General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 02 Topic 01.doc  LANGUAGE FOCUS 03 Prefacing and ordering 1. Prefacing The article says: The question is, is our small city ready for such a change? The problem is that working conditions inside these old buildings are very poor. When we write an information text, we sometimes want to tell the reader what is coming next. We can use a prefacing structure to do this. A prefacing structure usually introduces the second part of the same sentence. Look thing (that) I don't agree with you. point (that) it's not the best solution. The truth is (that) I didn't finish reading it. to pay someone to do it. The solution is money and hard work. We can also modify or quantify the noun in the preface. Examples 1.The only answer is to replace it with a new one. 2.The simple fact is that it doesn't work. Information We can add extra information to the preface. The only solution to the problem is to hire more staff. 2. Ordering The article says: First and most importantly is space. The building itself is small and cramped with poor lighting. Second water, sewage and power systems are all very old and need to be replaced. Then of course there is the lack of eating facilities. Finally, if we want to be a successful city, we need to offer better office space so that businesses will want to set up there. When we want to keep the reader informed of what stage we are up to in our argument, we can order the information to make it clearer. We make the order clear with the following words. First second third then finally Firstly secondly thirdly and then lastly next in conclusion after that to sum up 40