B2 – Upper Intermediate
How does one handle drowning in so many tasks to do? Wouldn’t it be interesting to explore our love of lists?
Jo Nolan wrote a book exploring our obsession with making lists.
Listen to the audio and read the transcript to find out why people love lists.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english_2025/ep-250904
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “bang for your buck”? “I feel like you get a lot – you get a big bang for your buck in that song. Maybe it’s the positivity – it’s a bit saccharine.” Use the idiom in a sentence and give a synonym.
- What does “saccharine” mean here, “But not everyone likes the song. Some call it saccharine.” Use the word in a sentence. Give another meaning of “saccharine”.
- What does “the nub of” mean? “The list encourages you to think really efficiently and economically, so I think you don’t waste a lot of time and effort making a nice sentence or using long words. You just get to the nub of things quite quickly.” Use the phrase in a sentence. Give a similar expression.
Discussion Questions:
- How are lists helpful? In what ways do you find them disadvantageous?
- What do you think about this, “Lists often abbreviate the items they contain, so you get to the nub of things quickly.”?
- Do you have the habit of making lists? Why or why not? What kinds of lists
- Is it better to make lists on paper or on phone? Explain.
- Do you think making a list of pros and cons helps resolve a situation? What are your thoughts?
2 replies on “The Joys of Writing Lists”
1. You gain a lot of extra value in return for the money or effort you put into it.
When you shopping for a telephone, it’s mandatory to compare price to be sure that you get more for your money.
2. You criticise it for being too sweet or sentimental.
The movie that I saw last Saturday was saccharine
3. It is the most important or essential thing about it.
The nub of the argument is that we need to find a solution.
1. I think lists are always a good idea to avoid forget something
2. I’ve never done that but I think, it will be a good idea if you don’t have time
3. Yes, I have it, especially to do list at work or shopping list.
4. For shopping lists I prefer to make them on my telephone because sometimes I remember new items and I’m not at home to write down but at work, I prefer to make them on paper.
5. Yes, I think making lists of pros and cons can help with difficult situations. It can help you to clarify the ideas .
Nice work answering this lesson’s discussion and vocabulary questions. Great effort!
See a better way to write this sentence:
Well done!