FocusonSynonymsandAntonymsTASKS
VocabularyDevelopment–SynonymsandAntonyms
Usingsynonymsandantonymskeepsyourwritinginteresting,
helpsinparaphrasingargumentandinkeepingyourownwriting
cohesive.Dorememberhowever,thatsynonymmeanssimilar
inmeaningnotthesame.Also,wordsmayhaveasimilar
meaningbutbeusedindifferentgrammaticalconstructions,
havedifferentcollocationsand/orhavedifferentconnotations.
Synonymsforsay/argueSayandarguearecommonlyusedverbsbutagoodacademic
writerusesverbswithmorespecificmeaningswhenappropriate.
Task1Workaloneorinagroup(orwithyourASKTutor)tocheckmeaninganduseofone
groupofwords.UseFlaxhttp://flax.nzdl.org/greenstone3/flaxtofindusageunder
'learningcollocations'thenclickingtofindexamplesentences.Addyourownsentence
(relatingittoyouressaytitleifpossible).
Group1
Group2
Acknowledge
Add
Exampleofuse
Exampleofuse
Myexample
Myexample
Attest
Contradict
Exampleofuse
Exampleofuse
Myexample
Myexample
Elaborate
Imply
Exampleofuse
Exampleofuse
Myexample
Myexample
Pointout
Note
Exampleofuse
Exampleofuse
Myexample
Myexample
Predict
Respond
Exampleofuse
Exampleofuse
Myexample
Myexample
Agree
Stress
Exampleofuse
Exampleofuse
Myexample
Myexample
Object
Advocate
Exampleofuse
Exampleofuse
Myexample
Myexample
Task2Lookatthewordsbelow.Canyouprovideanantonymforeach?Arethereany
differencesinusage?Nowchoose5pairs(plusantonym?)andwriteasentence.Extra
marksifyoucanmakeitrelatedtoyouressaytopic!
Nounsproductiontypedisadvantageincreaseparttarget
systemresearchfieldfindingsadvantageideasource
conducttopicfiguresstructuretendency
Verbsreinforceexplainspeedupquestionkeep
keephelpjoindecreasefocusforecastciteevolve
demonstratechangeexamineremovereach
nouns
verbs
goal
reduce
study
achieve
results
alter
area
evaluate
authority
assist
benefit
attach
category
challenge
component
clarify
concept
quote
behaviour
concentrate
expansion
show
issue
eliminate
method
develop
statistics
maintain
trend
predict
framework
retain
drawback
strengthen
output
accelerate
Task3Identifythesynonymsinthetextbyunderliningthemandlinkingthemtotheword
theyaresubstitutingfor.
Exampleagency–organisation
ThechairmanoftheUKfood’sstandardsagencyhassaidthatanational
advertisingcampaignisnecessarytoraiselowlevelsofpersonalhygiene.The
organisationisplanninga£3millionpublicityprogrammetoimproveBritish
eatinghabits.Asurveyhasshownthathalfthepopulationdonotwashbefore
eatingandoneinfivefailtowashbeforepreparingfood.Thereareover6
millioncasesoffoodpoisoninginthiscountryeveryearandtheadvertisingblitz
aimstocutthisby20%.Thisreduction,thefoodbodybelieves,couldbe
achievedbyregularhandwashingpriortomeals.
Task4Inthefollowingtext,replaceallthewordsorphrasesinitalicswithsuitable
synonyms
AleadingFrenchcompanyhasstartedanewprogrammetoreducecosts.Thecompany’s
programmeaimstoreducecostsby$100million.Allstaffhavehadpaycutsandwork
longer.Thecompanyaimstoincreaseprofitsby35%nextyearandpromisesthatpayfor
allstaffwillbeincreasedifthathappens.
Whatdoyounoticeabouttheuseofsynonymshere?AskyourASKTutorforguidance.
Task5:LookatanexcerptfromaKlarereading.Commentonhisuseofsynonymsandthe
wayhesubstitutespronounsfornouns.DiscusswithyourASKTutor.
Sinceancienttimes,thisareahasbeeninhabitedbymanydistincttribesandpeoples—all
of whom claim a legitimate right to draw on the water resources of the region. As
particulargroupshavegainedinstrengthandnumbers,theirneedforwaterhasgrown,
forcing others to fight for their continued survival. Many of the ancient texts of
Mesopotamia record such contests in the Euphrates area, and much of the Book of
ExodusintheOldTestamentisdevotedtoaccountsofclashesbetweentheIsraelitesand
othertribesforcontroloftheJordanRiverValley.Strugglesofthissorthavealsoarisenin
morerecenttimes,astheimperialpowersofEuropepenetratedtheareaandsoughtto
imposetheirdominionoverit.
As we enter the twenty-first century, the three river systems remain divided among
competingpoliticalentities.TheJordanRiverbasinflowsthroughIsrael,Jordan,Lebanon,
Syria, and Palestinian territory; the Tigris-Euphrates system passes through Iran, Iraq,
Syria, Turkey, and areas occupied by the Kurdish population; and the Indus is shared
amongAfghanistan,China,India,Pakistan,andKashmir(someofwhoseinhabitantsseek
tobecomeindependent).Thesecountriesandregionsaredeeplydividedalongpolitical,
religious, ethnic, and ideological lines. Disputes over water are therefore likely to be
intensifiedbyhistoricalgrievancesandanimosities.
For many of these countries, disputes over water have taken on a deeply emotional or
symbolic character, as matters of national (or regime) survival and identity. The Zionists
who established the State of Israel were not interested solely in finding a sanctuary for
EuropeanJews;theyalsosoughttoresettleJewsontheland,inordertoshedtheirurban,
Europeanidentityandre-establishtheirtieswiththeancientsoilofIsrael.Thiscouldonly
be achieved, they believed, by gaining access to the Jordan River and other sources of
water for irrigation purposes, as the land in much of Israel is otherwise too dry for
intensive agriculture. Similarly, the leaders of modern Iraq and Syria rest much of their
claim to legitimacy on their success in developing new agricultural zones in the TigrisEuphratesbasin.Anythreattothesurvivaloftheseendeavoursis,therefore,likelytobe
metwithunyieldingresistance.