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Cambridge University Press978-0-521-16526-6 – Cambridge Academic English B2 Upper IntermediateChris Sowton and Martin HewingsExcerptMore information

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Reading

1 Researching texts for essays

1.1aFocusstudentsontheessaytitleandaskwhattheythinktheessay’spurposeis(toidentifytherelevantfactorswhichaffectpeople’schoiceofcareers;toproviderelevantsupportingevidence,suchascasestudies,researchandsurveys;toevaluatehowimportantthevariousfactorsare–i.e.whichfactorsaremorerelevantthanothers).

Focusstudentsonthefourtexttypesandaskthemtosuggestfeatureswhicharecharacteristicofeach,e.g.:

–an academic textbook:formallanguageandstructure,appropriatetitle,respectedauthorandpublisher

–a general information website: websitename,a‘dotcom’suffix,unknownauthor,wikifeature

– a company website:a‘dotcom’suffix;lessformallanguage,focusonsellingaproductratherthanresearch

–a research article:specificstructure(e.g.methodology–results–discussion),academiclanguage

Studentstrytomatchthetexttypestothesourcesofinformation.Iftheyarefindingthisdifficult,usetheinformationabovetoguidethemtowardsananswer.

Unit aimsREADING•Researchingtextsforessays•Skimmingandscanning•Identifyingthesequenceofideas•Understandingimplicitmeanings•Inferringthemeaningofwords•Vocabularybuilding:adjectives

LISTENING AND SPEAKING•Introducingpresentationsandclarifyingkeyterms

WRITING•Understandingessayorganisation•Draftinganessayintroduction•Commonknowledge

bStudentschecktheiranswersto1.1a.

1 A2 B3 D4 C

cGuidestudentstowardsthefollowingcriteria,whichcanbeusedtodecidewhichsourcesareappropriateforanacademicessay.

–audience:Whothetextisintendedfor?

– authority: Howqualifiedisthewriter?Isitarespectedpublisher?Hasthearticlebeenpeer-reviewed(reviewedbyanotherexpert)?

– time:Whenwasitwritten?Istheinformationstillrelevant?

– reliability:Hasitbeenalteredinanyway(orcensored)?Istheauthorbiasedorneutral?

SourcesAandCaremuchmorelikelytobeacceptable.Theyhaveauthorityandarelikelytobemorereliable.

Optionalextension

1 Widenthediscussiontodebatetheadvantagesofusingtheinternetforacademicresearch(e.g.itisquickandinexpensive,butitmaybelessreliableoracademic).

2 Askstudentstoevaluateanyinternetresourcestheyhaverecentlyusedforacademicpurposesandtosaywhytheywereappropriate.Theyprepareandgiveashortpresentationinsmallgroupsortothewholeclassabouttheonlineresourcestheyuse.

1.2a Optionallead-in

Askstudentshowpoints1–6mightbeusedintheessay:–summary of the current state of knowledge on the

topic:thiswouldshowtherelevanceofthetopictothereader;

–research papers on the topic:thiswouldprovideageneraltheoreticalbackground;

–the latest statistics on the number of people in different careers:thiswouldprovidesupportingevidence;

–definitions of specialist terms:thiswouldclarifycertainwordsandexpressions;

–reports of the most up-to-date research:thiswouldprovidefreshinformationonthetopic;

– a personal view:perhapsthiswouldn’tbeusedintheessay(sinceitwouldhaveanarrowfocus),butitmightinformyourgeneralunderstandingofthetopic.

10 Unit 1 Choices and implications

1 Choices and implications

http://www.cambridge.org/9780521165266

http://www.cambridge.org




1 textbooks,onlineencyclopediaentries,monographs2 editedcollections3 officialreports4 textbooks,onlineencyclopediaentries,monographs5 journals,monographs6 blogs

bStudentsevaluatethestrengthsandweaknessesofthetexttypes.

blogs: Generallyspeaking,likeonlineencyclopedias,thesemaybeaninterestingandusefulstartingpointforresearch.edited collections: Theseprovideusefulacademicinformationandagoodrangeofrelevant,authoritativeideasonasubject.journals:Theseareexcellentsourcesofacademicinformation–uptodate,easytosearchandusuallyfreethroughyourinstitution.monographs: Theseareanappropriateacademicsource,butsincetheyareoftenfocusedatexperts,thelevelofknowledgerequiredmightbequitehigh.official reports:Thesecanprovideusefulinformationandaccuratestatistics,butifproducedbygovernmentalagenciestheymaybesubjectiveandbiased(orevencensored).online encyclopedia entries:Thesearenotappropriatetouseinyouressayasthereliabilityoftheinformationisquestionable.However,theymaybeausefulstartingpointandmayleadyoutomoreacademictexts.textbooks:Thesecanprovidegood,high-qualityacademicinformation,butmaybetoogeneralforanacademicessay.

Alternative

/ Studentsrankthetexttypesinorderofrelevanceforacademicresearch.Theythendefendtheirrationalewithapartner.

1.3aAfterreadingtheintroductoryinformationaboutFeiHe,studentspredictwhattheanswertothequestionswillbe.Thenplay 1.1 .Studentslistenandchecktheiranswers.

1 textbooks2 monographs,onlinejournals

b Studentsdiscusstheirownexperience.Getfeedbackfromtwoorthreestudents.

Homeworkoption:internetresearch

Studentssearchtheinternetforotherwebsitesaboutcareerchoicewhichcouldbecategorisedaccordingtoeachofthetexttypesin1.2b.Thiswouldalsoenableyoutocheckwhetheryourstudentsunderstandthedifferencesbetweentexttypes.

Languagenote

FeiHesays:‘…Ithinkstudentsarepassiveto[*]learn.’Wewouldnormallysay:‘…Ithinkstudentsarepassive learners.’Hesays:‘Andstudentsseldomto[*]findpapers…’.Wewouldnormallysay:‘…Andstudentsseldomfindpapers…’.Healsosays:‘Butthisthingisdifferentin[*]Britishuniversity.’Wewouldnormallysay:‘Butthis(thing)isdifferenttoBritishuniversities.’

2 Skimming and scanning

2.1 Optionallead-in

Askstudentsaboutthewaytheyread.AskthemabouttheirexperiencesinEnglishandintheirownlanguage.–How would you look through a travel guide if you just

wanted specific information about the hotel you were staying in?(youwouldscantheguide–lookingonlyforthenameofthehotel)

–How would you look through a newspaper if you just wanted to check if there was anything you wanted to read?(youwouldskimthenewspaper–notreadingeveryword,focusingonthegeneralmessageofeacharticle)

1 skim2 scan3 skim4 skim5 scan

2.2aElicitcriteriawhichmightbeusedtorankthetopics,suchaspriority,need,cost,etc.Youmightwanttosuggeststrategiesforreachingagreement,suchaschangingyourmind(bylisteningtoabetterargumentproposedbysomebodyelse),negotiating(e.g.if you place x higher than y, I’ll allow b to come before a),conceding(yieldingonaparticularpointbecauseyouarenotthatstronglyattachedtoit).

bGetfeedbackfromthewholeclass.

Unit 1 Choices and implications 11






2.3 Elicitthebestwaytoidentifythemainideaofatext(identifying‘high-value’partsofatext,suchasthetitle,subtitles,sentenceswhichrepresentthemainidea,theintroductionandconclusion,andkeywords).Giveatimelimitoftwominutestoskimthetextandidentifywhichsentenceisthecorrectanswer

sentence2

3Identifying the sequence of ideas

3.1 Thistaskencouragesstudentstolookatatextinmoredetailandunderstandthelogicalprogressionofideas.Askstudentstoreadalonebeforecheckingtheiranswersinpairs.

2 c 3 a 4 f 5 h6 d 7 b 8 g

4 Understanding implicit meanings

4.1aExplainthatindicatingconsequencesandreasonsareanimportantaspectofacademicEnglish.Elicitthemeaningsofconsequenceandreason.

–consequence:theeffectofanaction

–reason:whysomethinghappened

Extract 1: thesecondsentenceistheconsequenceofthesituationdescribedinthefirst,asindicatedbythelinkingdevice‘Asaresult’.Extract 2: thesecondsentencegivesareasonwhynationalgovernmentsprioritiseallthetime.Thiscanbeinferredfromthecontentoftheindividualsentences.

bElicitthemeaningsofexampleandexpansioninrelationtoacademicwriting.

– example:givingsupportingevidencetosupportamoregeneraltheory

– expansion:givingmoredetails,particularlywhendealingwithcomplexissues

Extract 1: ‘example’–thesecondsentenceprovidesexamplesofhowprogresshasbeenmade.Extract 2: ‘contrast’–thesecondsentencecontraststhesituationofthe‘unlucky’oneswiththatoftheminority‘lucky’ones.Extract 3: ‘reason’–thesecondsentencegivesareasonwhygloballeaderscanrarelyanswerthequestion.Extract 4: ‘expansion’–thesecondsentenceexpandson(givesmoredetailsabout)whatismeantby‘theworld’swoes’.

Optionalextension

Understandingimplicitmeanings,page138(instructionspage,132)

PHOTOCOPIABLE

5 Inferring the meaning of words

5.1 Optionallead-in

Asktheclasstobrainstormstrategiesforcheckingthemeaningofunfamiliarwords.Writethemontheboard(e.g.usingdictionaries,askinganotherstudentortheteacher,guessingthemeaningfromcontext,guessingthemeaningusingcluessuchasprefixes,suffixes,etc.).Askstudentstoworkinpairsanddiscusshowoftentheyusethesestrategies.Whentheyhavefinished,pointoutthatguessingmeaningfromcontextandusingwordclueswillhelptheirlong-termEnglishdevelopment,inthatthesestrategies:–increasethelikelihoodofrememberingtheword;–increasethechancesofthewordbecomingactive(you

canproduceitandnotjustunderstandit);–helpmakereadingquickerandmoreeffective.

Explaintostudentsthattheyaregoingtolearnanewstrategywhichwillhelpthemdealwithunfamiliarwords.Explainthatlookingupnewwordsinadictionarycanoftenbeatime-consumingprocess(althoughcheckingafewwordswillnottakeupmuchtime,doingitregularlyandrepeatedlywill).Alsoexplaintheimportanceofguessingthemeaningfromcontext–dictionariescanonlyprovideageneralexplanationofaword,soguessingfromcontextismorelikelytobeaccurate.Thisisausefulstrategyforexamsandothersituationswhereadictionarymaynotbeavailable.

Suggestedanswers1 projectswhicharemostcost-efficient2 negative3 ‘dealwith’collocatesstronglywith‘problems’

and‘difficulties’(negativeideas)4 ‘challenges’,‘problems’,‘issues’5 endingpoverty,eliminatingethnicorracial

hatred,improvingmaternalhealth

5.2a Studentsworkthroughthewordsusingthestrategyin5.1.Getfeedbackfromthewholeclass.Askthemtotalkyouthroughtheprocesstheywentthroughbeforearrivingattheiranswer.

1 c2 a3 b

b remit–responsibilitiesovert–open







Optionalextension

Askstudentstofindthefollowingwordsinthetextin2.3.Askthemwhatcluestheyhavewhichcouldhelpthemidentifythemeaning.– universal(line6):fromthesamewordfamilyas

universe– disproportionately(line7):dis=negativeprefix;

ly=adverbsuffix– finite(line16):fromthesamefamilyasfinal/finish– unsustainable(line22):un=negativeprefix;

able=adjectivesuffix– communicable(line35):fromthesamewordfamilyas

communicate;able=adjectivesuffix

6 Vocabulary building: adjectives

6.1 Optionallead-in

Elicitthefollowinginformationabouthowadjectiveswork,specificallyinthecontextofacademicEnglish:–theyprovideadditionalinformationaboutnouns;–theyshouldbeusedinacademicEnglishonlywhen

theygenuinelyaddmeaningtothetext;–theyusuallyprecedenouns(unlikeinmanylanguages).

1 finite2 straightforward3 communicable4 crucial5 universal;assured6 widespread;infinite

Optionalextension:strongerclasses

Askstudentstoexplainthedifferentconnotationbetweentheadjectivesusedin6.1andwhycertainadjectivesusedmaybepreferableinacademicEnglish.1 Finitesuggestsagreaterdegreeoffinalitythan

limited.2 Straightforwardismorespecificthansimple.3 Communicableisamoretechnicalword,andmore

precisethanpassed from one person to another–italsocollocatesstronglywithdiseases.

4 Crucialisapowerful,one-wordadjectiveratherthanthemorecomplicatedadverb+adjectiveextremelyimportant.

5 Universalcollocatesstronglywitheducation.Inthiscontext,assuredsuggeststhatthefoodsupplyisnotdependentonanythirdparty,whereasguaranteedsuggeststhemoresignificantroleofexternalfactors.

6 Among many people and in many placesisaclumsyphraseandnotveryacademicsounding(peopleisalsoquiteageneralterm).Infiniteisastrongerwordthanunlimited.

Listening and speaking

7 Introducing your presentation

7.1 Optionallead-in

Askstudentstobrainstormthekindofinformationwhichtheywouldexpectintheintroductionofapresentation(e.g.overviewofmaintopics,generalbackgroundinformation,rationale,importanceoftopic).

StudentslookatslidesAandBandpredictwhichwordsgointhespaces.Play 1.2 .

Talk 1proportional representationalternative votingfirst-past-the-post

Talk 2income taxsales taxproperty tax

8 Clarifying key terms

8.1 Elicitthefollowinginformationaboutbasictext-organisationprinciples:

–subject-verb-objectisthenormalwordorder;

–auxiliaryverbsusuallycomebeforemainverbs;

–prepositionsusuallycomebeforenouns;

–adjectivesusuallycomebeforenouns.

Studentstrytocompletethetalk,basedontheprinciplesoutlinedabove.Studentschecktheirpredictedanswerswithapartner.Thenplay 1.3 tocheck.

2 hereI’llfocuson3 Thisiswhen4 What’smeantbythisisthat5 Inotherwords

8.2a b 2c 3,4,5

b a 7b 6c 8,9,10







Languagenote

Thefollowinglanguagefeaturesaregenerallyacceptableinpresentations,butlesssoinacademicwriting:–useofI(here I’ll focus on)–useofpresentcontinuoustooutlineideas(I’m going to

highlight)–contractions(That’s)–cleftsentences(What’s meant by this is …)–rhetoricalquestions(Why is this important?)


DrawahorizontallineontheboardandwriteI speak without any notes at allatoneendandI write out a whole scriptattheother.Askstudentstothinkaboutpresentationstheyhavegiven,andtodecidewhereonthelinetheywouldplacethemselves.Getfeedbackfromthewholeclass.ExplainthatstudentsshouldbeaimingtobeclosertoI speak without any notes.However,thisstrategyisrisky(forgettingwhatyouaregoingtosay,hesitatingwhenusingEnglish,lackingconfidence)soitisprobablybetteratthisstagetousenotesandguidance.Explaintheproblemsofreadingawholescriptoutloud(itsoundslikeyouarereadinganessay,thereislessspontaneity,lessengagementwiththeaudience).

b Studentsprepareashortpresentation(ofunderfiveminutes)basedontheslide.Encouragethemtouselanguagefrom8.1and8.2.

Optionalextension

Studentsperformtheirpresentationsagain,withadifferentpartner,attemptingtoimplementthefeedbackgiventothem.Taskrepetitioncanhelpstudentstonoticespecificimprovementsintheirperformance.Studentsgivetheirpresentations.Eachlearnershouldlistenactivelytotheotherpresentationandgivefeedbackattheend.

Writing

9 Understanding how essay types are organised

9.1 Optionallead-in

Writethefollowingessaytitlesontheboard:1 Compare and contrast the position and powers of the

UK prime minister and the US president.2 Discuss the relative merits of private and state-funded

education.3 “Governments should be able to use prisoners as a

source of cheap labour.” Discuss. Nowaskthesequestions.– Which title is asking you to adopt a strong position and

to present evidence as to why this position is right? (3)– Which title is asking you to show you have a good

general understanding of a particular topic, but not to necessarily take a strong position? (1)

– Which title is asking you to present the different viewpoints connected to a particular topic, and to assess which one you tend to agree with? (2)

1 Discuss.Somepeopleconsidertheimpactofshoppingcentrestobepositiveandothersnegative.Thequestionasksstudentstopresentbothpositionsand,probably,statewhichpositiontheysupport.

2 Defend.Thequestionasksstudentseithertoagreeortodisagreeandargueindefenceoftheirposition.

3 Describe.ThequestionasksstudentstodescribewayspolitenessisachievedinEnglishanddrawcomparisonsandcontrastswithhowthisisdoneinanotherlanguage.Itisunlikelythattherearedifferentpositionsonthisreportedintheliterature,anditiscertainlyunnecessaryforthestudenttoarguefororagainstagivenposition.

4 Defend.Studentsareexpectedtosupportorchallengetheposition.Itislikelythattheywillsupportitandsotheessaywillbeanargumentsayingwhythisisareasonablepositiontotake.

5 Discuss.Itseemslikelythatthemediadoeshaveaninfluenceandtheessayshouldacknowledgethisandprovideevidence.However,otherinfluencesshouldbepresented.

6 Describe.Thequestionasksstudentstolistfactorsanddescribethem.Itdoesn’taskstudentstotakeaposition.

Note

The‘discuss’instructioninanessaymaybeusedwithdescribe,discussordefendessays(asin3Discuss the ways …).







9.2 Optionallead-in

Askstudentstothinkabouthowtheythinkafullessayofeachtype(describe,defend,discuss)wouldbeorganised.Focustheirattentionontheintroduction,mainbodyandconclusion.Ask:– In which type of essay would there be a statement of

your position in the introduction? (defend)– In which type of essay would you identify a number of

specific aspects in the introduction, and then go on to explain each in more detail?(describe)

Studentscompletetheexercise.Getfeedbackfromthewholeclass.

1 introduction(Thisshouldbeclear,focusedanddirect.It’sgenerallyconsideredacceptabletouse‘I’.)

2 conclusion(Sentenceswhichrepresentthemainideascanbeausefulguidetoidentifyingyourmainarguments.Ensurethatthequestionhasbeenanswered.)

3 body(Generalisationsgobeforeexamplesandexpansion.)

4 introduction(Thisprovidesausefulmaptoreaders,sotheycanworktheirwaythroughyouressay.Thepresentsimpleispreferredhere.)

5 introduction/body(Thisshouldonlydefinethekeytermswhichareessentialforthereadertounderstand.)

6 body(Theevidenceshouldberelevantandwell-chosen.)

7 conclusion(Itisbestnottosimplyrepeattheinitialstatementofyourposition,butrathertoparaphraseanduseslightlydifferentlanguage.)

8 introduction(Itisimportanttoshowthatyouhavearoundedviewofthesubjectandtoshowthereaderyourcompetence.)

Optionalextension

Givetheclassaparticulartopictailoredtotheirareasofstudy/interest.Askthemtowriteoneexampleofeachtypeofessaytitle(defend,discuss,describe).AnexampleforthesubjectareaofEconomicsispresentedbelow.– Describe: What are the main characteristics of neo-

liberalism? – Discuss: Discuss the merits of the various approaches

taken by national governments to the 2007 credit crisis.– Defend: Explain whether you think a neo-liberal or

Keynesian approach to economics is the best solution to the current economic crisis.

Next,dividetheclassintothreegroups:‘defend’,‘discuss’and‘describe’.Eachgroupshouldchooseoneoftheessaytitlesandwriteabriefplanforit.Thiswillindicatewhetherthestudentshaveunderstoodthedifferencebetweenthedifferenttypesofessay.

9.3 Studentsreadthroughthesentencesandidentifywhichtypeofessayisrepresented.Getfeedbackfromthewholeclass.Elicitfromstudentstheirreasonforthischoice:

–phrasesindicatingcontrast(on the other hand);

–adverbs/adverbialphrasesindicatingadditionalpoints(too; in addition);

–neutral,objectivetone(it has been found; some would argue; have been questioned);

–clearoutliningofdifferentpointsofview.

Itisa‘discuss’question.Thespecifictitleoftheessayisasfollows:Towhatextentshouldlargeinternationalcompaniesmakeactinginasociallyresponsiblemannermoreofaprioritythanincreasingtheirprofits?

Homeworkoption

Givestudentsoneinitialparagraphsentenceeachandaskthemtowriteashortparagraphbasedonit.Inthisway,acompletediscuss-typeessaywillbecreatedbytheclass.

10 Drafting the introduction to an essay


Writetheseheadingsontheboard: Background, Different views, Writer’s position. Elicitwhatkindoflanguagecouldbeusedundereachheading.– background:timephrases;generaloverview;adverbs

suchas generally, typically, commonly, etc.– differentviews:linkingwordssuchas however, in

contrast, on the contrary, etc. – writer’sposition:wordsandphrasessuchas I, in this

essay, argue, etc.

thebackground:1,2arecognitionofdifferentviews:3,4astatementofthewriter’sposition:5

Note

Somestudentsmaybefamiliarwiththeterm‘thesisstatement’.Thisissometimesdescribedasasentenceintheopeningparagraphinwhichthemainideaoftheessayispresented.Inthisbook,wedonotusethistermbecauseitcanbequitedifficultforstudentstoidentifyitprecisely.First,itcansometimesbedifficulttosayexactlywhatthe‘mainideaoftheessay’isortopinthisdowntoonesentenceintheintroduction.Second,someusesof‘thesisstatement’suggestthatitcanincludesub-topicsthatwillbediscussedinthebodyoftheessay,andevenanindicationofthepatternoforganisationthattheessaywillfollow.Thismeans,then,thatsometimesthewholeoftheopeningparagraphmightbea‘thesisstatement’.







Instead,wewantstudentstotakeawaytheideathatinmanyessays,theywillneedtogivetheirownpositiononthetopic,havingfirstpreparedthegroundintheopeningparagraphbygivingrelevantbackgroundinformation,whichmightincludearecognitionofdifferentviews.Theyshouldalsorecognisethatinsomedescriptiveessays,theymaynotneedtogivetheirpositionatall.

b line 3 thesecentres;theyline 4 theirline 5 they

Optionalextension

Thestructurethis/these+umbrellatermiscommoninacademicwritingbutmaybeunfamiliartostudents.Writethesesentencesontheboard.Askstudentstosayasuitableumbrellatermforeachgapsothepassagemakessense.

– UNESCO is extremely important in this field. Thishas provided millions of dollars of

funding. (organisation)– Modules in History and Philosophy are available. These

count as credits towards your degree.(subjects)

– Archaeology is important, although this is declining in popularity in universities.(field)

– In political science, nationalism and patriotism are important ideas. It is important to note that these

cannot be used interchangeably.(terms)

Otherumbrellatermswhichcouldbepresentedinclude:institution,association,concept,method,mechanism,topic,issueanddiscipline.

10.2Studentscompletetheactivity.Pointoutthatthesentenceshereareonlypartofafirstdraft.Ifstudentsfindtheactivitydifficult,ask:

– Can you see any signposting language which might help?(e.g.however)

–Can you identify which sentence shows the writer’s position?(b)

–Where in the passage does the writer’s position normally come?(towardstheend)

2 c 3 e 4 a 5 g 6 d 7 b

Languagenote

Thestagesoftheintroductionareindicatedhere.–background:f,c–recognitionofdifferentviews:e,a,g,d–statementofwriter’sposition:b

10.3Seethemodelansweronpage19.

10.4a Seethemodelansweronpage19.

b Beforedoingthisactivity,emphasisetheimportanceofdraftingandredrafting.Therearemanybenefits:

–improvingthelogicalrelationshipbetweenideasinyourtext;

–ensuringthatyourpositionisconsistentthroughout;

–correctinganymistakeswhichmayhavebeenmade;

–checkingthatthereareno‘looseends’whichneedtobecorrected.

11Language for writing: common knowledge

Optionallead-in

Checkthatstudentsunderstandthedifferencebetween‘commonknowledge’andinformationwhichshouldbereferenced.AskthemtodifferentiatebetweenthesesentencesaboutMagnaCarta.–Magna Carta was signed in the year 1215.(This

ishistoricalknowledge.Therefore,itiscommonknowledgeanddoesnotneedtobereferenced.)

–Magna Carta was far from unique, either in content or form.(Thisisaveryspecificpoint,whichsoundslikesomeone’sspecificanalysis,andthereforeshouldbereferenced.)

– Magna Carta has had a significant impact on the American constitution.(Thispointisambiguous–itcouldbeconsideredcommonknowledge,itcouldbeconsideredaspecificpoint.Wherethereisthisambiguity,studentsshouldbecautiousandreferenceaccordingly.)

11.1 1 b2 c3 a

11.2 Languagenote

Whenmakingstatementsof‘commonknowledge’inacademicwriting,weavoidassumingthatallpeoplehavethesameview(soweavoidphrasessuchasNo-one can deny…,etc.).Wealsopreferimpersonaltopersonalconstructions(as is well-knownratherthanmost people know that).Thereareanumberofstructureswhichcanbeusedtoenablethis,suchasimpersonalpronouns(one can see that …)andit-clauses(it is widely/generally agreed ...;it is believed that...;it has been claimed/said/suggested that ...).

1 Itiswidelyaccepted2 Theconsensusviewisthat3 Itisgenerallybelieved4 Thereisbroadagreement5 Asiswellknown







Corpusresearch

Focusonthecorpusbox,whichdemonstrateshowcommonthislanguageisinacademicwriting.EvidencefromtheCambridgeCorpusofAcademicEnglishshowsthatthemostcommonadverbsareasfollows(mostfrequentfirst):– it is … generally; widely; now; commonly;

well … accepted– it is … widely; generally; commonly; often … believed

11.3 Alternative

Studentsdonotrewritetheirownintroductions,butapartner’s.Itissometimeseasiertoseethemistakesinotherpeople’swritingthaninyourown.

CorpusresearchGrammar and vocabulary

1 Avoiding repetition: that (of) and those (of)

1.1 Languagenote

Wecanusethat oforthose of,oftenincomparisons,toavoidrepetitionwherethatandthosearepronounsstandinginforanounphrase.Thatisusedtoreplaceuncountablenouns(e.g.population)andsingularcountablenouns(e.g.brain)whilethosereplacespluralcountablenouns(e.g.imports).Theiruseiscommoninacademicwriting,butrareinspeech.Theycanbeusedtoincreasethecohesionanddecreaserepetitioninatext.

1 that=work2 those=thepolicypriorities

1.2 Checkstudents’answersandgetfeedbackfromthewholeclass.Notethattheseareonlymodelanswers,andotheranswersarepossible.

Suggestedanswers1bThedensityofironismuchlessthanthatof

gold.2aTheruralpopulationoftheUnitedKingdomis

morethanhalfofthatofFrance.b TheruralpopulationofFranceismorethan

doublethatoftheUnitedKingdom.3aHumanbrainsweighmuchlessthanthoseof

whales.b Brainsofwhaleshaveaweightroughlyfour

timeslargerthanthoseofhumans.4aThelifeexpectancyofanaverageweightmaleis

slightlymorethanthatofanoverweightmale.b Thelifeexpectancyofanoverweightmaleisfive

yearslessthanthatofanormalweightmale.

Languagenote

Often,apossessiveforminsteadofthat/thoseofcanbeused,particularlywhenthenounphrasereferstopeople.Women’s average salaries have increased, although less rapidly than men’s.→ Women’s average salaries have increased, although less rapidly than those of men.However,thisislesscommoninacademicwritingthatthat/thoseof.

•Avoidingrepetition:that(of)andthose(of)•Wordfamilies:linkingpartsofatext•Verb–nouncollocations







2 Word families: linking parts of texts

2.1 Highlighttheimportanceofwordfamilies(theycancreatelinksbetweenideasandavoidrepetition).EmphasisetheimportanceofnounsandverbsinacademicEnglishas‘content-bearing’words.

1 priorities–prioritization2 assumed–assumption

Optionalextension

Makealistofcommonnounsuffixeswiththeclassandwritethemontheboard.Examplesinclude:-ion;-ness;-ity;-ment;-ence;-er/-or(oftentalkingaboutaperson);-ism/-ist(oftentalkingaboutbeliefsystemsandtheirsupporters);-ship(oftenanabstractnounindicatingdifferentrelationships);-hood(oftenanabstractnounindicatingdifferent‘families’).Askstudentstothinkofatleastoneexampleofanounforeachsuffix.Ensurethatthewordsareindeednouns.

2.2 verb noun(s) verb noun(s)

approachassessassumebenefitcreatedefinedistributeestablishestimatefunction

approachassessmentassumptionbenefitcreationdefinitiondistributionestablishmentestimate/estimationfunction

identifyindicateinterpretoccurprioritizeprocessrequireresearchrespondvary

identificationindicationinterpretationoccurrencepriority/prioritizationprocessrequirementresearchresponsevariation

Languagenote

Theremayoftenbemorethanonetypeofnounwhichcomesfromthesameroot.Youmayacceptthefollowingaspossibleanswerstoexercise2.2.–assessor=apersonwhoassesses(e.g.anexam)–creator=someonewhocreatessomething–creativity=thequalityofbeingcreative–distributor=apersonororganisationthatsupplies

goodstoshopsorcompanies–functionality=anyoftheoperationsperformedbya

pieceofequipmentorsoftware–an interpretertranslatesbetweentwolanguages–procession=alineofpeoplemovinginonedirection–researcher=apersonwhocarriesoutresearch–variety=thequalityofbeingvaried

2.3a 2 variation 3 benefits 4 responses

b 2 exclusion 3 reaction 4 analysis

2.4 Suggestedanswers2 Thisassessmentwasusedtodetermine

whetherlearninghadoccurredduringthecourse.

3 ThereisnotalwaysarequirementtohaveaPhDinBusinessStudies.

4 Eachhypothesiswasthentestedindividually.5 However,adifferentinterpretationhasbeenput

forwardbyWhite(2009).

3 Verb–noun collocations Optionallead-in

Tofocusstudentsontheconceptofcollocation,presentthefollowingwordcombinationsandaskwhichsoundmorenaturalinEnglish.Thecorrectanswersareunderlined.fastfood/quickfoodstrongtea/powerfulteastrongcomputer/powerfulcomputerheavysmoker/fatsmokerheavyface/fatface

3.1 Pointoutthatgooduseofcollocationcanmakestudents’Englishsoundmorecompetentandnatural.Collocationsareoften‘arbitrary’(thereareoftennologicalrulesastowhycertainwordsgowithothers).

2 take 3 measure 4 satisfy5 achieve 6 make 7 take

3.2 find answers to problems: solve,resolve,tackle,overcome,dealwithcause or encounter problems: pose,face,raisestay away from problems: circumvent,avoid

Homeworkoption

1 Studentsidentifyotherverbswhichcollocatewiththenounsin3.1.Forexample:

– problems: identify, present, cause – action: agree on – benefits: derive, gain, accrue – needs: have, express – outcomes: influence, determine, evaluate – progress: achieve, assess, monitor – decisions: make, reach, abide by

2 Studentsidentifysentencesfromtheirsubjectareawhichincludethesecollocations,e.g.

– Other people might tackle problems differently, but also reach the same goal. – Less developed countries may also face problems

with initial implementation costs. – Bulmer claims that statisticians often go to many

lengths to avoid problems with reliability and validity.







10.3 Model answerInmodernsociety,thewaythatthegeneralpublicviewsscientistsandtheirworkisimportant.Onereasonisthatitcanaffectwhetheryoungpeopledecidetotakeupacareerinscience.Themediaclearlyhasasignificantinfluenceontheimageofscientiststhatispresentedtopeople.Infilmsandtelevision,forexample,theyareoftenshownasbeingmadoroutoftouchwiththerealworld.However,themediaisnottheonlyinfluenceonpeople’sviewofscientistsandtheirwork.Forexample,mostpeoplestudyscienceatschool,andthisexperiencemayhaveanimpact.HereIwillarguethatalthoughthemediaplaysapartinformingpeople’sviews,otherfactorsmaybeequallyinfluential.

10.4a Model answerTheissueofsocialresponsibilitywithincompanieshasbecomeincreasinglyimportantinrecentyears.Theinfluenceofglobalisationhasmadethisissueevenmoreimportantforlargeinternationalcompanies.Manycompaniesfeelthatitisnotonlythe‘rightthing’tobemoresociallyresponsible,butthattherearecommercialadvantagesaswell.Thissaid,profitsarestillthedrivingforceoftheoverwhelmingmajorityofcompanies,andamongstcertaintypesofbusinesses,oldattitudesstillprevail.Thisessaywillexploretheinterplayofthesevariousmatters,focusingonseveralcasestudiesintheprocess,andwillattempttopredictwhatchangesmayoccurinthefuture.

Model answers

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