AEL5 Unit 5b Book

Do you remember? Unit 5a discussed some applications of electrolysis, one of which was extracting aluminium from the aluminium oxide found in bauxite. Some experts believe that electrolysis should even be used in steelmaking. Read the article on p. 36 of your coursebook (Bonamy, D. (2013). Technical English Level 4 Coursebook. Pearson Longman) to find out why. As you read, answer the questions in this task. Now, listen to recording 12 which comes with your book (alternatively, you can also read its transcript on pp. 120 and 121 in your coursebook. You will hear workshop participants discussing causes of carbon emissions from steelmaking. The possible causes are also depicted in the fishbone diagram in Task 2 on p. 36 in your coursebook.  However, it is not complete. As you listen, complete it by choosing the correct phrases from the list above the diagram and matching them to the correct numbers in this task. Then listen again and choose the correct connector in these cause-effect sentences.

How did you feel about the last task? Sometimes the proper use of cause-effect sentences may be tricky because it involves a bit of logic. Definitely, the cause and effect must not be confused and the order of cause and effect depends on the type of connector you use. For example, consider this sentence:

‘Further education has become more accessible for a wider range of people. As a result, an increasing number of people have degrees.’

1.         Why do more people have degrees? - This is because further education has become more accessible.

2.         What has happened because of the increasing accessibility of further education? - More people have degrees.

3.         What words connect the answers to (1) and (2)? - ‘as a result’

Based on the answers to the questions above, we can identify the cause, the effect and the connector:

The cause: Further education has become more accessible for a wider range of people.

The effect: An increasing number of people have degrees.

The connector: as a result

However, if the order of information in the sentence changed, the connector would have to be changed as well:

An increasing number of people have degrees because further education has become more accessible for a wider range of people.

As you can see, the ability to distinguish between a cause and effect is vital in order to make yourself understood. This grammar point is therefore going to be further practiced in the following section using a technical context.