3.9 Self-Test F on paragraph building, cohesion & thematising

1.The need for effective planning of Sydney’s rural lands is becoming increasingly important as more and more agricultural properties are being lost to housing developments. 2.Although over 70% of the city’s vegetables and fruit are presently produced in the Sydney Basin, this figure has dropped from over 90% in the last five years with the closure of many market gardens. 3.If current trends continue, all the prime arable land ‘feeding’ the urban population will be lost by the year 2020. 4.Yet, ironically, the greater degree of urbanisation, the more need there is for a readily available supply of food. 5.Importing the necessary produce from more distant rural areas or from overseas may be seen as a solution, but this will place a heavy economic burden on Sydney’s citizens. 6.Nor is the problem confined to Sydney; it is an issue of concern to all large conurbations

Indicate whether the writer has achieved parallelism in the following Falses.

1. The theme in the first sentence establishes the topic of the problem of food shortages in Sydney.
a) True b) False

2. The idea in the subordinate clause is highlighted in sentence 2.
a) True b) False

3. The idea in the main clause is highlighted in sentence 3.
a) True b) False

4. The new information in sentence 4 is taken up as the theme in sentence 5.
a) True b) False

5. The theme on the second clause in sentence 5 is a long, complex noun group
a) True b) False

6. In sentence 6, ‘the problem’ refers just to the issue of importing food into Sydney.
a) True b) False


Score = /6
Correct answers:

Explanation to Self-Test F