Chapter

Discovering Canada

Introduction to the Chapter

Canada is a vast country with almost endless possibilities for adventure. Whether you are living in or
visiting Canada, there is a great deal that you can explore in this country.
Canada has a wide variety of geographical regions. Each has unique characteristics and is worth getting to
know. Travelling into Western Canada, you will see the vastness of the Canadian Prairies and the majesty
of the Rocky Mountains. Travelling into Eastern Canada, you will see the beauty of the St. Lawrence
Lowlands and the Appalachian Mountains. If you travel north, you will discover the wonders of the
Arctic, with its unique vegetation and wildlife.
The culture of Canada is also diverse. While Canada has two official languages, French and English, it
is multicultural. The Aboriginal Peoples of Canada, who have many different cultures and languages,
have inhabited this land from time immemorial. Immigrants from around the world have settled in
Canada for hundreds of years and brought with them a diversity of traditions and values. As a result of
this mix of Aboriginal Peoples and immigrants, Canada is well known for its cultural diversity.
In Chapter 1, you will learn about the geography of Canada. You will complete a quiz focused on a few
popular places in Canada, and then you will read about two of the many spectacular places to visit.

Canada: Focus on Some Facts

Test your knowledge of the geography of Canada by responding to the questions below. The map may
help you with the answers.
1. Name the capital city of Canada.

2. Name the capital city of the province in which you live.

3. State the number of provinces and territories in Canada.

Provinces: _________ Territories: _________

4. Name the province to the east of where you live and the province to the west. What are the capital
cities of these two provinces?

Province to the east: ________________________

Capital city: ________________________

Province to the west: ________________________

Capital city: ________________________

6. Name the province in Canada where French is spoken by the majority of the population.

2 Chapter 1

Yukon
Whitehorse

Northwest
Territories

Nunavut

Iqaluit

Sask
atch
ewan

Manitoba

Regina
Winnipeg

an
dL
ab
r
or
ad

Edmonton
Victoria

New
fou
nd
lan
d

ta
Albe
r

Br
Col itish
um
bia

Yellowknife

St. Johns

Qubec
Ontario

Charlottetown
Qubec

OTTAWA
Toronto

Fredericton
Halifax

Prince
Edward
Island

Nova Scotia
New Brunswick

In 2007, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a national broadcaster, posted online the
results of a contest that it had created for Canadians. In this contest, Canadians could vote for their
favourite locations in Canada. The contest was called The Seven Wonders of Canada. Canadians
suggested many locations in Canada as their favourites; in fact, according to the CBC (2007), over 1
million votes were cast in the contest.
Name the province(s) or territory(ies) within Canada in which the following seven favourite spots,
as voted by Canadians, are found. To find this information, you may consult with your classmates or
friends or use the Internet.

Chapter 1 3

The Bay of Fundy

(67 670 votes)

Cabot Trail
(44 073 votes)

Nahanni National Park

(64 920 votes)

Niagara Falls
(81 818 votes)
Northern Lights
(61 417 votes)

The Sleeping Giant

(177 305 votes)
Which of these seven wonders is not found at a
specific location?
The Rockies
(55 630 votes)

Mark the other wonders on your map of Canada

on page 3.

Source:
cbc.ca. (2007). Seven wonders of Canada. Retrieved April 5, 2009, from http://www.cbc.ca/sevenwonders/results.html

4 Chapter 1

 Using Adjectives to Describe

Adjectives are words that are used to describe nouns (people, places, or things). Some adjectives
describe in a way that is neutral. They do not tell how writers feel about the things they are describing.
Other adjectives tell a lot about how writers feel about the people, places, or things they are describing.
The adjectives tell us whether the writers feel positive or negative.
Adjectives That
Are Neutral
green
soft
hard
smooth
rough

Adjectives That
Convey a
Positive Meaning

Adjectives That
Convey a
Negative Meaning

exciting
great
fantastic
fabulous
spectacular
popular

terrible
horrible
boring
dull
disgusting

Exercise 1
1. Think about the adjectives listed above that convey positive meanings. Rewrite the list, ordering
the adjectives from the adjective that seems the most positive to you to the adjective that seems the
least positive to you.
2. Think about the adjectives listed above that convey negative meanings. Rewrite the list, ordering
the adjectives from the adjective that seems the most neutral to you to the adjective that seems the
most negative to you.

Exercise 2
Both of the sentences below describe Ottawa, the capital city of Canada. Underline the adjectives in the
sentences. Then, basing your decision on the adjective, determine whether the writer of each sentence is
neutral or expresses an opinion.
1. Within Canada, Ottawa is considered a large city.

2. Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, is a lively city hosting a variety of festivals and celebrations
throughout the year.

Chapter 1 5

Exercise 3
As a class, brainstorm a list of 10 to 15 adjectives that could be used to describe someones home. Then
decide whether each adjective is neutral or expresses a positive or negative opinion.

Understanding Collocation
In English, there are words that fit with some words better than they fit with other words. This is called
collocation.
Certain adjectives collocate with certain nouns but do not collocate with other nouns. For example,
we can say that The man has blond hair, but we would not say that The man has a blond car. The
adjective blond is collocated with very few nouns. We might say that The man has a tan car.

Exercise
The adjectives in the chart below collocate with the word city. Decide whether each adjective is neutral
or expresses an opinion. Then discuss your understanding with your classmates.
Adjective
large
enormous
quiet
magnificent
unique
beautiful
interesting
fun
small
sleepy
incredible

6 Chapter 1

Is Neutral

Expresses a
Positive Opinion

Expresses a
Negative Opinion

 Distinguishing Facts from Opinions in Reading

An important reading skill is to be able to distinguish facts from opinions. Paying attention to the
adjectives that a writer uses to describe can help you determine whether a statement is a statement of
fact or opinion. In addition to adjectives, writers and speakers sometimes use special words or phrases
for emphasis in opinion or feeling statements. These words include the following.
truly
there can be no doubt that

honestly
without a doubt

absolutely
certainly

incredibly

Watch for these words and phrases in your reading.

Exercise 1
Read the following statements, and identify which statements express facts and which statements
express opinions. Mark an F beside each fact and an O beside each opinion.
1. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. ____
2. The Bay of Fundy is a unique and fascinating place, with its magnificent body of water and
incredible variety of wildlife. ____
3. Nahanni National Park is included on UNESCOs World Heritage List. ____
4. Nahanni National Park is absolutely unspoiled by the impact of human development. ____
5. The Cabot Trail runs through the Cape Breton Highlands. ____
6. The Cabot Trail is named after an explorer named John Cabot. ____
7. When you travel through the Rockies, you are at the top of the world! ____
8. Banff is located in the Rockies. ____
9. The Sleeping Giant is actually a natural rock peninsula that juts into Lake Superior. ____
10. The northern lights are also called aurora borealis. ____
11. The northern lights are truly spectacular. ____

Chapter 1 7

Exercise 2
Choose one of the seven wonders of Canada. Search online or interview a friend to learn more about
the place. Then, in sentence form, write four statements of fact about the wonder and two statements of
opinion about the wonder. Share these statements with your classmates. Ask your classmates to identify
which statements are facts and which are opinions.
1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________________
4. ______________________________________________________________________
1. ______________________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________________
Keep the sentences that you have written in this exercise. You will need your sentences for another
exercise later in the chapter.

Reading
Reading 1Carnaval de Qubec
Pre-reading: Thinking about the Topic
1. What do you know about the province of Quebec?


2. Have you ever attended a carnival? Where was the carnival? What activities were planned as part of
the carnival?


3. In what type of winter activities have you participated?


8 Chapter 1

 Pre-reading Activity: Scanning for Information

1. Scan the map of Canada on page 3 to find Quebec City.
2. Now scan Reading 1 (below) to find the following facts. You have four minutes to complete this
exercise.
Hints for Scanning: As you complete the scanning exercise below, you should look for the information in
a systematic way. Move your eyes through the material, thinking about where the information is likely
to be located. Also, identify the proper nouns or keywords in each question, and then scan the article
for these words. If the question asks you for the name of a place, look for capitalized nouns in the text.
If the question asks you for a number, scan for digits or numbers expressed in words.
___________
___________
___________
___________
___________

The number of people who

attend the Carnaval de
Qubec annually
The name of the large castle
near the Quebec Parliament
Buildings
The size of the Ice Hotel,
Quebec-Canada
The number of guest rooms
and suites in the Ice Hotel
The traditional activity
located at Place LotoQuebec

Carnaval de Qubec
Quebec City, Quebec
[1]

In the middle of winter, Quebec City comes to life during the Quebec Winter Carnival
(Carnaval de Quebec). With over two weeks of music, parades, and winter sports, this is
Quebec Citys Mardi Gras. In fact, the Carnaval de Quebec is the worlds largest winter
carnival, attracting more than a million people. The carnival owes some of its high spirit
to a traditional drink called the Caribou (a mixture of brandy, vodka, sherry, and port),
although there are many events during the winter carnival that are organized for families.

Chapter 1 9

[2]

Watching over the carnival is

Bonhomme, the festivals mascot1.
Bonhomme is a large snowman;
he is newly constructed each
year. According to local stories,
Bonhomme is a resident of the Ice
Palace, an enormous castle built of
snow and ice that is located near
the Quebec government buildings.
The carnival has many highlights.
These include the snow sculpture
competition at Place LotoQuebec, tobogganing down icy
slides for adults and children, the
dogsledding competition through
the streets of Vieux-Quebec2, and
the annual Snow Bath, in which
strong Quebecois strip down to
their bathing suits in front of
a lively crowd and dive into a
snowdrift. The annual canoe race,
in which participants race across
the icy St. Lawrence River, is even
more daring.

[3]

While all the hotels in Vieux-Quebec create a very welcoming environment for
visitors, theres no more appropriate place to stay than the Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada,
a 30000-square-foot hotel constructed each winter of ice and snow. Located on the
shores of Lake St. Joseph, 30 minutes west of Quebec City, the hotel offers more
than 30 guest rooms and suites, and includes a wedding hall, two art galleries and an
exhibition space, a spa with hot tubs and a sauna, plus a bar and nightcluball newly
constructed each year from 12000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. Admittedly, it is
not the most comfortable choice of hotel for everyone, but at least make time to visit,
and perhaps have something cool to drinkin an ice glass, of courseat the Ice Bar.

1. mascot: a symbol of an event

2. Vieux-Quebec: the old part of Quebec City
Adapted from:
Schultz, P. (2007). 1,000 places to see in the USA and Canada before you die (pp. 10201021). New York: Workman Publishing.

10 Chapter 1

 Vocabulary in Context
Most of the vocabulary that you will study as you work your way through this textbook appears on the
academic word list of frequently used words. It is important for you to learn these words since they will
appear in various readings and lectures in academic studies.
Choose the best meaning for each of the italicized words in the sentences below.
1. The carnival owes some of its high spirit to a traditional drink called the Caribou (a mixture of
brandy, vodka, sherry, and port), although there are many events during the winter carnival that are
organized for families. (paragraph 1)
a) customary
b) new
c) magnificent
2. Bonhomme is a large snowman; he is newly constructed each year. (paragraph 2)
a) is made
b) is connected
c) is designed
3. According to local stories, Bonhomme is a resident of the Ice Palace, an enormous castle built of
snow and ice that is located near the Quebec government buildings. (paragraph 2)
a) person who was born in
b) person who works at
c) person who lives at
4. According to local stories, Bonhomme is a resident of the Ice Palace, an enormous castle built of
snow and ice that is located near the Quebec government buildings. (paragraph 2)
a) popular
b) very large
c) medium-sized
5. The carnival has many highlights. (paragraph 2)
a) best parts
b) longest parts
c) strangest parts
6. These include the snow sculpture competition at Place Loto-Quebec, tobogganing down icy slides
for adults and children, the dogsledding competition through the streets of Vieux-Quebec, and the
annual Snow Bath, in which strong Quebecois strip down to their bathing suits in front of a lively
crowd and dive into a snowdrift. (paragraph 2)
a) weekly
b) monthly
c) yearly
Chapter 1 11

7. While all the hotels in Vieux-Quebec create a very welcoming environment for visitors, theres
no more appropriate place to stay than the Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada, a 30000-square-foot hotel
constructed each winter of ice and snow. (paragraph 3)
a) suitable
b) fun
c) active
8. Located on the shores of Lake St. Joseph, 30 minutes west of Quebec City, the hotel offers more
than 30 guest rooms and suites, and includes a wedding hall, two art galleries and an exhibition
space, a spa with hot tubs and a sauna, plus a bar and nightcluball newly constructed each year
from 12000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. (paragraph 3)
a) surrounded by
b) situated on
c) south of
9. Located on the shores of Lake St. Joseph, 30 minutes west of Quebec City, the hotel offers more
than 30 guest rooms and suites, and includes a wedding hall, two art galleries and an exhibition
space, a spa with hot tubs and a sauna, plus a bar and nightcluball newly constructed each year
from 12000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. (paragraph 3)
a) gymnasium
b) library
c) display

Vocabulary Learning Strategy: Using Word Cards

Intentionally focusing your attention on words that are used frequently in English can help you increase
the size of your vocabulary. Using word cards is one way to focus your attention on vocabulary items in
English.
1. Take a small card (approximately 5 cm x 4 cm), and write one of the new vocabulary words from
Reading 1 on one side of the card.
2. On the other side of the card, do the following.
a) Draw a picture that represents the meaning of the word, or write the meaning of the word in
English. (If you have difficulty expressing the meaning of the word in English, you may write
the translation of the word in another language.)
b) Write a sentence in English that uses the new word in a meaningful context. If you have
difficulty composing a sentence using the word, check with an English learners dictionary for a
good sample sentence.
3. Create a card for each word that was new to you in the vocabulary exercise for Reading 1.
4. Until you are comfortable using the words on your word cards, review the cards every day, changing
the order in which you review them. Saying the words out loud as you review them may help you
remember them.
12 Chapter 1

 Comprehension Check
1. Fill in the blanks in the chart below with information from the reading.
Paragraph 1

Basic information about the

Carnaval de Qubec

Paragraph 3

Description of the Ice Hotel

Quebec-Canada

Location of the Carnaval de Qubec:

Size:

Materials used in construction:

Length:

General activities:

1.

2.

3.

Number of people who attend:

Location:

Paragraph 2

Number of guest rooms:

Specific aspects of the

Carnaval de Qubec

Other rooms in the hotel:

Mascot name:

1.

Description of the Ice Palace:

2.

1.

3.

2.

4.

3.

Advice:

Activities:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Chapter 1 13

2. The author of this article uses a combination of facts and opinions in her description of the
Carnaval de Qubec. Are the following statements from the article statements of fact or opinion?

Mark the statements that are facts with an F and the statements that are opinions with an O.
Underline the parts of the statements that contain opinions.
a) Bonhomme is a large snowman; he is newly constructed each year. __________
b) The carnival has many highlights. These include the snow sculpture competition at Place LotoQuebec, tobogganing down icy slides for adults and children, the dogsledding competition
through the streets of Vieux-Quebec, and the annual Snow Bath, in which strong Quebecois
strip down to their bathing suits in front of a lively crowd and dive into a snowdrift. ________
c) The annual canoe race, in which participants race across the icy St. Lawrence River, is even more
daring. __________
d) While all the hotels in Vieux-Quebec create a very welcoming environment for visitors, theres
no more appropriate place to stay than the Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada, a 30 000-square-foot
hotel constructed each winter of ice and snow. __________
e) Located on the shores of Lake St. Joseph, 30 minutes west of Quebec City, the hotel offers more
than 30 guest rooms and suites, and includes a wedding hall, two art galleries and an exhibition
space, a spa with hot tubs and a sauna, plus a bar and nightcluball newly constructed each year
from 12000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. __________

3. This short article was adapted from a book called 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada before
You Die. For whom do you think the book was written?

4. After reading this article, are you interested in visiting the carnival? Why or why not?

Reading 2The Queen Charlotte Islands

Pre-reading: Thinking about the Topic
1. The reading The Queen Charlotte Islands is another descriptive text adapted from 1,000 Places
to See in the USA and Canada before You Die. Before reading the text, search online for a map of
the islands. Then label the Queen Charlotte Islands, also known as Haida Gwaii, on your map of
Canada.
2. The author compares the Queen Charlotte Islands to the Galapagos Islands. What do you know
about the Galapagos Islands? Where are they located? Why might the author of this article
compare the Queen Charlotte Islands to the Galapagos Islands?
14 Chapter 1

 The Queen Charlotte Islands,

British Columbia: The Galapagos of Canada
[1]

The distant and little-known Queen Charlotte

Islands (also called Haida Gwaii, which means
Islands of the People) are the homeland of the
Haida, a nation of Indigenous people in British
Columbia. About 6000 people live on the islands,
mostly on Graham Island, and about half of
these people are Haida. The islands are also home
to an incredibly rich diversity of biological life.
Situated 80 nautical miles [150 kilometres] off
the coast of British Columbia, this group of 150
islands has developed its own species of flora1 and
fauna2. From black bears to deer mice, many of the
animals are different from their cousins who live
on the mainland of British Columbia. The Queen
Charlottes are home to an estimated 1.5 million
nesting seabirds, a quarter of British Columbias
population of peregrine falcons, and salmon.

[2]

The islands forests and bays have been home to the Haida people for more than 10000
years. The Haida were masterful carvers of totem poles3, masks, and other sacred
objects. After contact with European explorers, the Haida were decimated by European
diseases. Their magnificent villages were deserted, and the forest took over.

[3]

Today, to protect the islands unique history, the Canadian government and the Council
of the Haida Nation has preserved the southern part of Moresby Island, which is the
second largest of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Now the southern part of the island
is called Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. The park is
beautiful and is dominated by huge cedar, spruce, and hemlock. No logging is allowed
in the park. The most interesting areas of the park, however, are the old Haida villages
which can be reached only by boat. For most people, just about the only way to visit the
park is by arranging to join a guide on a boating excursion. For example, Butterfly Tours
offers eight-day kayaking tours which visit abandoned villages and the islands outer
coast. Tourists could also consider another of Butterfly Tours boating excursions to the
Islands, on an 80-foot [25-metre] motorized sailboat. Tourists take kayaks out from
the sailboat to the islands during the days and return to the sailboat in the evenings for
meals and the comfort of private, heated rooms for the night.
Chapter 1 15

1. flora: plants that grow in a place

2. fauna: animals that live in a place
3. totem poles: tall wooden poles with symbols and pictures carved into them
Adapted from:
Schultz, P. (2007). 1,000 places to see in the USA and Canada before you die (pp. 10461047). New York: Workman Publishing.

Vocabulary in Context
In Reading 2, the flora and fauna of the Queen Charlotte Islands are described.

flora: all the plants that grow in a place

fauna: all the animals that live in a place

1. Put a check in the column to indicate whether the items in the list below are examples of flora or
fauna. Do not look up the words in your dictionary. Use the context of the reading to help you
make the best guesses that you can.
Flora

Fauna

black bears
cedar
deer mice
hemlock
peregrine falcons
salmon
seabirds
spruce

2. What clues in the reading helped you guess whether each word in the chart above is flora or fauna?

16 Chapter 1

 Comprehension Check
Fill in the blanks in the chart below with information from the reading.
Paragraph 1

Basic information about the

Queen Charlotte Islands

Indigenous name:
Information about people on the Islands:

Description of the park:

Location:
Number of islands:
Types of wildlife:
1.

2.

3.
Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3 Protecting the islands: Gwaii

Haanas National Park Reserve
and Haida Heritage Site

History of the Haida people

on the islands

The Haida people before contact with

Europeans:



The Haida people after contact with
Europeans:

Visiting the park:
1.

2.

Chapter 1 17

Writing
Grammar: Focus on Simple and Compound Sentences
Many students learning English as an additional language are overwhelmed by what can seem like an
endless variety of sentences in English. In fact, in English there are four basic sentence types: simple,
compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. As you work through this textbook, you will
learn about and practise using these four sentence types. In this chapter, you will practise writing and
editing the first two types: simple sentences and compound sentences.

The Simple Sentence

1. A simple sentence is an independent clause. An independent clause contains a subject and a verb
that work together to create a complete thought.

Example: The woman spoke.

Subject

Verb

2. A simple sentence can be longer with a subject, a verb, and an object. Some verbs require an object
so that the thought is complete.

Examples: The carnival has many highlights.

Subject

Verb

Object

Now the southern part of the island is called Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve

and Haida Heritage Site.

Subject

Verb

Object

3. A simple sentence can also include prepositional phrases that add information.

Examples: No logging is allowed in the park.

Subject

Verb

Prepositional Phrase

The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world.

Subject

Verb

Object

Prepositional Phrase

A prepositional phrase contains a preposition and a noun but does not contain a verb. A
prepositional phrase is not a complete sentence.

4. A simple sentence can contain a compound subject and a compound verb. Notice that the sentence
below contains two subjects that both work with the verb and the object.

Example: The islands forests and bays have been home to the Haida people

18 Chapter 1

Subject

Subject

for more than 10000 years.

Verb

Object

Exercise 1
Tell which of the following are prepositional phrases and which of the following are simple sentences.
Write PP beside the prepositional phrases and SS beside the simple sentences.
1. At a traditional ceremony __________
2. During the annual film festival __________
3. The builders quickly constructed the magnificent structure __________
4. On the prairie __________
5. We had a cool drink __________
6. Alongside the river __________
7. Enormous trees have survived __________
8. At the appropriate time __________

Exercise 2
Decide which of the following are complete sentences. Write C beside those that are complete and I
beside those that are incomplete. For those that are not sentences, write what is missing.
1. In the most unique city in Canada __________
2. CBC held a contest __________
3. Many Canadians voted __________
4. Many Canadians voted for a Wonder of Canada __________
5. Canadians chose many different places __________
6. The oldest European settlement in North America __________
7. The oldest European settlement in North America is in Newfoundland __________
8. Was a resident of the settlement __________
9. Off the coast of Newfoundland in Eastern Canada __________
10. Grows along the eastern shore of Labrador __________

Exercise 3
Write five simple sentences about where you live in Canada. Ask a classmate to check your sentences to
make sure that they are complete.

Chapter 1 19

The Compound Sentence

A compound sentence consists of two simple sentences (two independent clauses) that have been
joined by a coordinating conjunction.
The following coordinating conjunctions can be used to join two simple sentences.
for
and

nor
but

or
yet

so

Relationship of Clauses Joined by the Common Coordinating Conjunctions

and: additional information

but: contrasting information

Example: He wanted to go to Newfoundland, but she wanted to go to Prince Edward Island.

or: alternative ideas

Example: He visited Newfoundland, and she visited Prince Edward Island.

Example: We could go to Newfoundland, or we could go to Prince Edward Island.

so: cause and effect

Example: I wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean, so I went to the East Coast.

Note: A comma is often used before the coordinating conjunction to separate the two independent
clauses.
The following examples from the readings in Chapter 1 are compound sentences.
About 6000 people live on the islands, mostly on Graham Island, and about half of these

people are Haida.

Simple Sentence

Conjunction

Their magnificent villages were deserted, and the forest took over.

20 Chapter 1

Simple Sentence

Conjunction

Simple Sentence

Simple Sentence

Exercise 1
Combine each pair of simple sentences (independent clauses) to form one compound sentence.
Note: Some words should be changed or deleted to make the new sentences natural.
Example:
Two simple sentences: In some countries, costs are stable. In some countries, costs tend to rise
quickly.
Combined sentence: In some countries, costs are stable, but in some countries, costs tend to rise
quickly.
1. Travelling can be expensive. It is important to have a good plan.
2. I wanted to visit the new exhibit at the museum. My friend wanted to visit the art gallery.
3. I thought the bus would cost a loonie. My partner knew that it would cost a toonie.
4. Poutine is a popular food in Quebec. Whales tails are popular in Manitoba.
5. I thought I would visit the beach. Another choice was the waterfalls.
6. During her trip, she went hiking in the bush. During her trip, she rode her bike along parts of the
Cabot Trail.
7. It is easy to get lost in big cities. It is important to have a good map.

Exercise 2
Look back to the fact and opinion statements about a Canadian wonder that you wrote earlier in this
chapter. Using the same information, rewrite the sentences as compound sentences. Edit your sentences
to make sure that you have two independent clauses in each.

Chapter 1 21

 Writing to Communicate
Writing Task
Choose one of the following topics, and write a response of approximately 150 to 200 words.
1. Describe a place anywhere in the world that you have visited that was a highlight for you. It could
be a building, an outdoor space, a community, or an event in a particular place.
2. Describe a place that you have researched and might like to visit. It could be a building, an outdoor
place, a community, or an event in a particular place.
Whichever topic you choose, describe the place so that your reader will have a clear picture of what it
is like and will want to go there. Imagine that you are describing this place for a reader who has never
been to the place that you are describing.

Organization: Choosing Information

As you decide on what to include in your response, think about what information your reader will need
to get a clear picture of the place you are describing and its significance. The writer of the articles about
the Carnaval de Qubec and the Queen Charlotte Islands describces these places for readers who are
unfamiliar with them. Notice that she starts both of her descriptions with basic information in her first
paragraph and then provides more detail in the following paragraphs.
1. Description of an event: The Carnaval de Qubec

Basic Information
Location of the event
Length of the event
General activities at the event
Number of people who attend the event

Aspects of the Carnaval de Qubec

Mascot name
Description of the Ice Palace
Activities

Description of the Ice Hotel Quebec-Canada

Size
Materials used in the construction
Location
Other details

22 Chapter 1

Ice Hotel

2. Description of a physical place: The Queen Charlotte Islands

Basic Information
Indigenous name
Information about people on the islands
Location
Number of islands
Types of wildlife

History of the Haida People on the Islands

Before contact with Europeans
After contact with Europeans

Protecting the Islands Today

Description of the park
Visiting the park

Before you write your text, list the basic information that your reader needs to know about the place
you are describing. Then list the additional information that you want your reader to know. You may use
these lists as an outline for your composition.

Descriptive Writing: Creating an Image

When describing, writers express their thoughts in ways that create images for their readers. The
organization of the ideas is important to create clear visual images; the use of vocabulary is important
to create images that appeal to the senses. Through the words that are chosen, writers can make a place
seem attractive to the reader. Writers can also create a mood that the reader will associate with a place.
In the two readings in this chapter, the writer tries to build clear images of the Carnaval de Qubec and
the Queen Charlotte Islands. She also tries to build images that will appeal to the readers senses. One
of the ways that the writer accomplishes this is by choosing adjectives that not only convey a positive
feeling, but also create a mood.
In the reading Carnaval de Qubec, the writer uses adjectives with several nouns.

high spirit
lively crowd
welcoming environment

What feelings or moods do these adjectives create?

What kind of person might be attracted to this place?
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In the reading The Queen Charlotte Islands, the writer also uses adjectives, but she uses them to
create a very different mood.

distant and little-known Queen Charlotte Islands

incredibly rich diversity of biological life
masterful carvers
magnificent villages
unique history
huge cedar, spruce, and hemlock
abandoned villages

What feelings or moods do these adjectives create?

What kind of person might be attracted to this place?
What feeling or mood do you want to create about the place that you are describing? Find four
descriptive adjectives that you could use to help you create this mood for your readers.
Note: When you write your description, it is your choice whether or not to include adjectives that
convey a feeling or a mood. Some writers choose to use adjectives to create a mood; other writers
choose not to use adjectives to create a mood. These writers create a mood through selecting
information about the place or event that will appeal to their readers.

Revising and Editing

Step 1
Read through your draft, checking that it includes the basic information that a reader would need and
want to know. Consider the following questions.
Could your reader find the place on a map?
Have you described the most significant aspects of the place for your reader?
Have you included details about the place that might make your reader want to visit this place?
Step 2
Focus on your word choice.
Have you used adjectives in your description? If yes, what mood do they convey?
Step 3
Check your composition to make sure that each sentence is complete.
Does each sentence have a subject and a verb?
Have you used a variety of sentences (both simple and compound)?
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Step 4
Give your composition to a classmate, and have your classmate answer the following questions based on
your composition.

What is the name of the place?

Where is the place?
What are three significant aspects of the place?
Do you have any questions about the place that were not answered in the composition?
What information could the writer add to the description that would make you want to visit this
place?

Step 5
Revise your composition based on your classmates feedback.

Reflect on Your Learning

in This Chapter
Taking the time to think about what you have learned can help you carry that learning forward and
use it in new situations. It is by using vocabulary, reading strategies, critical thinking skills, and writing
strategies in new situations that you learn them more deeply. At the end of each chapter in this text,
you will be asked to think about what you have learned so that you are ready to carry that learning
forward and use it in new situations.
Respond to the following questions.
1. What did you learn?
2. What do you think was important?
3. How can you use what you learned in the future?

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