Organizing information

A paragraph is a group of related sentences that develop an idea. In nearly every paragraph, there is one idea that is more important than all the others. The main idea of the paragraph is usually found at the beginning.

Sample paragraph 1:

All computers, whether large or small, have the same basic capabilities. They have circuits for performing arithmetic operations. They all have a way of communicating with the person(s) using them. They also have circuits for making decisions.

In sample paragraph 1, the first sentence, All computers, whether large or small have the same basic capabilities, expresses the main idea of the paragraph.

All main idea sentences have a topic and say something about the topic.

Example:

All computers [topic], whether large or small have the same basic capabilities [about the topic].

In some of your reading, finding main ideas may serve your needs but, in much of your studying, you need to understand details. It is sometimes more difficult to understand details than main ideas. You will find it helpful if you think of details as growing out of the main idea. In sample paragraph 1, there are three major details growing out of the main idea. These are the major details:

1 They have circuits for performing arithmetic operations.

2 They all have a way of communicating with the person(s) using them.

3 They also have circuits for making decisions.

A major detail often has minor details growing out of it. These minor details tell more about a major detail, just as major details tell more about a main idea. In studying, you often find a paragraph that has many small details that you must understand and remember. Breaking up a paragraph of this kind into its three components: the main idea, major details, and minor details will help you to understand and remember what it is about.

Sample paragraph 2:

It is the incredible speed of computers, along with their memory capacity, which makes them so useful and valuable. Computers can solve problems in a fraction of the time it takes man. For this reason, businesses use them to keep their accounts, and airline, railway, and bus companies use them to control ticket sales. As for memory, modern computers can store information with high accuracy and reliability. A computer can put data into its memory and retrieve it again in a few millionths of a second. It also has a storage capacity for as many as a million items.

If you were to organize this paragraph into its three components, it would look like this:

Main idea

Major details

Minor details

In making a block diagram you don't have to write every word in the main idea sentence or in each of the detaU sentences.

Exercise 1 Practise finding the main idea, major details, and minor details by completing

the block diagram after reading the following paragraph.

The computer has changed the production of copy in the newspaper industry. There are three steps involved in the process: input, correction, and output. First, the computer numbers each story, counts words, and gives a listing of the length of each story. Then, a page is made up, advertisements are placed in, the copy is shifted or deleted, and corrections are made. Finally, the computer hyphenates words, and the result of all this is a newspaper page.

Main idea

Major details

Minor details

Exercise 2 Practise finding the main idea, major details, and minor details by completing

the diagram after reading the following paragraph.

Railway companies use large computer systems to control ticket reservations and to give immediate information on the status of their trains. The computer system is connected by private telephone lines to terminals in major train stations, and ticket reservations for customers are made through these phone lines. The passenger's name, type of accommodation, and the train schedule is put into the computer's memory. On a typical day, a railway's computer system gets thousands of telephone calls about reservations, space on other railways, and requests for arrivals and departures. A big advantage of the railway computer ticket reservation system is its rapidity because a cancelled booking can be sold anywhere in the system just a few seconds later. Railway computer systems are not used for reservations alone. They are used for a variety of other jobs including train schedules, planning, freight and cargo loading, meal planning, personnel availability, accounting, and stock control.

Main idea

Major details

Minor details

51

Computer software

Start-up

Task 1 Make a list of software products that you use (e.g. word processing,

spreadsheets, etc.). Are there some features of the products you never use? Are there any features missing?

Reading

Task 2 In the magazine article which follows, a number of software developers express

their opinions on the future of software technology. Read the article and tick (J) the relevant boxes to show which opinions are expressed by the speakers.

Opinions

In general, customers are getting what they want.

In general, customers are not getting what they want.

Software is too complex.

Software is not complex enough.

Software developers know what users want.

Software developers don't know what users want.

Catherine Bull

investigates

This week: software

Software technology is getting more complicated. Developers have to cut through a jungle of computer languages, operating environments, and shifting standards to choose how they'll create their software. It's not an easy job. Software purchasers will have to live with the results for years to come. Which advances in software technology will prevail? Which ones will be just a flash in the pan?

I chose four well-known software developers and asked each to talk about current and future trends in software technology. Their comments reveal some common and diverse themes.

10 I began by asking them if they thought that software purchasers are getting what they need? What should developers be doing differently to give purchasers a better product?

Mary Evans 'In general, I think people are getting what they want -there are a lot of creative things being done with paint software, word

15 processing, DTP (desktop publishing) systems, and the like. Do users want more? Of course! Users will always want more. The computer is an incredibly powerful tool, and any software that makes it easier, faster, more creative, or more cost-effective will inevitably be in demand. But I'm generally optimistic about the way things are going

20 at the moment. I think most of the major software manufacturers are able to read the market quite well.'

Gerry Harper Tm afraid I completely disagree with Mary. I just don't think that software purchasers are getting the technical support they need. While the products are getting more and more complex, and

25 more and more expensive, it seems that support is starting to be thought of as an additional business opportunity. More generally, I've thought for some time that applications arc pitting too big, and that they're trying to do too much. Yes, they're versatile and powerful, but they're also often overwhelming. I think what we need are simple little

30 programs that are easy to understand and use, and that work together to accomplish more complex tasks.'

Matt Andrews I really can't agree with-that. To imagine we can just go back to "simple little programs" just ignores the complex needs of many of today's software users. No, I'm sure that you can't stop 35 progress. Suppliers know what their customers want - they just can't supply it quickly enough. I've studied the market very closely, and I've found that purchasers' needs seem always to exceed the capability of the available software by a constant time-frame of about six to twelve months.'

40 Bob Polton ⁴I think users are getting what they want, provided that their needs fit the off-the-shelf application. Specialized software is usually so specific that it should be written in-house for businesses. Developers should add features that the customer needs, not what they think customers want. Some effort should be made to get

45 feedback from the users before making an upgrade so that the proper features are added.¹

Vocabulary

a Hash in the pan (1. 6) - a success that lasts only a short time and is not

repeated off-the-shelf (1. 41) -mass-produced; not made according to the individual

needs of the customer

Task 3 Each of the following comments from the text is followed by two paraphrases.

Decide which paraphrase (a or b) is closer in meaning to the original comment. Remember to look at the comments in their original context.

1 'Developers have to cut through a jungle of computer languages, operating
environments, and shifting standards...' (line 1)

a The huge number of languages, environments, and standards makes life

difficult for software developers. b Software developers have to act to reduce the number of languages,

environments, and standards which currently exist.

2 'Their comments reveal some common and diverse themes.' (line 8)
a They talk about ordinary and wide-ranging topics.

b They agree about some issues, but disagree about others.

3 'I think most of the major software manufacturers are able to read the market
quite well.¹ (line 20)

a Most software manufacturers understand what consumers want. b Most software manufacturers know how to influence users to buy more of their products.

4 '...it seems that support is starting to be thought of as an additional business
opportunity/ (line 25)

a Increased technical support is a means of making software more attractive

to businesses. b Software manufacturers are using the fact their products are complex to

start selling technical support to their customers.

5 '... purchasers' needs seem always to exceed the capability of the available
software by a constant time-frame of about six to twelve months.' (line 37)

a It takes about six to twelve months for purchasers to understand fully the

software they buy. b The software customers want now what will only become available in

about six to twelve months.

Task 4

Task 5

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Which of the four speakers do you most agree with? Why?

Using the line references given, look back in the text and find words or phrases in the text that have a similar meaning to:

penetrate (lines 1-5)

changing (lines 1-5)

win, survive (lines 5-10)

buyers (lines 10-15)

understand (lines 20-25)

flexible (lines 25-30)

too big/complex to manage (lines 25-30)

achieve (lines 30-35)

go beyond (lines 35-40)

information about a product/service (lines 40-45)

Task 6

Writing

Translate Mary Evans's comments (the paragraph beginning 'In general, I think people...') into your own language.

54

Task 7

Listen to the following radio talk show called Computer Forecast, in which Barry Harris, the host, is discussing the future of software technology with his two guests. Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1 EH Liz thinks thai most PC users are too tolerant of design faults.

2 CD Liz thinks thai onlv irn per cent of software users really know what thev

ciLC UOiiig.

3 LJ Liz thinks that the increased sophistication of software will make the

problem of lack of expertise among users even worse in the future.

4 O Sam agrees that the vast majority of users of a single PC are

inexperienced.

5 EH Sam estimates that the number of experienced users and lirst-time buyers

among his customers is about the same.

6 LJ Liz thinks that multimedia isn't having a big impact on the software

market because of its high price and the lack of appropriate technology.

7 EH Sam disagrees with Liz about multimedia, and believes that it will replace

conventional desktop publishing.

8 CD Both Liz and Sam agree that, in future, new software products will all

have to be network-compatible.

Listen again. Change the sentences that arc false to make them true.

5 5

Task 8 IS1 Read this extract from the tapescript of the conversation and till in the gaps. To

help you, the first letter of each missing word is given, and each gap is followed by a synonym for the missing word.

Liz: No, I don't think that most PC users are s_

from it. Compared with users on other systems, they are far more tolerant of

f__________ ² (defective) design.

host: That's a very strong c----------------------- (assertion), Liz. Aren't you

exaggerating the problem?
Liz: No, I don't think I am exaggerating. I h------------------------ (truly) think the

v___________ - (great) majority of software users I've interviewed are not at

------------- (scarcely) able to cope with

software will d-

. (certainly) be bigger and much more

complicated, so the problem can only g--------- _{:---------------} ! w_

(deteriorate).

Now listen to the recording again and check your answers.

Task 9

Speaking

Discuss the following questions.

If you were a developer of software, what kind of software package would you develop? Why?

Do you think software developers should develop educational software more like the software developed for^ames? Why?

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