2013-14 aeus sem2 student info handout 9jan

ELC1014 Advanced English for University Studies Student Information Handout

© English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 1

English Language Centre ELC1014 Advanced English for University Studies

2013-14 Semester 2 3 credits

Information for Students I. Objectives This subject aims to help you study more effectively in the University’s English medium learning environment, and to improve and develop your English language proficiency within the framework of university study. II. Learning outcomes Upon successful completion of the subject, you will be able to:

1. use academic sources appropriately and effectively; 2. plan, write and revise position argument essays (i.e. one-sided discursive essays) ; and 3. present views effectively and critically in spoken communication.

To achieve the above outcomes, you are expected to use language and text structure appropriate to the context, select information critically, and present and support your stance and opinion logically and persuasively. III. Learning schedule

Week Content Indiwork Assessment/ Timing

1-2

Introduction to eLearn, ePortfolio and assessments Unit 1 Developing Research Skills • develop research skills for this course and for your

study at university • use the library search functions to find peer-

reviewed journal articles • identify a suitable topic and write an essay topic

proposal for your position argument essay • reflect on your language learning experiences for

improved performance

ePortfolio Activity 14: Progress Report #1

(by the end of Week 3)

3-6 Unit 2 Writing Position Argument Essays (Part I)

• critically read academic texts, identify viewpoints and findings, and describe how they relate to each other

• write an introduction to an academic position argument essay

• refer to and synthesise sources in a position argument essay draft

• develop an appropriate working title for a position argument essay

ePortfolio Activity 27: Progress Report #2 (by the end of week 6)

Early Week 7, out-of-class Position Argument Essay Draft, 600 words, 20%



7-9 Unit 3 Writing Position Argument Essays (Part II)

• respond critically to feedback from classmates and teacher

• write a position argument essay following an appropriate structure and style

• use strategies for presenting explanations, and for evaluating and refuting views

• integrate academic sources into a position argument essay using appropriate citation techniques and compile a reference list

• write a conclusion to an academic position argument essay

ePortfolio Activity 16:

Progress Report #3

(by the end of week 10)

Early Week 11, out-of-class, Final Position Argument Essay, 1200 words, 45%

10-14

Unit 4 Giving an Oral Defence • present evidence orally – based on thorough

research and reasoned judgment – in support of your position on your chosen topic

• interact with group members: o to respond to or refute group members’

questions or comments on your opinions, arguments, or perspectives

o to comment on or refute the opinions, arguments, or perspectives presented by other group members

ePortfolio Activity 9:

Progress Report #4

(by the end of week 14)

Weeks 13 &14, in class, Oral defence + roundtable Q & A, 35%

IV. Materials In this subject you will be using learning materials written by the English Language Centre. Subject materials can be downloaded at: http://elearn.elc.polyu.edu.hk. (Click ELC1014 after logging in.) Make sure that you bring the relevant learning materials to every class. The schedule in Section III is a guide to the materials you will need for each lesson. Information about the ePortfolio can be found at http://eportfolio.elc.polyu.edu.hk. V. Subject completion requirement To successfully complete the subject, you have to: 1. complete all assessments, as stated in Section IX; 2. fulfil a minimum of 80% attendance, as stated in Section VI; and 3. satisfy the Indiwork requirement, as stated in Section VIII. Failure to meet requirement 1 above will result in an overall fail of the subject, and you will have to re-take the subject. Failure to meet requirements 2 and 3 will result in downgrading the overall subject grade, as stated in Sections VI and VIII.

http://elearn.elc.polyu.edu.hk/

http://eportfolio.elc.polyu.edu.hk/



VI. Attendance and punctuality You are required to attend at least 80% of the classes and to be punctual for all lessons. Failure to meet the attendance and punctuality requirements normally incurs a deduction from the overall subject grade. This deduction would be ½ grade or more, depending on the degree of unsatisfactory attendance. VII. Out-of-class work In line with PolyU policy, you are expected to do 84 hours of out-of-class work for a three-credit subject. This means that, in addition to the 3 hours of classroom learning, you are expected to do at least 6 hours of out-of-class work in each of the 14 weeks of the subject. This includes Indiwork, classwork-related, assessment-related and self-access work.

VIII. Independent learning Indiwork / ePortfolio activity Throughout the semester, you are required to complete Indiwork, the independent language work included in the four units of the subject. The Indiwork for this subject requires you to keep an ePortfolio. Instructions for ePortfolio activity are provided in each unit, as indicated by these icons:

You need to complete at least 50% of the ePortfolio work in order to complete the subject. If you complete less than 50% of the total work, your final subject grade will be subject to a grade deduction at the end of the semester.

Indiwork/ ePortfolio work completion rate

Grade deduction from final subject grade

50% or above No grade deduction 49.99% - 25% ½ grade deduction 24.99% - 0% 1 grade deduction

It is important that you complete your ePortfolio work before

12 noon, Monday, 28 April 2014 You can find your ePortfolio score by checking ‘My Progress’ at http://eportfolio.elc.polyu.edu.hk.

(iii) Assessment-related e.g. researching for an essay, revising vocabulary, preparing for assessments

(iv) Self-access language learning e.g. additional grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation work on the Internet and/or in CILL (A305)

(ii) Classwork-related e.g. exercises, readings, short writing tasks

(i) Indiwork/ePortfolio e.g. progress reports, short writing tasks, online tasks

Out-of-class work




IX. Assessments There are three assessments that evaluate your achievement of the learning outcomes of this subject. You are required to complete all three assessments in order to pass the subject. The following regulations apply to this subject and to all ELC assessments.

Absence from in-class assessments 1. You must inform the teacher as early as possible if there are circumstances causing you to be absent

from an in-class assessment. If the reason is judged to be acceptable, a make-up assessment will be arranged within ten calendar days of the original assessment date.

2. If you are absent from an in-class assessment without informing the teacher in advance, you must contact the teacher within 24 hours of the assessment with an explanation for the absence. You must provide supporting documents (e.g. a doctor’s note) for the absence within 3 calendar days after the assessment. Providing the explanation and supporting documents are judged acceptable, a make-up assessment will be arranged within ten calendar days of the original assessment date.

3. No make-up assessment will be given if you are absent from an in-class assessment without an acceptable reason and supporting documents. In such cases, you will be considered to have not taken the assessment and will fail the subject.

Non-submission of out-of-class assessments 1. You must inform the teacher as early as possible if there are circumstances causing you to submit an

out-of-class assessment after the deadline. 2. Late submissions are not accepted unless you can provide a valid reason and supporting documents

within 3 calendar days after the deadline. In such cases, although the assessment will be accepted, it will be downgraded as follows: i) by ½ grade if the assessment is submitted within 24 hours after the deadline; ii) by 1 grade if the assessment is submitted within 48 hours after the deadline; iii) by 1½ grades if the assessment is submitted within 72 hours after the deadline.

3. Cases involving serious illness will not receive a penalty provided that sufficient documentary evidence is provided.

4. If you do not submit your assessment on time and do not provide an acceptable reason and supporting documents for doing so, then you will be considered to have not taken the assessment and will fail the subject.

Assessment Timing Weighting Learning outcomes

assessed 1. Position Argument Essay Draft

(about 600 words) – out of class Early Week 7

20% 1) and 2)

2. Position Argument Essay Final (about 1200 words) – out of class

Early Week 11 45% 1) and 2)

3. Oral defence (individual & group) – in class .

Presentation of topic overview and thesis + Q& A, 9 minutes per student + 4 - 5 minutes group discussion

Weeks 13 & 14 35% 1) and 3)



Academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism The University takes a very serious view against dishonesty and plagiarism in students’ work, including in-class and out-of-class assessments. Dishonesty and plagiarised work will lead to grade deduction or other disciplinary action as described in Regulations and Rules on page 51 of the Student Handbook. X. Assessment Details Choose your topic carefully. The same topic is used for all three assessments.

Assessment 1: Writing a Draft Position Argument Essay (20%)

Content Details

Task Assessment 1

- is a draft position argument essay of about 600 words

- should be submitted by Week 7, Monday, 3 March 2014, 12 noon, soft copy to Turnitin, then soft or hard copy of essay and Turnitin report to class teacher, out of class, individual.

- essay format: word-processed in Times New Roman or Arial, font size 11 or 12, single or 1.5 spaced, pages numbered, word limit (not including end-of-text references) on the last page of the essay, APA or Harvard or Vancouver or IEEE referencing style

- should include:

o a concisely-worded title; o an introduction to the essay with a working thesis; o two to four body paragraphs examining different views expressed by experts

on the chosen topic; o a minimum of four in-text references from four English language academic

source texts using citing techniques where appropriate: paraphrasing, summarising and quoting. The amount of direct quotation should not exceed 5% of the essay.

No conclusion is required; end-of-text reference list is optional, and is not assessed.

Academic articles should be full-length texts from academic journals or books with a named author (authors) or institution and a list of references. Most editorials, advertisements, newspapers, magazines and websites (e.g. Wikipedia) are not peer reviewed and therefore not considered academic sources.

*Submit your draft essay to the ePortfolio for comment by classmates – This will contribute to your ePortfolio score

Research for the

- identify possible topics that are related to your PolyU programme, or interests or concerns that are of public significance that you wish to discuss and investigate.



Topic - analyse the chosen topic and collect relevant source materials

- ensure sources are credible, and contain sufficient information to enable you to work on your assignments

If your topic is similar to your classmates’, you may collaborate and research the topic together.

*The following topics, which have been covered in ELC1012/ELC1013 and in ELC1014 course notes, are not allowed:

- military service - use of mobile devices - traditional medicine - Hong Kong as a tourism hub - product promotion - national education - development in Hong Kong (e.g. reclamation, new towns) - China’s one-child policy - work-life balance

Assessment criteria

- Content (30%): analysis of topic with a clear main line of reasoning; discussion of different perspectives; quality and originality of ideas; appropriate breadth and depth; fulfilment of task

- Organisation (20%): coherent overall structure; logically sequenced and systematically presented ideas; appropriate use of cohesive devices Language (30%): appropriate academic vocabulary, style, tone and grammar; variety and accuracy of sentence structure Referencing (20%): adequate acknowledgement of sources in appropriate referencing style; credible and up-to-date sources; appropriate reporting structures

Assessment 2: Writing a Final Position Argument Essay (45%) Content Details

Task Assessment 2

- is a position argument essay of about 1200 words which builds on and extends the draft position argument essay in Assessment 1

- should be submitted by Week 11, Monday, 31 March 2014, 12 noon, soft copy to Turnitin, then soft or hard copy of essay and Turnitin report to class teacher, out of class, individual

- essay format: same as for Assessment 1 (see above)



- should include:

o Introduction with thesis statement + Body Paragraphs + Conclusion + References

o analysis of different views held by academics or professionals

o citation of source information; include at least eight in-text references from a minimum of six English language academic articles (see ‘Task’ under Assessment 1 for details)

o end-of-text references with entries arranged and organised according to any one of the referencing styles of your choice: APA, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE

*Submit your final essay to the ePortfolio for comment by classmates – this will contribute to your ePortfolio score

Research for the Topic

- The topic will be the same as in Assessment 1, with further elaboration

- follow research steps similar to those for Assessment 1

- identify areas in your draft position argument essay that require further research

- draw together the information and ideas from your research and present the material in your final position argument essay in your own words, except for in-text references involving short direct quotes

- document the references carefully and thoroughly to avoid plagiarism

Teacher feedback

- read and understand teacher’s comments and suggestions for your draft essay

- identify problems that need to be addressed and how this can be achieved

- identify aspects of the essay that would benefit from additional research

- discuss with your teacher any further writing concerns you may have

Assessment criteria

- Assessment weighting: 45%

- Assessment criteria as above for Assessment 1

Assessment 3 – Giving an Oral Defence (35%) Content Details

Tasks & Procedure

In Assessment 3

- all tasks will be carried out seated in a group, or around a table

- each student will present a 5-minute thesis defence, in which they give an overview (identifying key viewpoints) of their topic and defend their own stance. Presenters should present from notes and not use visual aids. Reading from a script will result in a lower grade

- this will be followed by a 4-minute Q&A session around a table for each presenter. (The quality and depth of questions asked in the Q&A session will be assessed as part



of the ‘content’ criterion of this assessment.)

- one student will be nominated to start the Q & A session for each presenter, e.g. Student B asks the first question after Student A's presentation. Student C asks the first question after Student B's presentation, etc. The questions should be based on the presentation and should probe the presenter’s stance.

- After all presentations and Q&A sessions, there will be 5 minutes (4 minutes for groups of 3) for free discussion – e.g. on recommendations, and / or implications based on the presentations and question and answer sessions. This section will include one question from the teacher.

Timing 5 min presentation + 4 min Q&A = 36 mins + 5 min discussion = 41 minutes per group of 4. 5 min presentation + 4 min Q&A = 27 mins + 4 min discussion = 31 minutes per group of 3.

Topic Assessment 3 - is the same topic as in Assessments 1 and 2 - draws from Assessment 2 some of the key points that are of relevance and interest to

the audience Assessment criteria

Assessment weighting: 35%

Content (20%) : analysis of topic with a clear main line of reasoning; discussion of different perspectives; quality and originality of ideas; appropriate breadth and depth; fulfilment of task

Delivery (30%): - organisation – coherent and appropriate to the intended purpose of

communication - interaction – ability to engage and involve others, clarity and effectiveness of

response; appropriate questioning techniques for clarification, prompting and maintaining focus

Language (30%): appropriate academic vocabulary, style, tone and grammar in conformity with academic speaking conventions; variety and accuracy of sentence structure Pronunciation and fluency (20%): accurate, comprehensible and smooth-flowing

XI. Indiwork / ePortfolio work • Watch a video presentation on how to create an ePortfolio: http://eportfolio.elc.polyu.edu.hk

Homepage Bottom right-hand corner Instruction Video for Students • Find out information about the ePortfolio on this website: what an ePortfolio is, its purpose and

benefits for users • Create a showcase in your ePortfolio and label it thus: Showcase 1: My Progress Reports




You can create additional showcases to display work you wish to share with the class teacher and classmates.

• To write your Progress Report or your Reflection, follow the steps described in Unit 1, Section 2 –

Learning from Experience. Alternatively, click on in your ePortfolio and view a sample Progress Report and Reflective Entry.

• Complete at least 50% of the ePortfolio work before 12 noon, Monday, 28 April 2014; any scores lower than 50% will result in grade deduction of your final subject grade as detailed in Section VIII of this Information Handout.

• ePortfolio activity

Activity Details

Weighting Submission Date

Progress Reports / Reflective Entry

Include at least THREE Progress Reports, or reflective entries, each with a minimum of 170 words

54% Before

12 noon, Monday, 28 April 2014

Uploaded files

Upload at least these THREE documents for comment by teacher and/or classmates: i) Topic Proposal Form; ii) Draft Position Argument Essay; and iii) Final Position Argument Essay

27%

Peer comments Comment on at least TWO classmates’ work, each with a minimum of 60 words using ‘Chatbox’

10%

Use of ‘CheckMate’

Evaluate your own speaking or writing performance by using ‘CheckMate’ (including ‘Automated Writing Assessor’) at least THREE times

9%

You can log on to http://eportfolio.elc.polyu.edu.hk and then click ‘My Progress’ to check your completion rate during the semester. If you have questions about the ePortfolio, contact your class teacher or email [email protected].


mailto:[email protected]

2013-14 aeus sem2 student info handout 9jan

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