Genre analysis – Page 2 – Esltips.com.au

Original: How people make matches.

Loggers cut down trees. They cut off all the branches and they leave logs. They haul the tree trunks to a wood mill on trucks. Workers at the wood mill process the logs into timber (they cut the logs into smaller pieces). Truck drivers transport the timber to a match factory. People at the match factory unload the wood and put it into a machine. The machine cuts the wood into very small pieces. Workers put the matchsticks into a machine which contains a chemical mix. The machine applies a small amount of this chemical to one end of each matchstick. This makes the head of the match.

Exercise 2

Find three things wrong with the text before showing the next answer

Ideas are poorly connected as there are too many short, disconnected sentences.
In texts which describe processes, it is normal to use phrases such as ‘firstly’, next and ‘following this’ to link ideas and indicate the order of steps in the process.
The Passive Voice is usually used to describe manufacturing processes and mechanical processes (see explanation on next page). A better title would be “How matches are made”. Use of the Passive Voice helps to link ideas and eliminate unnecessary subjects. For example, it is obvious that truck drivers drive trucks, and using the passive allows us to avoid repeatedly using subjects that are obvious.

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