This workshop presents a framework for teachers at all levels for selecting and assessing the language needed for successful academic writing.

1. DET TESOL Network day 2012
Building a
4x4 toolkit
for academic literacy
Dr Sally Humphrey
Australian Catholic University

2. Overview of the day
• The Semantic wave
• A 4x4 language toolkit–from
whole text to word
• Putting the toolkit to work in the
classroom

3. Riding the semantic wave to high
stakes reading and writing
3 Martin, Maton & Matruglio (2010)

4. What’s at stake?
Information in
High-stakes High-stakes
reading
writing
Time

5. Teachers need to explore how the semantic wave works
in their discipline, including:
How to unpack abstract and technical meanings
How to repack these meanings to relate concepts to old and
new knowledge
5

6. Dumped on the beach!
Time

7. The Mode Continuum
(Hertzberg 2012 following Hammond 1990)

8. Everyday contexts Academic contexts
Purpose
• familiar everyday spoken • institutionalized socially valued
(genre) genres and valuable written genres
Subject • common sense • uncommon sense technicality
understanding personal often bounded by academic
matter issues disconnected from and workplace disciplines
(field) society at large • focus on issues of collective
Reader • personal (evaluative) • impersonal (objective)
• strong solidarity • decrease in solidarity
relationship
• equal status relationships • unequal status relationships
(tenor) • familiar roles – emoter • expert roles – interpreter &
adjudicator
Channel • spoken dialogue (concrete) • written monologue (abstract)
• spontaneous • planned, rehearsed
(mode)
8 Table 1: Summary of contextual dimensions of everyday and educational contexts
(adapted from Martin & Rothery 1990, Jones et al. 1989, Coffin 2000, Veel 2006)

9. Naplan Practice Writing Prompt 2011

10. Deconstructing the Naplan Writing prompt
The challenge:
How do we demonstrate ‘high stakes’ knowledge and
language use with prompts which entice/trap students
into shallow water!!!

11. and
rhetoric
Once upon a time in a land far far
away, Greek and Roman philosophers
identified three arts of discourse –
the Trivium
grammar
rhetoric logic

12. The trivium
 Grammar: the mechanics of a language
 Logic: the mechanics of thought and
analysis
 Rhetoric: the use of language to instruct
and persuade

13. grammar, rhetoric
and education
For over 2000 years,
teachers used their
knowledge of grammar and
rhetoric to train knowledge
builders, politicians and
active citizens to
communicate effectively
Frontspiece of 1720 edition of the
‘Institutio Oratoria', Quintilan teaching rhetorics

14. The decline of
rhetoric
And then along came
 the The New Curriculum (15th century)–
rhetoric reduced to style, delivery
and memory
• 19th century Expansion of mass
education – focus on correctness
rather than overall meaning and
organization of the text.
• Mass distribution of prescriptive
grammar books, based on Latin syntax

15. The decline of grammar
• Without rhetoric, grammar studied
without context – set of drilled rules
• Backlash – ‘whole language’
movement
• 1970’s – grammar removed from
curriculum
• Process writing – grammar ‘at point
of need’

16. The result?
Decline in teachers’ knowledge of grammar

17. The result?
Persisting gap between achievement in
schooling and socio-economic/language
background

18. The ‟80‟s – in our own
backyard
A teacher- led
revival – „language
as social power‟
Functional grammar
– Halliday –
Genre approach -
Martin
Meaning systems

19. Language relates to context
Broader cultural context
Immediate Context of text
Language
19

20. The context – language hook -up
context Language – resources
for..
field Expressing and
connecting ideas
tenor Interacting with
audiences
mode Creating cohesive
texts

21. The ‟90‟s
Grammar goes
mainstream..
again..
 development of
NSW syllabus
 From functional
to
„functionalised

22. K-6 English syllabus
But no explicit hook-
up between context
and language
systems
No explicit hook-up
between grammatical
structure and
grammatical function

23. curriculum…. A new space
for grammar and rhetoric
to reunite
• The Australian curriculum for
English
• Knowledge about the English Language
(“Grammar”)
• Informed appreciation of literature
(„Literatures”)
• Growing repertoires of English Usage
(“Literacies”)

24. The
Australian Curriculum: English

25. The challenge
 How to work with grammar to do
important work on texts in ways
that develop both literacy and ‘an
informed appreciation of
literature’?
 How to avoid returning to the
decontextualised study of grammar
as a ‘reductive’ task?

26. Resources for developing a rhetorical
grammar: A functional perspective

27. Dimensions of language
4 x systems of
4 x levels of text
meaning
Whole text
Genre/ Text types
----------------------
Field
----paragraph-----
Expressing Connecting
----------------------
ideas ideas Mode ----------------------
Tenor
----------------------
Interacting Creating
with cohesive ---sentence/clause-----
texts
others ----------------------
Word/
expression

28. A 4x4 perspective on academic register
A register whole text paragraph Sentence/ Word
perspective (Grammar)
Expressing ideas
Tools for constructing technical, specialised
(field)
and formal knowledge of discipline area
connecting ideas
(field) Tools for constructing technical, specialised
and formal knowledge of discipline area
Interacting with Tools for convincing audiences in distanced,
others (tenor)
impersonal and objectified ways
Creating
Tools for organising clearly signposted,
cohesive texts
(mode) cohesive and abstract texts

29. The 4x4: a warehouse of tools for developing
understandings of academic language
Whole text Paragraph Sentence Word
(grammar) (lexis)
Expressing &
ideas (field)
Connecting ideas
(field
Interacting with
others (tenor)
Creating cohesive
texts (mode)
Adapted from Humphrey, Martin, Dreyfus and Mahboob (2010)

30. a 4x4 perspective to represent resources of specialised learning
domain

31. Register Perspective: Field
Language Whole text Paragraph Sentence level Word level
to.. level (Grammar)
• Noun groups with • Technical &
express Ideas Ideas classifiers and generalised
ideas unfold as grouped as embedded clauses terms for
stages to phases to describe & discipline
(field)
achieve according classify knowledge
the to subject • Verb groups • Auxiliary verb
purpose demands represent processes forms to
of text (eg. Point, relevant to text type express tense
Elaboration, (ie. relating, action, appropriate to
Evidence, saying) purpose
Link) • Well-formed
adverbials to specify
circumstances

32. Register Perspective: Field
Languag Whole text Paragraph Sentence level Word level
e to.. level (Grammar)
connect Analytical phases of • Ideas in groups • Relating and
ideas framework verbal text and and clauses reporting
logically used to image linked combine through terms to
(field) relate in logical expanding define,
multiple relationships and/or projecting classify,
ideas (eg. time, to form well show
logically cause, structured simple cause/effect,
across text consequence, and complex quote and
(eg. as elaboration, sentences report
reasons, comparison)
causes,
features,
parts)

33. Register Perspective: Tenor
Language Whole text Paragraph Sentence level Word level
to level (grammar) (vocabulary)
Objective
evaluative
Expert Claims Modality used to
interact vocabulary
role taken supported, express objective
with (relevance,
to engage justified and opinions and
others and recommendations
validity and
reinforced significance)
convince
(tenor) Expert Quoting and
audience Grading
sources reporting of
adjusts force/
acknowledge sources through
focus of core
d and verb groups,
vocabulary
rebutted phrases and nouns

34. Register Perspective: Mode
Language Whole Paragraph Sentence level Word
to text level (grammar) level
Paragraphs Sentence openers Abstract
organised as focus attention on nouns
waves from topic and flow of package
Text information
organisation denser, and track
made clear ‘packed’ to
create Nominalisation recasts ideas
cohesiv concrete processes, qualities
through Articles and
e texts layout, ‘unpacked’ and logical relations
pronouns
previewing meaning Active or passive
(mode) keep track
and voice adjust of ideas
reviewing of Topic information focus
content sentences/pre Participants tracked Spelling
views predict using cohesive and
and organise resources (eg. punctuation
layers of reference, substitution assist
information and repetition) meaning

35. And..a toolkit for developing
understandings of language for specific contexts
Whole text Paragraph Sentence Word
(grammar) (lexis)
Expressing &
ideas (field)
Connecting ideas
(field
Interacting with
others (tenor)
Creating cohesive
texts (mode)
Adapted from Humphrey, Martin, Dreyfus and Mahboob (2010)

36. a 4x4 perspective to represent resources of explanation

37. a 4x4 perspective to represent resources of explanation

38. a 4x4 perspective to represent resources of narrative

39. a 4x4 perspective to represent resources of narrative

40. Reflecting on a 4x4
view of language

41. Revisiting
understandings of
language at whole text
level:
A warm up….

42. Assessing students’ use of language
Activity 1
Text 1 was written within an
HSIE unit of work on government.
Read the whole text and then
complete the questions to
identify language features of
the sample student text for the
purposes of assessment and
feedback..

43. Question:
Are governments necessary? Give reasons for your position
Text A: Student’s response
I think Governments are necessary because if there wasn't
any there would be no law people would be killing
themselves. They help keep our economic system in order for
certain things
If there wasn't no Federal Government there wouldn't have
been no one to fix up any problems that would have occurred
in the community. Same with the State Government if the SG
didn't exist there would have been noone to look after the
school, vandalism fighting would have occurred everyday. The
local Government would be important to look after the
rubbish because everyone would have diseases 43

44. Assessing 4 meanings
Whole text Comments
Is the purpose and text type
recognisable through the
structure of the ideas as
stages
Are the ideas related
logically within an
analytical framework
Does the writer adopt an
expert role to engage and/or
convince the audience? 44

45. Assessing 4 meanings ..
Paragraph level Comments
Do ideas in paragraph develop an
argument through phases of Point ^
Elaboration ^ Evidence ^ Link
(PEEL)
Do the phases of verbal text (and
image) link in logical
relationships (eg. time,
cause,consequence,
elaboration,comparison)
Are claims supported, justified,
reinforced 45
Are expert sources acknowledged

46. Drilling down to the
grammar
whole Para- Sentence Word
text graph (grammar)
Express
ideas
Connect
ideas
Interact with
others
Create
cohesive
texts

47. text paragraph Sentence Word
Language ‘tools’ for (grammar)
expressing ideas Express
ideas
Connect
ideas
Interact
with others
Create
cohesive
texts

48. text paragraph Sentence Word
Language ‘tools’ for (grammar)
expressing ideas Express
ideas
Connect
ideas
Interact
with others
Create
cohesive
texts
how we name and describe:
• what is going on (processes, activities,
behaviours or states of being)
• who or what is taking part (people, places,
things, concepts, etc.)
• the details or circumstances surrounding these
events (where, when, how, with what, etc.)

49. text paragraph Sentence Word
Opening up the toolkit (grammar)
through visual text Express
ideas
Connect
ideas
Interact
with
others
Create
cohesive
texts

50. 1. What type of text is this image from?
2. What kind of world is the image creating: literary,
scientific/technical or historical?
3. Who or what are the main participants in the image?
4. What are the participants doing? What actions are they
engaged in?
5. What circumstances surround these actions? What details are
provided about how, when, where, why and with whom?

51. What type of text is this image from?
1. What kind of world is the image creating: literary,
scientific/technical or historical?
2. Who or what are the main things or participants in the image?
3. How are these participants related or described?
- as parts of a whole?
- as sub-types within a category?
4. What circumstances surround these participants and the
relationships between them? What details are provided about
how, when, where, why etc..?

52. Visual grammar in the classroom
introducing students to the grammar through visual texts.
In dynamic literary images, students can:
• search, for recurring images of characters, events and settings that
might form a motif or theme central to the story’s message.
• make predictions about the characters, setting, and possible
complications and resolutions.
In static conceptual images, students can:
• sort the participants representing parts or types according to
different criteria (eg. a type of something, a part of something, a
description of something).
Teachers can demonstrate the differences between different types of
images by reading a literary text and an information text on a similar
topic while students either sort images to illustrate each text, or
create their own images to illustrate each text.

53. Expressing ideas in verbal texts

54. Exercise 2.3: Organising the parts of
clauses in an historical recount
Text 2.A below is an historical recount, a type of text that is very
commonly found in school textbooks. Read the text and answer the
questions below
Text 2.A Red gold rush
Soon after European settlement a rush on the red cedar forests of
the east coast of New South Wales began. During the nineteenth
century cedar-cutters in New South Wales logged most of the cedar
for housing and furniture. Gradually people began to consider the
future of the cedar forests. In recent times some of the last
remnants of these majestic forests have been saved.

55. 2. Identify the processes, participants and circumstances in the four clauses in this extract.
Example
Circumstance Participant Process
(when?) (what?) (what’s happening?)
Soon after European a rush on the red cedar forests of the began.
settlement east coast of New South Wales
Clause 1
Circumstance Participant Process Participant Circumstance
(when?) (who?) what’s happening? (what?) (why?)
logged
Clause 2
Circumstance Participant Process Participant
(how?) (who?) (what’s happening?) (what?)
Gradually began to consider
Clause 3
Circumstance Participant Process
(when?) (what?) (what’s happening?)

56. 2. Identify the processes, participants and circumstances in the four clauses in this extract.
The first clause is completed as an example.
Example
Circumstance Participant Process
(when?) (what?) (what’s happening?)
Soon after European a rush on the red cedar forests of the began.
settlement east coast of New South Wales
Clause 1
Circumstance _ Participant Process _ Participant Circumstance
(when?) (who?) (what’s (what?) (why?)
happening?)
logged
Clause 2
Circumstance Participant Process Participant
(how?) (who?) (what’s happening?) (what?)
Gradually began
to consider
Clause 3
Circumstance Participant Process
(when?) (what?) (what’s happening?)

57. In the classroom: probe questions
Students can learn to use the probe questions (what’s
happening? who? what? how? when? where? why?) to
find processes, participants and circumstances in clauses
long before they have mastered the more complex
grammatical forms in which words are grouped together
to express each of these meanings. Once students are
able to think about word groups in terms of the
meanings they make in clauses, they are ready to explore
the formation of these groups.

58. What is happening or going on:
processes and verb groups
Exercise 2.5: Identifying action and relating processes
In Text 2.C Lily has used both relating and action processes in
her story. All of these processes have been underlined in the
text below. Highlight the relating processes and circle the
action processes.
Text 2.C Lily Year 5
The beast was a horrific sight. It had a huge bulbous body
with bloated pustules. On its head were two lidless red eyes,
which grew larger in the light. At first the beast seemed calm
but then it became restless. Suddenly it lurched towards me
and spurted green slimy liquid onto the floor. I turned and ran
down the passage and out of the cave.

59. Relating verbs in the classroom
To help students identify relating verbs, teachers might
refer to them in symbolic terms as ‘equal or arrow verbs’
(=/ ). Students can be encouraged to build word banks of
the specialised relating verbs they find in:
• mathematics (symbolises, represents, equals),
• science (is composed of, is classified as) or
• geography (is found, is located, is situated).
Students can also be encouraged to use more formal
relating verbs such as concerns and relates to when
introducing topics or arguments in persuasive writing. eg
The first argument against nuclear power concerns safety

60. Verb groups: The grammatical form
of processes

61. Elements of the verb group
In addition to the main verb which expresses the process,
verb groups can include other elements which add
meaning to the main verb. These elements indicate:
• a phrasal verb (eg. turn off the light)
• a passive verb (eg. the trees were cut by the loggers)
• the tense of the main verb (eg. I came; I am coming;
I was going to come)
• the modality of the main verb (eg.; I can come)
• multi-word verb groups (eg. I liked to look at the
pictures)
• non-finite verb forms (eg. to be or not to be)

62. Who or what is taking part:
participants and noun groups

63. Exercise 2.15 Using probe questions to identify participants
Use probe questions to identify the process (eg What’s happening?) and
any participants (Who or what?) in the following clauses taken from a
range of texts of different types. Highlight the process in each clause and
then underline the participants.
1. The reporter asked Mr Norman some very important questions.
2. The movement of electrons causes electrical energy.
3. Mr Tinker appeared to be very polite.
4. Blend the milk, bananas and honey.
5. Sarah watched the strange child with the haunting blue eyes.
6. The peregrine falcon and southern sea eagle are birds of prey.
7. He began to chase the children that had kicked over the rubbish bins.
8. Loss of habitat has led to the extinction of many species of animals.
9. The funny little man sneezed.
10. He gave the bottle to the girl.

65. Exercise 2.16: Using different kinds of participants in texts
Text 2.M Excerpt from personal recount written as an email
Bob took some photos with his underwater camera. Some fish were rainbow
coloured and others had dark stripes. Then Bob noticed two big sharks near the
pontoon and called the instructor.
Text 2.N Excerpt from a poem, The Surfers, by Christopher Year 7
The golden ball appears above the horizon.
The worshippers swarm,
prepare their alters on the sand
and glide into the waves.
Glassy water folding around them -
genies on carpets
flying across their watery playground.
Text 2.O Excerpt from scientific report on sharks
Rhincodon typus is a filter feeding shark. It is a member of the genus Rhincodon and
belongs to the Chondrichthyes class. It eats macro-algae and small nektonic life such
as squid or vertebrates.

66. Exercise 2.16: Using different kinds of participants in texts
Text 2.M Excerpt from personal recount written as an email
Bob took some photos with his underwater camera. Some fish were rainbow
coloured and others had dark stripes. Then Bob noticed two big sharks near the
pontoon and called the instructor.
Text 2.N Excerpt from a poem, The Surfers, by Christopher Year 7
The golden ball appears above the horizon.
The worshippers swarm,
prepare their alters on the sand
and glide into the waves.
Glassy water folding around them -
genies on carpets
flying across their watery playground.
Text 2.O Excerpt from scientific report on sharks
Rhincodon typus is a filter feeding shark. It is a member of the genus Rhincodon and
belongs to the Chondrichthyes class. It eats macro-algae and small nektonic life such
as squid or vertebrates.

67. Grammatical form of participants: the noun group
Grammatical structures for expressing participants :
• a noun group or combination of nouns, eg. That funny
old man sneezed loudly; the hunters shot four buffalo,
two camels and several dingoes.
• an adjective or adjectival group which names qualities,
eg. Reality TV shows are boring; Mr Tinker appeared to be
very polite
• a whole clause (called an embedded clause) which
names facts, activities or ideas, eg. What I’m afraid of is
snakes; The fact that it’s raining doesn’t change my plans
to go swimming.
the most common grammatical form is the noun group.

68. Noun Group Structure

69. Exercise: Identifying noun groups and their parts
In the following clauses use probe questions to underline noun groups
• Circle the main noun.
• highlight premodifiers in yellow
• Highlight the qualifier in green.
• Use brackets **….++, to mark embedded clauses.
Example: Plants use green pigments such as chlorophyll.
1. Animals that use camouflage blend in with their background.
2. This magnified view of the underside of the leaf shows small holes
called stomata.
3. Evidence of discrimination can be seen in many ways.
4. Those who are bilingual will experience many advantages.
5. The delicious smell of frying spices wafted in our window.
6. The stock routes used by the early drovers continue to be a feature
of the Australian outback.

70. In the classroom
Students can have fun exploring the potential of the noun group by
starting with a simple noun (such as tree) and seeing how much
meaning they can continue to add to it, with pre-modifiers but
particularly with qualifiers, for example:
I loved the magnificent old gum tree [[that fell down in the horrific
storm last week]].
Distinguishing embedded clauses from ‘full’ clauses can be difficult for
students. If the probe questions ‘Who?’ or ‘What?’ are used to
capture all the words that answer the question, students will be
alerted to the role embedded clauses play as qualifiers, defining or
further specifying the thing, for example:
Question: ‘What did you love?’
Response: ‘the magnificent old gum tree that fell down in the
horrific storm last week.’

71. In the classroom
The noun group provides a useful framework for
vocabulary development. Word banks of factual
describers, classifiers and technical terms can be built
up as part of learning about a particular topic. Lists of
synonyms could also be developed for common
adjectives and used to make finer distinctions when
building descriptions in narratives. The noun group
also provides a meaningful context for addressing
some of the grammatical challenges students can face
when using articles and comparatives, as well as
prepositions and relative pronouns (in qualifiers).

72. The grammatical form of circumstances:
adverbials

74. Exercise 2.26: circumstances contribute to the purpose of a narrative
1. Highlight the circumstances in the extracts from The Hunt below.
Label each type.
2. What circumstances relate to the theme of camouflage?
3. What circumstances give the reader a sense of the ‘hunt’ that takes
place throughout the story?
Text 2.W Extract from The Hunt by Narelle Oliver
On silent wings, the frogmouth flies, watching for a flicker of movement, listening for
the faintest sound.
At that moment a Bark Moth flutters towards a tree … Nearby, a Bush Cricket hops
from leaf to leaf. The frogmouth follows, but in a flash, the Bush Cricket has vanished.
Just then a Retiarius Spider swings down across the breeze…Out from the leaves a
stripy Tree Frog long-jumps into view. All of a sudden the stripy frog is no where to be
found. Close by a Leaf-tail Gecko scuttles up a granite rock. In the twinkling of an eye
there is no trace of it at all.
Like an arrow a Stick Insect shoots to a branch above. In the very next moment the
Stick Insect has gone. Finally, an Emperor Gum Moth drifts down through the She-oak
twigs. This time there is no escape And it seems the hunt is won.
But overhead, a Powerful Owl is watching.

75. Language for expressing
ideas in narratives

76. Understanding how experiential resources set the scene in
the Orientation stage of a picture book

77. Experiential resources to set
the scene in narratives
 In the Orientation stage of Narratives,
writers typically choose relating verbs,
adverbials of place and time and complex
noun groups help to identify and describe
the characters and situate events (ie the
participants, processes and
circumstances).

78. Orientation stage
There was once a small boy called Wilfred
Gordon McDonald Partridge,
and what’s more he wasn’t very old
either.
His house was next door to an old people’s
home and he knew all the people who
lived there.

79. Experiential resources to develop plot
and characters in narratives
 In the unfolding of Narratives, good
storytellers choose a range of verb types to
engage their audiences in both the outward
action and the inner lives of their characters.
• Action verbs engage audiences in the physical
processes of the plot
• give us access to the inner
worlds of the characters,
• engage us in how characters
communicate with each other.
 The way characters participate in these
processes (eg. as doer or done to) is an
important way of building character

80. Modelling experiential resources to build
character in a picture- book: WGMP
He Mrs Jordan who played the organ.
What’s going on?
He listened to Mr Hosking who told him scary stories.
Acting? Sensing?
He played with Mr Tippett who was crazy about cricket.
Saying? Being?
He ran errands for Miss Mitchell who walked with a wooden
stick. Who’s doing the
acting? Sensing?
He Mr Drysdale who had a voice like a giant. Saying? Being?
But his favourite person of all was Miss Nancy Alison
Delacourt Cooper because she had four names, just as
he did.
He called her „Miss Nancy‟ and told her all his secrets.

81. Explicit teaching of grammar in context – Gold unit
Specialised terms with more meaning packaged inside them
• Establish shared field of Gold – explaining why people came to Australia during
gold rushes and what changed in Australia as a result of gold rushes. Take students
contributions.
• Write following sentence on board
During the gold rushes many people left their countries and came to Australia and
stayed here.
• Explain that we can divide that sentence into three events.
Event 1 - many people left their countries
Event 2 - many people came to Australia
Event 3 - many people stayed here.
• Ask students how we might have known there were three events (3 verbs)
• Establish that students know what a verb is and that there are different kinds of
verbs (eg. action, relating, saying, thinking and feeling). Establish that the above
sentence has 3 action verbs – this is common for spoken language and for story
(recount and narrative) text types. But when it comes to explaining at stage 3 and 4
sentences tend to have fewer verbs – often only one.
• So lets see if we can turn all those verbs into one. – what did the people do? – elicit
‘migrated’ – so 81
• During the gold rushes many people migrated to Australia

82. Group Exercise Worksheet 1
Change the words which are highlighted into more specialised terms.
You will find these terms in the text: ‘Why did different groups of people
come to Australia during the Gold rushes?’
Example: I was looking for more chances
Answer: I came in search of greater opportunities (paragraph 1)
1. A lot of bad things happened in my country . There were …… (Par 2)
2. I was very good at mining. I had ………………………………………. (Par 4).
3. People were hurt. There was violent …………………………………(Par 5)
4. I left my country after people overthrew the government. There
was a …………………………………………………………… (par8)
5. We all wanted to escape. We had a …………………… to escape (Par 9).
6. Things were bad about living in our country. There were …… (Par 9)
7. People died because they didn’t have enough to eat. There
was..(par11)

83. Explicit teaching of grammar in context – Gold unit
Nominalisation
• Make link with previous lesson –Give examples to explain the concept of abstract
nouns
• Begin with establishing students understanding of nouns – concrete nouns people,
places or things – ie table, chair,.(All these things can be seen, touched etc,,)
• Explain that nouns can also be a package of actions that cannot be touched and
which in fact name processes. Eg The Gold rushes = people rushing to look for gold.
The search for gold =
• Go through terms on worksheet with students to establish them as abstract nouns.
Eg I was looking for (action – therefore verb) – I came in (the) search of
We all wanted (feeling –verb) – We had a desire
• Note that the verbs which are left in the sentence are often relating (be or have)
Quick exercise:
• Turn the following abstract nouns into verbs (you may need to include other words
as well as the verb)
Gold rushes Migration Convict transportation Prosperity
The increase 83

84. Unpacking Abstract nouns Worksheet 2
1. Change the following abstract nouns into verbs
1. Gold rushes = when people …………………… to a place to
look for gold
2. Migration = when people…………… from one place to
another
3. Convict transportation = when convicts were
…………………………
4. Prosperity = when people ………………… a lot of money
5. The increase = when things …………… up.
84

85. b. Resources for explaining cause and effect
Write following three sentences on the board with arrows between.
1. Some people discovered gold in Australia
2. Many people migrated to Australia
3. The population of Australia rose
Explain/elicit that these events are linked in time and in cause and
effect. Lets look at some ways language can do the job of the arrows.
Work through the following examples with two of the events on board
1. Some people discovered gold in Australia and so many people
migrated (spoken like conjunction – leaves action verbs)
2. Many people migrated to Australia because some people discovered
gold (Because ( subordinate conjunction – makes a complex
sentence but still two verbs/events)
3. Many people migrated to Australia because of the discovery of gold
(Because of (preposition phrase - tighter – we have to change a verb
into a noun)
4. Migration caused the discovery of gold. ( causal verb: both verbs 85
into nouns – much simpler sentence structure X Y)

86. Worksheet 3: cause and effect expressions
In each sentence below, change the underlined verb into an abstract
noun to complete the cause and effect sentence.
Example
When the Portugese found gold in Brazil, local native tribes were
devastated.
The discovery of gold in Brazil led to the devastation of the local native
tribes
1.The Portugese wanted gold and so they persecuted many people in
Brazil.
The Portugese desire for gold resulted in
…………………………………………… of many people in Brazil.
2. People discovered gold in California and so people rushed to the
goldfields.
The discovery of gold in California led to ………………………………to the
goldfields.
Now draw a circle around the cause and effect verbs in the sentences 86
above.

87. Cause and Effect expressions in Explanations Worksheet 3