29 minute read
Use of vocabulary, grammar and phrases. ◯ ◯ ◯
Mission briefing
You've probably already completed some Missions. If not, you've most definitely completed multiple assignments from your English teacher. How many times has it been up to you to decide what the assignment would be about? Now's your chance! We give you the Mission goals, but the rest is up to you – you can choose your own topic for this Mission. You might not get this chance again in the near future, so make the most of it …
YOUR MISSION
Choose a topic of interest to you. Read texts about your topic, summarise the information you have found and comment on it in a report.
Training session 1: Mission support
To understand the importance of creativity – a skill you will need in order to think of a topic for your report and to write that report – it is helpful to know words such as 'potential', 'flourish', 'creator' and 'scientist'. And as you might have noticed from these last two words, suffixes can tell you a lot about the meaning of new words. In a report you include not only your own opinion, but also opinions from other sources that supported or helped shape yours. In referring to such sources, reported speech and the passive tense will come in handy. Finally, when you write a report, it is useful to know specific phrases for summarising and commenting on information you have found.
TIP
A good way to remember the meaning of a new and difficult word is to draw connections between the new word and your existing knowledge. Is there a synonym or antonym for this word that you already know? Or do you recognise a verb or another root word in it? You can write down difficult words you find hard to remember and their connections in a table or in a word web.
Example: The word 'prisoner' has the root word 'prison' in it. It indicates a person being kept in prison.
1 Vocabulary: Creative thinking
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Use the Tip: Drawing connections between new and familiar words and Vocabulary: Creative thinking. You have to change some of the words to fit the sentences.
a Fill in the correct synonyms of the words in bold.
1 It is in his character to take care of people.
2 My sister has the talent to become an Olympic gymnast.
3 This collaborative report urges the government to shake up
the rigid school system.
4 I have had enough of your behaviour!
5 He was caught shoplifting and therefore had to be
questioned by the police.
6 Our school is participating in the nationwide anti-bullying week
to promote understanding of this serious problem.
7 It is a common misunderstanding that Big Ben is the name of
the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament. It is, in fact, the
name of the bell inside the clock tower.
b Complete the sentences with the antonyms of the words given.
1 I (be unwilling) to accept your offer.
2 Start your presentation with a (sad) anecdote to grab the
audience's attention.
3 Since I was four years old, I've had a
becoming an actor.
4 The fishermen claimed they saw the Monster of Loch Ness
(disappear) next to their boat. (great disinterest) in
5 Despite Isaac Newton's theory, there have always been sceptics who believe humans can
(obey) gravity.
6 Once you've paid for the order, the factory will
7 It has been proven that children (keep) the books.
(struggle) at school when their
teachers stimulate their creativity.
8 The police (hide) a dangerous criminal gang in my town last
night!
c Choose three words from the Vocabulary list that you find difficult to remember. For each of these words, write down at least one synonym, one antonym and one other connection.
2 Creative thinking
Complete the sentences with the English translations of the following words. There are three extra words. You have to change some of the words to fit the sentences.
Choose from: aanleg – alternatief – bevolking – ergens mee geconfronteerd worden – erkennen – grof – kern – langetermijn- – onbeperkt – onervaren – overeenstemming – profiteren van – rangorde – reeks – uitstellen
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1 I wouldn't recommend entering a marathon if you're an
2 That comedian is notorious for making
people.
3 Did you know that chickens have a strict social runner.
jokes about obese
4 In problem-solving it's essential to get to the
5 It's important to of the problem.
all the things you've achieved instead of
6 Despite their different opinions, the political parties managed to reach a
7 I had to get creative with the recipe and used yoghurt as a
sour cream. for
8 I am writing a report about possible
9 Businesses need to adjust to the world's growing senior
10 I thought my private French lessons were stupid, but I really energy solutions.
them.
11 Don't difficult tasks for too long, because that will make it even
harder to deal with them.
12 Do you know which provider currently offers the best data plan?
Suffixes
Noun suffixes
ADVANCED VOCABULARY
-er / -or verb to noun
-ist noun (thing or abstract notion) to noun (person) science – scientist art – artist piano – pianist
-ity / -ty adjective to noun
-ment verb to noun
-ship noun (condition or profession) to noun (quality or state) friend – friendship intern – internship leader – leadership
-sion / -tion verb to noun teach – teacher dance – dancer create – creator invent – inventor
real – reality creative – creativity honest – honesty safe – safety
ship – shipment develop – development move – movement
revise – revision fuse – fusion relate – relation promote – promotion
Verb suffixes
-ate
-ise noun to verb
noun (thing or person) to verb (with the meaning 'to make') advert – advertise critic – criticise magnet – magnetise
hyphen – hyphenate alien – alienate origin – originate
-able / -ible verb to adjective
-ful verb to adjective accept – acceptable predict – predictable access – accessible sense – sensible
play – playful care – careful hope – hopeful
3 Advanced vocabulary: Suffixes
Use Advanced vocabulary: Suffixes. Write down the (possible) meanings of these words. If you don't know the word, have a look at the root (the basis) of the word and think of its meaning. Look at the example. You don't need to write down the root in your answer.
1 competitor a person who takes part in a competition (root: 'to compete')
2 economist
3 abnormality
4 payment
5 partnership
6 addition
7 televise
8 fearful
9 villager
4 Grammar: The passive
Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the verbs given.
1 Usually, general elections (to hold) in the UK every five years.
2 Over five hundred homes and businesses (to flood) during last
month's heavy storms.
3 This programme (to bring) to you by Fix-All.
4 The nominees for the Women's Prize for Fiction (to announce) on
5th May every year.
5 Quite often, inventions (to name) after their inventors.
6 Many countries are asking Western museums to return the objects that
(to steal) from them in the past.
7 Last night's political debate on TV (to view) by thousands of
people.
8 Passengers (not – to allow) to leave the train because of a bomb
threat.
5 Grammar: The passive
Complete the news article with the correct forms of the verbs given. 5
A previously unknown shrine (1)
February 2020. It (2)
shrine (3) (to uncover) in Rome in
(to believe) that in ancient times, the
(to dedicate) to Romulus, the legendary founder and
first king of Rome. According to Roman mythology, Romulus and his twin brother Remus
(4)
(to leave) in the river Tiber as babies before they
(5)
(to find) by a she-wolf, who raised them. Romulus later
killed Remus and founded Rome in 753 BC.
Despite the famous legend, the existence of Romulus (6)
question) by historians for hundreds of years. Some think the myth
(7)
(to base) on a real person who
(to
(8)
(to kill) after a 37-year rule of Rome. The shrine is located
on the spot where, according to stories, his body (9)
However, no remains (10) (to discover). The site (to bury).
(11)
(12)
(to study) by archaeologists at the moment. It
(to open) to the public in the near future.
6 Grammar: Reported speech
You've had a video chat with your cousins Finley and Zoë, who are on holiday in New Zealand. Afterwards, you tell your mum all about your cousins' trip. Write sentences.
1 'It's the best holiday of my life!' – Finley Finley said that it was the best holiday of his life.
2 'What did you do today?' – I
3 'We went on this amazing helicopter flight over the glaciers this morning!' – Zoë
4 'I found it rather scary. I preferred our visit to the little village from The Hobbit films last week.' –
Finley
5 'How was your flight to New Zealand?' – I
6 'It was awful because it lasted for 36 hours and we had to change planes in Singapore.' – Zoë
7 'It was definitely worth it though.' – Finley
8 'I agree, it's so beautiful here. And we've done so many cool activities!' – Zoë
9 'Oh yeah? What kind of things have you done so far then?' – I
10 'We've been on lots of hikes together, but I'm also taking climbing lessons with a professional mountain guide.' – Finley
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Greta Thunberg's father has said he thought it was 'a bad idea' for his daughter to take to the 'front line' of the battle against climate change.
STRUGGLE WITH DEPRESSION
Speaking to Husain as part of the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Mr Thunberg said his daughter had struggled with depression for 'three or four years' before she began her school strike. 'When she was twelve, Greta was diagnosed with Asperger's. According to her, this allows her to see things from outside the box,' her father said. 'In the years that followed we began discussing and researching climate changes, with Greta becoming increasingly passionate about tackling the issue.' 'Her activism has changed her. She's in a very good place now. She dances around, she laughs a lot and we have a lot of fun.' However, Mr Thunberg has worried for Greta since her school strike stunt went viral online. 'When she was younger, she got abuse from people for her looks and her behaviour. And now she faces abuse from people who don't want to change their lifestyles in order to save the environment.' 'I was particularly worried about the fake news about her and the hate that it generates. But Greta deals with the criticism incredibly well. Quite frankly, I don't know how she does it, but she laughs most of the time. She finds it hilarious.'
7 Grammar: Reported speech
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Use Greta Thunberg's father: 'She is happy, but I worry'. Write a short report about Greta. Mention six different things Greta's father says about his daughter. The text already contains some reported-speech sentences. You are free to use these in your report as well.
8 Phrases: How to summarise
You've read an article about a remarkable art discovery in America. Complete the summary with the information given. Write sentences. Use each phrase only once. Note: Dutch painter Jeroen Bosch is called Hieronymus Bosch in English.
I've just read a very interesting article about an exciting art discovery. (1)
(ontdekking van schilderij Jeroen Bosch) in
the archives of an American museum. Up to that point, nobody thought Bosch had painted it
himself – (2) (toegeschreven
aan leerling). An international team carried out a five-year research using sophisticated infrared
technology. (3)
(terugkerende elementen in werken Bosch doorslaggevend) for the experts. These
features are often absurd and surreal – (4) (vooral
monsters) and even a floating sausage. They say the painting is over 500 years old. (5)
(slechts 25 schilderijen) and twenty drawings that have
survived and are credited to the Dutch master, which makes it such an amazing discovery!
9 Phrases: How to comment
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Write comments, using as many different phrases as possible.
1 Je dacht altijd dat de meeste inwoners van Londen rijk waren, totdat je een nieuwsitem over het aantal daklozen in de stad zag.
2 Vroeger dacht je dat niemand dakloos hoefde te zijn in een Westers land. Geef aan wat je er nu van denkt na dat nieuwsitem gezien te hebben.
3 Hoewel het je vanzelfsprekend lijkt, denk je dat de Britse overheid hier iets aan moet doen.
4 Je legt uit wat je denkt dat de overheid aan dit probleem kan doen. Bedenk zelf een oplossing.
5 Beschrijf wat de meeste van je klasgenoten denken van het daklozenprobleem in Londen.
Gebruik je fantasie.
6 Geef aan dat jullie hier duidelijk niet eerder zo bij hadden stilgestaan en geef een mogelijke reden hiervoor.
7 Beschrijf wat je denkt dat er uiteindelijk zal gebeuren met het daklozenprobleem.
Mission 14 Training session 2 • Reading
Training session 2: Reading
Who is more creative, artists or computer engineers? Creative thinking is often associated with artistic activities, but it is a very useful skill to have in everyday life. Not only for hobbies such as vlogging or gaming, but also when you need to make a report or presentation for school. And even in your future career, you will probably need to draw on this skill on a regular basis when solving problems. Creative thinking allows you to approach a problem from different and new perspectives, but it also allows you to experiment without fear of failure. In this training session you will gain more insight into the principles of creative thinking and put your knowledge into practice.
1 Get started
Work with a classmate. Discuss the questions.
1 What is the greatest invention ever? Name one invention each and discuss why you think it has been so important. 2 Why do you think inventions are created? 3 By what process do inventions come about, do you think?
Skimming texts
STRATEGY
If you need to get the general idea of a text quickly, skimming is a helpful tool:
• Read the introduction closely. Usually, you will find the main points of the text
described there.
• Read and look at structural elements, such as images, titles and (sub)titles. They
should tell you in just a few words what the paragraphs are about.
• Let your eyes go quickly over the text and focus on other structural elements such
as lists, bullet points or words printed in bold or capitals.
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10 We take many everyday items for granted, but when these items were introduced into the market, they were anything but ordinary. Have you ever wondered how you got along without a specific product, a must-have invention ... or the latest version of your smartphone? Somewhere between necessity being the mother of invention and pure creative genius, all kinds of useful products have come into our lives. Were their creators inspired by a burning desire to get rich? Did they have years of schooling or technical training? Were they part of huge corporations with unlimited research and development budgets? No.
They just let their creativity take over. And we benefit from their inventive ways to overcome life's little challenges. Consider these items, born of necessity, over one hundred years ago.
Out-of-the-box thinking brought us everyday items
Mrs Earl Dickson, an inexperienced cook, often burned and cut herself back at the turn of the 20th century.
Mr Dickson, an employee of the medical company Johnson and Johnson, got plenty of practice in hand bandaging. Out of concern for his wife's safety, he began to prepare bandages ahead of time so that his wife could apply them by herself. By combining a piece of surgical tape and a piece of gauze, he fashioned the first crude adhesive strip bandage.
At 15 years old, Chester Greenwood's head was cold one December day in 1873. To protect his ears while ice skating, he found a piece of wire, and with his grandmother's help, padded the ends.
In the beginning, his friends laughed at him and said he looked ridiculous. However, when they realized that he was able to stay outside skating long after they had gone inside freezing, they stopped laughing. Instead, they began to ask Chester to make ear covers for them, too. In certain American states, earmuffs are now standard winter equipment.
During the hot summer of 1913, Clarence Crane, a chocolate candy manufacturer, found himself facing a dilemma. When he tried to ship his chocolates to candy shops in other cities, they melted into gooey blobs. His customers didn't want to deal with the mess and postponed their orders until cooler weather.
Mr. Crane needed to find a substitute for the melted chocolates if he wanted to keep his customers. He experimented with hard candy that wouldn't melt during shipment. Using a machine designed for making medicinal pills, Crane produced small, round candies with a hole in the middle. And that is how Life Savers were born.
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40 The term Frisbee did not always refer to the flying plastic disks that have spawned a variety of games. More than a hundred years ago, William Russell Frisbie owned the Frisbie Pie Company and delivered his pies locally. All of his pies were baked in the same type of 10" round tin with a raised edge, wide brim, six small holes in the bottom, and 'Frisbie Pies' on the bottom.
Playing catch with the tins soon became a popular local sport. However, the tins were slightly dangerous when a toss was missed. It became the Yale University custom to yell 'Frisbie' when throwing a pie tin. In the '40s, when plastic emerged, the pie-tin game was recognized as a manufacturable and marketable product. Now FRISBEE is a registered trademark of Wham-O Mfg. Co.
If you can't eat just one potato chip, blame it on chef George Crum. He reportedly created the salty snack in 1853 at Moon's Lake House near Saratoga Springs, New York.
One night there was a diner who kept complaining that his fries were too thick, soggy and not crunchy enough. Fed up with this customer who continuously sent his food back, Crum sliced the potatoes as thin as possible, fried them in hot grease, then covered them with salt. He did so to annoy the customer. But instead, the diner told Crum he loved the thin fried potatoes. The new 'Saratoga Chips' quickly became a popular item at the lodge and throughout New England.
Eventually, the chips were mass-produced for home consumption, but since they were stored in barrels or tins, they quickly went stale. Then, in the 1920s, Laura Scudder invented the airtight bag by ironing together two pieces of waxed paper, thus keeping the chips fresh longer.
For a hundred years now, chips have been packaged in plastic or foil bags, or in cardboard containers. Today they even come in a variety of flavours, including sour cream and onion, barbecue, and salt and vinegar.
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Creativity and entrepreneurship
60 All those inventions started innocently enough, without great expectations. That kind of creativity will continue, with or without corporate backing and deadlines to bring a product to market.
But there are constant demands in companies to come up with newer, better, shinier, more in-demand products. As companies try to stay afloat in a choppy economy, employees are being pushed for new ideas. Managers would be wise to consider the studies conducted by Teresa Amabile, professor at Harvard Business School and head of its Entrepreneurial Management Unit. She has explored creativity for nearly thirty years and her comprehensive research has uncovered some myth-defying facts:
• Money and rewards don't necessarily inspire creativity. • Tight deadlines and pressure to produce don't encourage innovation. • Competition doesn't induce creativity. • Neither sadness nor fear fuel creative breakthroughs.
In order for creativity to blossom, workers need to feel deeply engaged in their projects, skilled enough to accomplish them, and free of negative influences – unnecessary distractions, politics, lack of resources and needless critical feedback.
It needs to be added that management has to be open to ideas from all sources – not just the so-called 'creative' departments. We all have a streak of creativity in us. Remember that the next time you need an adhesive or enjoy a Life Saver!
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Based on: https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/growth-strategies/2016/12/how-creative-thinking-led-to-these-inventions. html and https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/9-things-invented-or-discovered-by-accident7.htm
2 Skimming an article
Use the Strategy: Skimming texts and How creative thinking led to the invention of items we couldn't live without anymore. Skim the text and answer the questions.
1 What is the main topic of the text?
2 In general, what was the main reason for the invention of all these different items?
3 What do you expect the paragraph 'Creativity and entrepreneurship' to be about?
4 Write down what you would like to know about the topic. Formulate one to three questions you have about the topic in general, or about the reading text in particular.
3 Structuring an article
Subheaders make it easier to read a text and understand its main points. Use How creative thinking led to the invention of items we couldn't live without anymore. Formulate suitable subheaders to break up the paragraph 'Out-of-the-box thinking brought us everyday items'.
•Use between one and three words for each subheader. • Write down the line numbers to indicate where the subheaders need to go.
4 Understanding an article
Use How creative thinking led to the invention of items we couldn't live without anymore. Answer the questions in your own words.
1 Which of the inventions mentioned in the text managed to solve a real problem, in your opinion?
Explain your answer.
2 What do you think of the other inventions? Explain your answer.
3 The article highlights a contrast regarding the use of creativity. What is this contrast?
4 What myth is uncovered in the article?
5 What, according to the author, is the best way to stimulate creativity in workers?
6 Do you agree with the author that everybody is capable of creative thinking? Explain your answer.
5 Understanding creativity
Read 4 Myths about creativity on the next page. Answer the questions.
1 Explain in your own words what the myths about creativity are. Describe each myth in one sentence.
2 Why, according to the author, do parents think creativity isn't an essential skill for their children?
3 Explain the difference between big-C creativity and little-c creativity in your own words.
4 Give an example of how you use little-c creativity in your daily life.
4 Myths about creativity
Not everyone agrees on the value and importance of creative thinking in today's society. Part of the problem is that there is no consensus on what it means to be creative. Different people think about creativity in very different ways, so it's not surprising that they can't agree on its value and importance. As I've talked with people about creativity, I've come across a number of common misconceptions.
Myth 1: Creativity is about artistic expression
We value and admire painters, sculptors and poets for their creativity. But other types of people can be creative too. Scientists can be creative when they develop new theories. Doctors can be creative when they diagnose diseases. Entrepreneurs can be creative when they develop new products. Social workers can be creative when they suggest strategies for struggling families. Politicians can be creative when they develop new policies.
I believe that the common association of creativity with artistic expression contributes to an undervaluing of creativity in the minds of many parents. When I talk with parents about creativity, they often assume that I'm talking about artistic expression. Because most parents don't put a high priority on how well their children can express themselves artistically, they say that it would be 'nice' for their children to be creative, but they don't see it as essential. To avoid this line of thinking, I often use the phrase 'creative thinking' rather than 'creativity.' When parents hear 'creative thinking,' they're less likely to focus on artistic expression and more likely to see it as something essential for their children's future.
Myth 2: Only a small segment of the population is creative
Some people feel that the words 'creative' and 'creativity' should be used only when referring to inventions and ideas that are totally new to the world. In this view, winners of Nobel Prizes are creative, and artists whose works are on display at major museums are creative, but not the rest of us.
Researchers who study creativity sometimes refer to this type of creativity as Big-C Creativity. I'm more interested in what researchers call little-c creativity. When you come up with an idea that's useful to you in your everyday life, that's little-c creativity. It doesn't matter if thousands – or millions – of people came up with similar ideas in the past. If the idea is new and useful to you, it's little-c creativity.
The invention of the paper clip was Big-C Creativity; every time someone comes up with a new way to use a paper clip in everyday life, that's little-c creativity.
Sometimes, teachers focus too much attention on Big-C Creativity and not enough on little-c creativity. A few years ago, I made a presentation about creativity to a group of teachers. In the Q&A session at the end, one teacher said that it was very important for us to develop better methods for assessing creativity so that we could identify those students with the greatest capacity to be creative. In my mind, that's exactly the wrong view. Everyone can be (little-c) creative, and we need to help everyone reach their full creative potential.
Myth 3: Creativity comes in a flash of insight
Popular stories about creativity often revolve around an Aha! moment. Archimedes shouted 'Eureka!' in the bathtub when he realized that he could calculate the volume of irregularly shaped objects by submerging them in water (and measuring the amount of water displaced). Isaac Newton recognized the universal nature of gravitational force when he was sitting beneath an apple tree – and was hit on the head by a falling apple. August Kekule realized the structure of the benzene ring after daydreaming about a snake eating its tail.
But such Aha! moments, if they exist at all, are just a small part of the creative process. Most scientists, inventors and artists recognize that creativity is a long-term process. Constantin Brancusi, one of the pioneers of modernist art, wrote: 'Being creative is not being hit by a lightning bolt from God. It's having clear intent and passion.' Thomas Edison famously said that creativity is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
But what is the person doing while perspiring? What type of activity precedes the Aha! moment? It's not just a matter of hard work. Creativity grows out of a certain type of hard work, combining curious exploration with playful experimentation and systematic investigation. New ideas and insights might seem like they come in a flash, but they usually happen after many cycles of imagining, creating, playing, sharing, and reflecting – that is, after many repetitions of the Creative Learning Spiral.
Myth 4: You can't teach creativity
There's no doubt that babies come into the world full of curiosity. They want to touch, to interact, to explore, to understand. As they grow older, they want to express themselves: to talk, to sing, to draw, to build, to dance.
Some people think that the best way to support children's creativity is to get out of their way: you shouldn't try to teach creativity; just stand back and let children's natural curiosity take over. I have some sympathy with this point of view. It's true that the rigid structures of some schools and some homes can erase children's curiosity and creativity. I also agree that you can't teach creativity, if 'teach' means giving children a clear set of rules and instructions on how to be creative.
But you can stimulate creativity. All children are born with the capacity to be creative, but their creativity won't necessarily develop on its own. It needs to be nurtured, encouraged, supported. The process is like that of a farmer or gardener taking care of plants by creating an environment in which the plants will flourish. Similarly, you can create a learning environment in which creativity will flourish.
So, yes, you can teach creativity, so long as you think about teaching as an organic, interactive process.
https://www.edutopia.org/article/4-myths-about-creativity
5 Why does the author refer to Edison's famous quote 'Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration'?
6 What are the author's thoughts on the myth that creativity can't be taught?
7 Which tip(s) or insight(s) from 4 Myths About Creativity was (or were) an eye-opener to you?
Explain your answer.
Creative thinking techniques
STRATEGY
Asking Wh-questions
Asking Wh-questions helps you to come up with new ideas by moving away from what you already know. You ask and answer questions about your issue, like: Why is it necessary? Where should it be done? When should it be done? Who should do it? What should be done? How should it be done?
Thinking of outrageous ideas
Think of the most ridiculous and outrageous ideas you can imagine to solve a problem. No rules, laws or morals, except that you're not allowed to say 'Yes, but ...'. Once you're finished, look for ways in which these crazy ideas could be made practical. This works as an introductory exercise to create the right mindset, but it can also lead to fantastic new ideas!
Mind mapping
Mind mapping is basically a form of note-taking. But instead of making a list, you put the main idea in the centre of the page and then work from the centre outwards, writing new ideas and associations all around it.
Picture association
Picture association can help you to create a story behind an image. To do this, perform an image search on your computer and pick a photo at random. Then create a story. Why was the picture taken? What is or was going on? You can be as imaginative as you like.
Preparing a report or presentation
Follow this step-by-step plan to prepare a report or presentation.
1 Choose a topic
If you are free to choose your own topic, make sure it is something you find interesting. This will make it more enjoyable for you to work on your report or presentation. And if you are enthusiastic about your topic, chances are that your audience will be more engaged with what you are writing or talking about as well.
2 Write down what you already know
You could simply make a list, but it helps to order your existing knowledge visually, for example with the aid of a mind map.
3 Formulate your main research question
What, specifically, do you want to know about your topic? Formulate a Wh-question that isn't too broad, but not too narrow either. Also bear in mind how much time you have for preparing and creating your report or presentation and what its maximum length is. For example: instead of asking 'How have new technologies changed the music industry?' for a two-page report, you could try to answer the question 'How have online music streaming services affected performing artists?'
4 Formulate additional questions
Additional questions help you in investigating the main research question and serve as a general outline for your report or presentation. For example: 'How do online music streaming services work?' 'Do artists make money from online music streaming services?' 'Has the balance between live performances and music releases shifted because artists make less money from selling albums?' etc.
5 Do your research
Find information to answer your research questions. Depending on the type of research, you may want to do a survey, an experiment or literature research. You may not find relevant and useful information to help answer your research question. This might indicate that your question was too broad or too narrow. In that case, go back to the research question and refine it. Keep track of changes you have made to your research plan and explain the reason(s) for those changes.
6 Choose the best sources
Determine which sources offer the most relevant information to answer your research questions. Be critical and only choose reliable sources.
7 Take notes
During your research, make sure to write down important thoughts, conclusions, research results, keywords etc. Also write down where you found these so it is easy to look them up again later. Alternatively, you can make a mind map to organise your findings.
8 Synthesise information
Synthesising means combining new and old information. First of all you need to summarise the information from the different sources. The summaries help you make connections between the sources you have found, but also to make connections between this new information and your existing knowledge of the topic. This combined knowledge is what you use as the basis for your report or presentation. (Also see: Strategy: Synthesising information in Mission 20, Training session Writing.)
9 Use only the most interesting or most relevant material
You do not have to use every piece of information you found during your research, especially when you are limited as to the length of your report or presentation. Choose the most interesting or most relevant material instead.
6 Collecting information for a report
Use:
• Strategy: Creative thinking techniques; • steps 1-6 of Strategy: Preparing a report or presentation; • either How creative thinking led to the invention of items we couldn't live without anymore or
4 Myths About Creativity.
1 Choose a subtopic from one of the reading texts that you want to know more about.
2 On a separate piece of paper, make a mind map in which you put everything you already know about the topic.
3 What else would you like to know about the topic? Have a short brainstorm session using
Wh-questions or by adding to your mind map. Then choose the most interesting question and write it down.
4 Take five minutes to search online for further information. Write down the sources you have found or copy the links.
5 Which source(s) do you find most valuable? Explain your answer.
Mission 14 Training session 3 • Writing
Training session 3: Writing
Should creativity get a more prominent role in school programmes, or should teachers focus on maths, science and languages? That is what this training session is about. After reading what the world's leading educational speaker thinks about this topic, you will do you own research. Finally, you will write a short report in which you give your own substantiated opinion.
1 Get started
Answer the questions.
a Prepare for a discussion with a classmate. 1 Do you feel you are a creative person? Explain your answer.
2 Is it the role of schools to stimulate creativity in their students? Explain your answer.
3 Do you think your school encourages creativity? Explain your answer.
