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English: skills for learning
English: skills for learning

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2.1 Your current use of information from sources

People often share the information they have read or heard. For example, today I looked at the train timetables on the National Rail website and used this information to let my friend know about my travel plans.

Screenshot of train timetable website and an email saying
Figure 2 An example of sharing information

In order to pass on information, the choice is between repeating the exact words used by a source and rephrasing the content using your own words. You might, for example, summarise the information if you were telling someone about the content of a conversation. Information from other sources is often used to justify a decision or to support or illustrate a key point, in which case you may want to use the exact words.

Activity 2

Timing: Allow approximately 5 minutes

How do you, and other people you know, use information and ideas you have read or heard? Spend a few minutes making a short list in the box below before comparing your answer with mine.

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Answer

Your answer is personal to you, but it is useful to compare it to mine. Today I told my husband what my friends and colleagues had told me during the day. We also exchanged and commented on information we had read in the newspaper. Since we both read several newspapers, it’s interesting to compare notes. My daughter told me about an attraction near her home in Cornwall and used information from the internet to explain what can be done there and to quote the entry fee.