is the main concern.
2. A writer has a small, incomplete set of consultation responses.
A marked form is a decision, not decoration
A fictional briefing before any final project choice
What residents questioned was the reliability of the timetable, not the value of a public workspace. That distinction matters because a popular idea can still fail if people cannot plan around it.
The responses received so far appear to favour a limited trial, although they may underrepresent people who could not attend the meeting. Earlier notice might have brought more voices into the discussion; it would not have guaranteed enough volunteers.
Not only would repeated timetable changes inconvenience users, but they could also make attendance difficult to interpret. The group should therefore publish a stable trial schedule and announce how it will review both use and access. The evidence can then inform the choice; it cannot make the choice in advance.
Match each marked choice to the work it performs in the briefing.
Four gates before four structures
Choose by job, then check the form
| Discourse job | Structure and form | Gate before use |
|---|---|---|
| Locate a contrast | It is X that… or What… is X. | Can you name the rival? Put the main stress on the focused element. |
| Make an exceptional two-part claim | Not only + auxiliary + subject + verb, but… also… | Is the second point real and at least as important? Use a formal or oratorical register. |
| Calibrate certainty | appear to, may, probably, on the evidence available | Which exact part is uncertain? Hedge that part once, and state known facts plainly. |
| Evaluate a past alternative | modal + have + past participle | Do you mean possibility, deduction, regret or criticism? Do not turn the alternative into a fact. |
| No special job | A plain declarative sentence | Keep it plain. Range includes choosing not to mark a sentence. |
Do not spend two structures on one job.
What appears to be the main concern may perhaps be reliability. If the responses are incomplete, write Reliability appears to be the main concern. If a rival has been established, write What residents questioned was reliability, not the idea itself.
Not only might the schedule have been perhaps too late, but it also may have possibly reduced attendance. Separate the known event from the uncertain consequence: The schedule was published late. That delay might have reduced attendance.
Marked grammar increases the size or precision of a claim. It cannot replace evidence, and several marked forms do not automatically make a sentence more advanced.
Choose the structure that matches the intended job and evidence.
1. The rival is “cost”; the intended focus is “reliability”. Which sentence fits?
2. The meeting record confirms that notice was late, but its effect on attendance is unknown. Which version is best?
3. When is Not only… but also… earned here?
4. No rival, exceptional event, uncertainty or past evaluation is intended. What should the writer use?
Choose, build, or leave plain
Rewrite each prompt with the keyword. Keep the stated meaning; the note explains why the marked form is earned.
Residents questioned the timetable, not the idea of a public workspace. (name the rival) WHAT
Repeated changes would inconvenience users and make the attendance evidence harder to interpret. (the second consequence is larger) ONLY
The current responses favour a trial, but the sample is incomplete. (calibrate only the conclusion) APPEAR
Perhaps earlier notice brought more people into the discussion. We cannot know. (past possibility) MIGHT
The timetable was published on Tuesday. The record confirms this. (no special discourse job) WAS
It may possibly be what residents perhaps objected to that was the timetable. (one contrast, no uncertainty) IT
Repair each overloaded or misbuilt sentence. One is correct as written.
1. Not only repeated changes inconvenience users, but also confuse the evidence.
2. Earlier notice might have brought more people and therefore it brought a fairer sample.
3. It was perhaps the timetable that may have been the main concern. — the consultation identified the rival clearly
4. The responses appear to perhaps possibly favour a trial.
5. The published schedule contained three evening sessions. — correct as written
Give every structure a written reason
Structure-budget briefing
The neighbourhood forum needs a 130–160-word briefing before its multi-perspective discussion. No final project has been selected.
Revise the proposal paragraph saved in Lesson 3, using marked grammar only where you can state its discourse job.
- Plan for two minutes. List what is known, what remains uncertain, one genuine contrast and one relevant past alternative.
- Write for six minutes. Use one cleft if the rival is clear, one well-scoped hedge, and one modal perfect for a past alternative. An inversion is optional and must deliver a supported second point. Keep everything else plain.
- Audit for three minutes with a partner. Circle every marked form and write C, I, H or M beside it. Add its job in three to six words. Delete or simplify any form without a defensible job.
- Use two minutes to read the conclusion aloud. Pause before a concession, stress the focus of a cleft, and let a completed not only sequence fall at the end. Save the annotated version for Lesson 6.
Control is visible in the choices you remove
Choose the revision principle that protects the writer’s intended claim.
1. A correct inversion has no important second point. What is the best revision?
2. A modal perfect describes an uncertain past consequence. What must the next linked clause preserve?
3. What is the best evidence of B2 range in this task?
Add one item to the error log
Choose one marked form that you kept, changed or removed.
Record the original, the revision, its discourse job and the evidence that earns the final choice.
- Classify it as cleft, inversion, hedge, modal perfect or unnecessary marking.
- Bring the annotated paragraph and log to the comprehensive review in Lesson 6.
Carry meaning into the multi-perspective discussion
Exit ticket and informal input
Lesson 5 asks you to represent more than one stakeholder without flattening their positions.
Write one sentence stating your current position and one sentence showing what evidence could change it.
- Circle any marked structure and write its job beside it. Remove it if the job is unclear.
- Continue a short section of the unit’s 80,000 Hours episode or TED talk, using a transcript or captions where available. Note one place where the speaker stresses a contrast, completes a two-part claim, calibrates certainty or evaluates a past alternative.
- If access is unavailable, annotate the briefing from today. The lesson itself requires no network connection.