Intermediate Reading

INTERMEDIATE READING

EXEMPLIFICATION

Exemplification text uses specific, vivid examples for the purpose of adding more information to explain, persuade, define, or illustrate a general idea. Likewise, exemplification provides solid support and strong evidence to prove the writer’s main statement. Appropriate examples also create interest in a writing assignment.

By supplying specific examples, the writer adds additional who, what, when, where, why, and how information to elaborate on the main idea of a paragraph or essay. Good examples are logically related to the topic, and provide the mental imagery needed by the reader to make important connections. Making these connections with suitable examples is important, so that the author’s intended meaning, difficult concepts, or unfamiliar ideas are made known and clearly understood.

Example:

Defining friendship as it occurs in real life A friendship occurs when a bond is made between two people that go beyond being an acquaintance. A friendship that is healthy should contain respect, where both people respect each other in a somewhat equal fashion. The two should also care about the fate of the other, and may also care about the emotional and physical wellbeing of the other. A friendship may also include acts, be they of kindness or in general, that work for the best interest of the other without requiring anything tangible in return. Example 1 – acts of kindness without requiring anything in return An example of this includes when a young man was dumped by the girlfriend he was living with. The relationship had gone on since school up into college whereupon the two had moved in together. The man’s friend, upon discovering that his friend was moving out of the house he and his girlfriend shared, went over the help him move out of his house into a family member’s house. Example 2 – acting in the best interest of the other person A young woman repeatedly saw the partner of her friend flirt with other women and he appeared on many occasions to be taking it a little too far. The woman did not want to tell her friend just in case she was overreacting, plus it may have damaged their relationship. Instead, she spoke to one of the women that the man was flirting with and convinced her to show her girlfriend the text messages that the man had been sending her. That way her friend was able to see what her boyfriend was up to without it damaging the friendship between the two women. Example 3 – providing support for the other person without any tangible reward There are numerous occasions in college when students have gone out of their way to be there for their friends during times of illness and grief without ever receiving anything in return. One may assume that if material rewards were not received that maybe they hoped the other would provide the same type of support when they were ill or upset, and yet there are many times when the person giving never receives it back (possibly because it was not needed) and yet the friendship remained strong. Conclusion

There are plenty of examples of friendship in a real-life situation where people do things for other people without any sort of tangible reward. There are occasions when a friend looks out for another person’s interests, and times when acts of kindness are given because of friendship alone. There is an argument to be had around if the actual friendship is reward in itself, which would then mean that acts of kindness and caring are still motivated by self-interest.

Exemplification Text:

Gun Control is not the Answer

A man carrying two revolvers and two 9mm semi-automatic handguns calmly strode into the Dunblane Primary School. Two people quickly spotted the firearms and tried to tackle the man; he shot them and left them wounded as he continued his journey down the hall of the school. Finally, the man reached his destination: the gym, where a class a kindergartners were having P.E. In the gym, he pulled out the guns and started picking off the five-year-olds one by one. The room was splattered with blood as young children broke like porcelain dolls under the power of the gun. The blood continued to flow, but the intruder did not stop; he took careful aim to make sure he didn't miss. The final insult came when he shot the teacher who was shielding kids with her body. Once he killed her, he killed the kids she was protecting. When he finished in the gym , he turned around walked out, shot at a class as he walked down the hall and walked out into the courtyard. In the courtyard, the killer ended the ordeal by taking his own life. In the final count, sixteen kids lay dead along with their teacher, another twelve kids were wounded plus the two adults who met the shooter at the door. Only one boy in the gym made it through physically unharmed his name was Robbie Hurst, and he survived by hiding under the dead bodies of his best friend and another classmate. Gun control is a very delicate issue with many different sides and viewpoints. On one side you have those that feel gun control is a necessary item for safety. Others feel it is unjust to take away a person's right to have firearms. Those people also feel that gun control won't help stop crime either. Anyway you look at it, guns have become one of the main causes of death in the United States. Firearms are first among young black men. This makes gun control an issue that must be taken care of. Gun control will not help, for it is the people that should be punished not everyone else. Another point often made by those for gun control is the safety of kids who find guns. The kids end up accidentally shooting themselves or others. This is true, but it has been proven that it is kids that are around guns are actually safer than those who aren't. This way the kids know how to handle a gun safely, if they find one. They are less curious and are less likely to play with it then, because they have been around guns, and they know what to do when they come in contact with one. In a study done by an ABC News Station, the kids who shot the guns were the ones who were never around firearms. The kids who were around guns knew what to do and how to handle the gun. Along with kids' safety, there is also people's safety with guns because accidents do happen. Those for gun control say the safest gun is no gun. They feel it is better not to come in contact with guns at all. How can something be safe if you are not around it and don't understand it? If a person isn't around guns they'll have no knowledge of how to handle the firearm. No matter how much people don't like guns, they will never be able to get rid of all of the guns in the United States. There are over two hundred million firearms in the U.S. alone (Gun Control). No matter how much gun control there is, there will always be guns in society. That it is why it is better to teach people to use firearms properly; this will prevent accidents from happening, not gun control. It has also been stated that gun control reduces crime. Is that true? It has been found that on average, countries with the most gun control have the higher crime rates. If looks at it objectively it can easily be seen. Those people who want guns can still get them illegally. This leaves the honest people defenseless against attack. Who is going to break into a house if the owner has a gun too? The answer: not many. It has been seen throughout different states. California has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States, and California also has one of the highest crime rates too. The Midwest has a lower crime rate than the Midwest of Canada, even though Canada has stricter gun laws. It is also thought that the United States has the highest crime rate in the western hemisphere. That is not true. The highest crime rate actually belongs to countries like Jamaica and Mexico. Their crime rate, especially in murder, is almost twice that of the United States, and Jamaica and Mexico have virtually prohibited gun ownership by citizens. Doesn't this show people something? How does gun control help? The countries that do the best are the ones who punish the criminals. The best way for the United States to fight crime is to increase the punishment of convicted criminals. Make the people not want to commit the crime for fear of the punishment they'll receive. No matter how much gun control there is, these criminals will always be able to find a gun to commit their crimes whether it be murder, rape, robbery, or assault. There are just too many guns on the streets to be able to get rid of all the firearms. It can already be seen that the crime rate is rising, gun control is not doing its job, so there needs to be a new approach to fighting crime. Gun control is unneeded and not the answer to our problems. "The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." (source: http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=10206)

Answer the questions below

1. Find the main idea of the text above.

2. How many supporting details that can be found in text above?

3. Give your opinion about gun control in 10 sentences.