65 Understanding structure Text structure refers to how the information within a written text is organised. Understanding the structure of a text helps us recognise if the writer is giving a description, a sequence of events, a problem and solution, a cause and effect, or comparing and contrasting something. Look at the following sentences about AI (artificial intelligence) and decide if they are giving a general description (D), describing a sequence of events (S), explaining a problem and its solution (P/S) or comparing and contrasting (C/C). The first one has been done for you. 1 Self-driving cars first made an appearance in the US in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until many years later, around the early 2010s, that they became available to buy in certain states, and by 2021, they had become increasingly popular. S This sentence describes a sequence of events: it starts by mentioning the first appearance of self-driving cars in the 1980s. Then it explains that they went on the market in the early 2010s and that by 2021, they’d increased in popularity. Note the use of time phrases in blue and the past tense verbs in red – these help you to understand what the writer is doing. 2 Progress in AI and robotics have led to growth in the early 21st century in areas such as autonomous vehicles and delivery drones, something that was beyond our imagination 50 years ago. 3 One of the earliest developments in AI was the creation of a self-learning computer program to play draughts1 in 1952, and this was followed in 1954 by a translation experiment that saw 60 Russian sentences translated into English. 4 In its simplest form, AI is an area of science which combines computer science and reliable sets of data to enable problem-solving. 5 AI can assist people who need help making a decision about what to watch or listen to by making entertainment recommendations from places such as Spotify or Netflix. Choose the correct relative pronoun to complete the sentences. 1 The British mathematician Alan Turing is commonly believed to be the person whose / who came up with the concepts for AI. 2 The country which / where the first self-driving vehicles were tested on roads was Singapore. 3 Mass unemployment is a major concern who / that surrounds the increase in the use of AI. 4 The technology at the automated passport gates at Heathrow Airport failed yesterday, that / which led to all sorts of unforeseen problems. 5 Partial automation, where / which is used in autonomous vehicles, for instance, means that a human being can still control the machine. 1 2 1 to play draughts: Dame spielen Science and technology | Key Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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