Generalizations

In some cases it is more appropriate to start your passage with a generalization. Suppose, for example, the topic is “Cancer”. If we were to write on this topic as doctors, we might still open the text with a definition:

“Cancer is a serious disease in which cells in the body grow in a way that is not normal”.

However, in most other cases, it is more likely that we start with generalization:

“Cancer has emerged as a progressive disease which kills more people than AIDS, hepatitis and tuberculosis combined. And the death toll is set to rise dramatically in the coming decades”.

A) Consider the following pairs and choose when it would be more appropriate to start the text with a definition or generalization:

1) – Japanese is the official language of Japan and therefore the native language of approximately 100 million people.

- Japanese is a language belonging to the Altaic family of languages.

2) – Tuberculosis is a serious infectious disease affecting lungs.

- Tuberculosis, also called TB, phthisis, consumption, and nicknamed the white plague, is the most common infectious disease in the world today.

3) – A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor.

- Nuclear power plants are some of the most sophisticated and complex energy systems ever designed.