More practice with the language you're learning
Supplementary support — grammar, vocabulary, speaking and review — built from language already taught in the course. Not a lesson, and never a test.
1.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**ACK**: 'At 04:17 today, a deployment error caused the service to fail for roughly 90 minutes, affecting an estimated 40,000 customers.'"
2.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**FACTS**: 'Service was restored at 05:48. Customer data was not accessed. No payment information was exposed.'"
3.Transformation: express the same meaning without repeating the original wording — "**GAP**: 'We do not yet know the precise root cause; an internal review is under way and an independent review will follow.'"
4.ACK a data leak affecting 12,000 customers.
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'On 14 March we discovered that the names and email addresses of approximately 12,000 customers were exposed via a misconfigured database. We are sorry, and we want to tell you what happened.'
5.GAP a recall where the cause is uncertain.
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'We do not yet know whether the fault originates with the supplier or with our own assembly process. Both reviews are under way and will be published in full.'
6.Mini-context: someone disagrees with you in a meeting. Reply in two turns, using this structure at least once.
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ACK (acknowledge specifically what happened and who was harmed) → FACTS (state what is known, time-stamped and precise) → GAP (state what is NOT yet known without using the gap to hide) → NEXT (state the next concrete action and when the next update will come). Skipping any of the four reads as evasion.
1.Sort these into "positive", "neutral" and "critical" in tone, and be ready to defend a borderline case: to own (the failure), (it / this) happened on (our) watch, to underpromise and overdeliver, root cause, duty of candour, to draw a line under (something)
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to own (the failure) — to publicly accept responsibility without diluting | (it / this) happened on (our) watch — to accept responsibility by virtue of role | to underpromise and overdeliver — to commit cautiously and exceed | root cause — the underlying source of a failure | duty of candour — the obligation to disclose fully and honestly | to draw a line under (something) — to mark the end of an event publicly
2.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to own (the failure)" in meaning or use — (it / this) happened on (our) watch / to underpromise and overdeliver / root cause? Explain why.
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Compare against: to publicly accept responsibility without diluting
3.Odd one out: which of these is least like "(it / this) happened on (our) watch" in meaning or use — to underpromise and overdeliver / root cause / duty of candour? Explain why.
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Compare against: to accept responsibility by virtue of role
4.Odd one out: which of these is least like "to underpromise and overdeliver" in meaning or use — root cause / duty of candour / to draw a line under (something)? Explain why.
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Compare against: to commit cautiously and exceed
5.Odd one out: which of these is least like "root cause" in meaning or use — duty of candour / to draw a line under (something) / to own (the failure)? Explain why.
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Compare against: the underlying source of a failure
6.Semantic map: place "to own (the failure)" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
7.Semantic map: place "(it / this) happened on (our) watch" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
8.Semantic map: place "to underpromise and overdeliver" on a scale from mild to strong against two other words you know. Then use the strongest one.
9.Mini-dialogue: write four lines in which two of this lesson's words appear naturally.
1.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to own (the failure)" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
2.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "(it / this) happened on (our) watch" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
3.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "to underpromise and overdeliver" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
4.Word family: give the noun, verb, adjective and adverb forms linked to "root cause" where they exist, then use the form that is hardest for you.
5.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to own (the failure)" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: We own the failure. The fault was ours and the response is ours.
6.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "(it / this) happened on (our) watch" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: It happened on my watch and I will not pass it down the chain.
7.Spot the mismatch: which partner does NOT work with "to underpromise and overdeliver" — and what would a proficient speaker say instead?
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Natural model: In a crisis, underpromise and overdeliver — never the reverse.
8.Rewrite one sentence from your last piece of writing, swapping a weak combination for a precise one from this lesson.
1.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**ACK**: 'At 04:17 today, a deployment error caused the service to fail for roughly 90 minutes, affecting an estimated 40,000 customers.'"
2.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**FACTS**: 'Service was restored at 05:48. Customer data was not accessed. No payment information was exposed.'"
3.Shift the register twice: make this markedly formal, then markedly conversational — "**GAP**: 'We do not yet know the precise root cause; an internal review is under way and an independent review will follow.'"
4.Diplomatic vs direct: soften this, then sharpen it. Which version would you actually use, and to whom? "Where could the writer have hidden? Why didn't they?"
5.Compress: express the idea behind "We own the failure. The fault was ours and the response is ours." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to publicly accept responsibility without diluting
6.Compress: express the idea behind "It happened on my watch and I will not pass it down the chain." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to accept responsibility by virtue of role
7.Compress: express the idea behind "In a crisis, underpromise and overdeliver — never the reverse." in six words or fewer without losing the nuance.
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to commit cautiously and exceed
8.Read one of your own paraphrases aloud. Which word choice is doing the most work? Replace everything around it.
1.Rank and justify: order the ideas in Where could the writer have hidden? Why didn't they? / Why does naming the timestamp matter? / What does 'including any criticism of the leadership team' buy? from most to least convincing. Defend your top choice.
2.Role-play: Three minutes prep on what you know, what you don't, and what you can promise. Take the position you least agree with.
3.Decision task: you have two minutes to reach a single recommendation on A recording or transcript + a journalist's one-line verdict on credibility.. State it in one sentence.
4.Now switch sides and argue the opposite for 60 seconds. Which language had to change?
5.Follow-up — push further: Scenario: data breach affecting 50,000 users. Add a counter-example.
6.Follow-up — push further: Scenario: hospital surgical error. Add a counter-example.
1.Paragraph ordering: draft your four topic sentences only, then decide their best order and say why.
2.Partial writing: write only the concession paragraph of Write a 160–180-word CEO statement after a (real or invented) incident. You MUST: (a) include ACK, FACTS, GAP and NEXT in order, (b) avoid all concern theatre, (c) name a specific next-update time, (d) use at least three target items. — 60–80 words.
3.Editing pass: cut 15% of your words without losing content. What went first?
4.Audience switch: rewrite your opening for a hostile reader, then for a sympathetic one.
5.Self-check: underline every repeated word and replace two with precise choices from this lesson.
1.Imagine a hospital trust statement after a medication error. Draft and read aloud ONE ACK sentence and ONE GAP sentence.
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Listen for ACK / FACTS / GAP / NEXT as anchor points; the testable words live inside them.
2.Distractor analysis — why is this tempting, and what would give it away? Crisis register sounds slow and formal — candidates expecting ordinary speech miss the testable noun.
3.Distractor analysis — why is this tempting, and what would give it away? ACK and GAP sentences contain near-synonyms ('responsibility' / 'accountability'); only one is the exact word on the page.
4.Distractor analysis — why is this tempting, and what would give it away? Numbers are often the answer in Part 2 — listen for figures and time-frames, not adjectives.
5.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Mark ACK.
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Sentences 1–4 — what happened, when, who was harmed, ownership.
6.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Mark FACTS.
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'We have so far established… 14:07'.
7.Find the evidence: which exact words in the text/script support this — Mark GAP.
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'We have NOT yet established the full chain of decisions… An external review will examine.'
8.Key word transformation: rewrite "**ACK**: 'At 04:17 today, a deployment error caused the service to fail for roughly 90 minutes, affecting an estimated 40,000 customers.'" using the structure from Crisis register: ACK / FACTS / GAP / NEXT, in 3–8 words.
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ACK (acknowledge specifically what happened and who was harmed) → FACTS (state what is known, time-stamped and precise) → GAP (state what is NOT yet known without using the gap to hide) → NEXT (state the next concrete action and when the next update will come). Skipping any of the four reads as evasion.
9.Reflection: which part of this task type costs you most time, and what will you do differently next time?
1.True, false or not stated? Decide for each, then correct the false ones: "Sentences 1–4 — what happened, when, who was harmed, ownership." · "'We have so far established… 14:07'." · "'We have NOT yet established the full chain of decisions… An external review will examine.'"
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Mark ACK. → Sentences 1–4 — what happened, when, who was harmed, ownership. | Mark FACTS. → 'We have so far established… 14:07'. | Mark GAP. → 'We have NOT yet established the full chain of decisions… An external review will examine.'
2.Retrieval race: in 60 seconds, list every word from this lesson you can remember, then check what you missed.
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to own (the failure), (it / this) happened on (our) watch, to underpromise and overdeliver, root cause, duty of candour, to draw a line under (something)
3.Use "to own (the failure)" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to publicly accept responsibility without diluting
4.Use "(it / this) happened on (our) watch" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to accept responsibility by virtue of role
5.Use "to underpromise and overdeliver" in a sentence about a completely different topic from the lesson.
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to commit cautiously and exceed
6.Teach it back: explain Crisis register: ACK / FACTS / GAP / NEXT to someone who has never met it, in under 45 seconds.
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ACK (acknowledge specifically what happened and who was harmed) → FACTS (state what is known, time-stamped and precise) → GAP (state what is NOT yet known without using the gap to hide) → NEXT (state the next concrete action and when the next update will come). Skipping any of the four reads as evasion.
7.Which of the four moves do you find hardest — and why?