ELC1411

Unit 4 iWork (work to go on eLearn)

Contents

1. Pre Unit 3 Forum Activity

2. Error Correction (1)
3. Error Correction (2)
4. Error Correction (3)
5. Grammar – relative clauses
6. Modals
7. Vocabulary – Register
8. Idioms
9. Precise words
10. Replacing ‘get’
11. Key words in university study: important versus unimportant
12. Listening
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1. Pre Unit 3 Forum Activity

Insert picture - Egyptian mummies 92845973

Nursing and Social Sciences Discipline

Pre Unit 3 Activity

Read the following paragraph about the Ancient Egyptian Mummies. Which problems
can you identify in terms of academic style?

I think that the ancient Egyptians were great at looking after dead bodies which is
why I’ve looked into it. The people who carried out the mummification, which was
really cool, cut out the person’s guts, rubbed on some creams and ointments and
wrapped the body in loads of bandages. Haha. That’s really gory! Archaeologists
have turned up really old mummies which were nearly whole with skin, hair,
teeth, nails etc… but they had diseases like smallpox, syphilis, malaria etc… And
you can also see how they died like one king in his 40’s got wacked on the head
and another younger one got polio. But you know what? The mummies are still
ok today – you can see them in museums around the world. Amazing!

Use this forum to comment on the passage Ancient Egyptian Mummies?

Instructions

1. Open the discussion topic below called Ancient Egyptian Mummies. Use the
reply button to make a response to the topic.

2. In your reply, comment on what you think the academic style problems are in
the passage. How would you improve the style of the passage?

You will not be able to see other responses until after you have replied
within the thread yourself

3. Read other posts and respond to any as appropriate.

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2. Error Correction (1)

Part 1

Each of the sentences below contains a common error. Match the error to
the descriptions below. One description is used twice.

Part 2
Correct the errors in each sentence.

1 Subject-verb agreement 6 The omission of the third person ‘s’

2 The omission of the plural ‘s’ 7 Noun-pronoun agreement
3 Countable / uncountable nouns 8 ‘Have’ used instead of ‘there is /
are’
4 Confusion of adjectives ending in ‘ed’ 9 Run-on sentence
and ‘ing’
5 Spelling 10 Wrong word

(For part 1, answer in brackets after sentence)

a. Mr Lee is a conscientous teacher. He always gives prompt and thorough
feedback to his students. (5)

b. Dr Wong’s principle research interest is the study of energy consumption

in commercial buildings. (10)

c. There have many weaknesses in the research method. (8)

d. Many of the students felt very boring during the lecture. (4)

e. The book contains a great deal of new informations. (3)

f. The findings of the study are very interesting. It is presented in Table 1.

(7)

g. The reasons for the low levels of satisfaction with the new course is
being investigated. (1)

h. Several factors influence the use of English in the business world one of
them is the language’s role in the legal system. (9)

i. A number of researcher have examined language use in newspaper

editorials. (2)

j. Professor Wong’s study explore the impact of reclamation on marine life.

(6)

k. We have done a great deal of researches into student preferences at

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University. (3)

Part 2 Answers

a. Mr Lee is a conscientious teacher. He always gives prompt and thorough

feedback to his students.

b. Dr Wong’s principal research interest is the study of energy consumption in

commercial buildings.

c. There are many weaknesses in the research method.

d. Many of the students felt very bored during the lecture.

e. The book contains a great deal of new information.

f. The findings of the study are very interesting. They are presented in Table 1.

g. The reasons for the low levels of satisfaction with the new course are being
investigated.

h. Several factors influence the use of English in the business world. One of
them is the language’s role in the legal system.

i. A number of researchers have examined language use in newspaper

editorials.

j. Professor Wong’s study explores the impact of reclamation on marine life.

k. We have done a great deal of research into student preferences at

University.

Hints – give the types of errors from part one. For example in sentence (a), there
is a spelling error.
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3. Error Correction (2)

The passage below contains three kinds of error: (1) s word endings either
missing or incorrect, (2) missing d/ed word endings, and (3) word class errors
(e.g. the noun inconvenience incorrectly used for the adjective inconvenient).
There are 15 errors. Find the errors and correct them.

Studying at school and university: A case of contrasts

There are a number of great difference between studying at secondary

school and at university. One of the most important contrast is that a

university student must become an independence learner. At school, the

learner is direct by the teacher, but at university the student must be

prepared to be self-motivated and an efficiency manager of time.

Another importance difference concerns study modes. At school, there

are only lesson, while at university there are more formats for teaching

and learning: lectures, seminar and tutorials. New university students

may find it hard to adjust to these new way of learning. The final point

concern assessment procedures. In their school lives, students become

use to examinations and these determine to a large extent the works in

the classroom. By contrast, university education emphasises the

important of coursework. In spite of the difference systems of

assessment at university, most student appreciate coursework as a fair

method of assessing performance over time.

KEY
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There are a number of great differences between studying at secondary school
and at university. One of the most important contrasts is that a university
student must become an independent learner. At school, the learner is directed
by the teacher, but at university the student must be prepared to be self-
motivated and an efficient manager of time. Another important difference
concerns study modes. At school, there are only lessons, while at university
there are more formats for teaching and learning: lectures, seminars and
tutorials. New university students may find it hard to adjust to these new ways of
learning. The final point concerns assessment procedures. In their school lives,
students become used to examinations and these determine to a large extent
the work in the classroom. By contrast, university education emphasises the
importance of coursework. In spite of the different systems of assessment at
university, most students appreciate coursework as a fair method of assessing
performance over time.

Hints – students can click to receive one hint each time.

1. How many differences are there?

2. How many contrasts are there?
3. ‘Independence’ is a noun. What kind of word is needed here?
4. Passive voice needed for action by teacher.
5. ‘efficiency’ is a noun. What kind of word is needed here?
6. ‘importance’ is a noun. What kind of word is needed here?
7. How many lessons do you have a school?
8. How many seminars do you have at university?
9. ‘these’ is used with plural nouns.
10. Subject verb agreement problem in sentence beginning ‘The final point…’.
11. ‘use’ and ‘used’ confusion.
12. ‘work’ as a noun is usually singular.
13. ‘important’ is an adjective. What kind of word is needed here?
14. ‘difference’ is a noun. What kind of word is needed here?
15. Most is used with plurals.
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4. Error Correction (3)

This passage contains a range of mostly minor grammar errors, although there
are a few vocabulary (word class) errors too. There are 16 errors. Find the
errors and correct them.
Teaching styles at school and university

The learning styles adopted by students at school and university varies. At

secondary school, teachers give much notes to students and the learning style
centres on memorising the provided informations. This is not the case at
university, where lecturers expect student to select relevance sources of
information independently and to think critical about the knowledge and ideas
presented to them. Finding source materials, summarise their contents and
taking notes are important skill for a tertiary student to develop. Avoiding
plagiarising from source is another important skill. Another difference in
learning style is that university students must be more self-motivate than
secondary school students. At school, teacher use punishment as a deterrent.
However, the tertiary student must accept responsible for keep up with his / her
studies. The two kinds of student have different motivations; the former are
motivated by teachers use encouragement and punishment, whereas the latter
must rely on themselfs to manage time and keeping assignment deadlines.
KEY

The learning styles adopted by students at school and university vary. At

secondary school, teachers give many notes to students and the learning style
centres on memorising the provided information. This is not the case at
university, where lecturers expect students to select relevant sources of
information independently and to think critically about the knowledge and ideas
presented to them. Finding source materials, summarising their contents and
taking notes are important skills for a tertiary student to develop. Avoiding
plagiarising from sources is another important skill. Another difference in
learning style is that university students must be more self-motivated than
secondary school students. At school, teachers use punishment as a deterrent.
However, the tertiary student must accept responsibility for keeping up with his /
her studies. The two kinds of student have different motivations; the former are
motivated by teachers using encouragement and punishment, whereas the latter
must rely on themselves to manage time and keep assignment deadlines.
Hints

1. Look at the subject verb agreement in the first sentence.

2. Are notes countable or uncountable?
3. Is information countable or uncountable?
4. How many students are there?
5. ‘Relevance’ is a noun. What kind of word is needed here?
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6. Critical’ is an adjective. What kind of word is needed here?
7. Look at the sentence beginning with ‘Finding…’. What form of verb should
‘summarise’ have?
8. How many skills are mentioned?
9. Should you use one source or many?
10. ‘self-motivate’ is a verb. What kind of word is needed here?
11. How many teachers are there at school?
12. ‘Responsible’ is an adjective. What kind of word is needed here?
13. What happens to the verb form after ‘for’?
14. What happens to the verb form after the preposition ‘by’?
15. What happens to the plural of words ending in ‘f’?
16. What happens to the verb form after ‘to’?
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5. Grammar – relative clauses

Sentence patterns: relative clauses

A relative clause is a subordinate clause that begins with a question word (e.g.
who, which, where) or the word that. You can use it to modify a noun or
pronoun (i.e. to identify or give more information about it).

Students who can develop independent learning skills often achieve

good academic results.

There is a new book that investigates the controversy over political

reforms in Hong Kong.

A university is a place where people pursue advanced knowledge in

specific academic disciplines.

The lecture theatre in which the inauguration ceremony will be held is

now being cleaned.

5.1 Relative pronouns

Words like who, that and when are often referred to as relative pronouns when
they are used to introduce relative clauses. You use:

• who for people, which for things, and that for both people and things.
• whom as the object of a relative clause (in more formal English), though it
is increasingly common to replace it with who.
• whose to indicate possession, as a determiner before nouns.

For example:

What’s the name of the person who / that first landed on the moon?

This is Dr. Perkins, whom we met at a conference in Canada last year.

All students whose registration numbers begin with 374 should immediately
go to the library for a tour.

5.2 Types of relative clause

There are two types of relative clause: defining and non-defining. You use a
defining (or restrictive) relative clause to ‘identify’ or ‘restrict the reference of’ a
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noun. You do not separate it from the rest of the sentence by commas (in text)
or pauses (in speech).

The student who achieves the highest GPA score in this department will
be awarded a prize of $20,000.

Computer games that involve fighting and shooting apparently have a

negative effect on young people.

You use a non-defining (or non-restrictive) relative clause to supply additional

information about the noun, whose identity or reference is already established.
You can also use it to comment on the whole situation described in a main
clause.

Albert Einstein, who put forward the theory of relativity, is considered by

many as the most intelligent person in human history.

The ELC, which provides language support to PolyU students, is

located in the AG wing.

You should not use the relative pronoun that in non-defining relative clauses.

5.3 Reduction of relative clauses

You can sometimes reduce a defining relative clause to create a more concise
style. You cannot reduce a non-defining clause.

Half of the training sessions (that are) arranged for the athletes have been
cancelled due to bad weather.

The foreigner (who / whom) you saw at the party last night is Giorgio
Armani!
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In each of the following sentences, write an appropriate relative pronoun and
insert commas where necessary.

1. The woman ______________ hair is wearing the red suit is the new lecturer
in the faculty of Business.

2. Nearly all the proposals _______________ the committee put forward have
been accepted.

3. This is the book ______________ has become a bestseller in recent years.

4. Graduates _______________ possess a strong academic background as

well as good communication skills are favoured by employers.

5. Mosquitoes _______________ are small two-winged insects can spread fatal

diseases like malaria and dengue fever.

6. The government officials to _______________ we spoke last week were

completely unaware of the urgency of the matter.

7. That horrible incident occurred in 1967 _______________ I was still a baby.

8. There is a lecture on business opportunities in China tomorrow

_______________ I think you should not miss.

9. The firm has decided to introduce a new round of pay cuts _______________
will doubtlessly be greeted with discontent and hostility.

10. The new MP3 player _______________ is produced by Sony has many
useful functions.

Highlighted questions have been changed, although answer remains the same
as before.

Online already at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/eap/2004/u6/relativeclauses.htm
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6. Modals

Make the following sentences more tentative by using modals. In some cases,
more than one answer is possible.

1. Learning a new language is a real pleasure.

2. It is wise to spend more time working out our needs before conducting the
survey.

3. Judging from the attitude and examples used, this article was written by a
democrat.

4. The findings indicate that excessive exposure to sunlight is the primary cause
of skin cancer.

5. The audience was not aware of the mistake we made during the
performance.

6. Good preparation and a sincere attitude help you impress the panel in an
interview.

7. The method we used in analysing the data is wrong.

8. Why don’t you ask Paul? He knows the answer.

9. You get a better job if you have a good IELTs score.

10. Our formula is taken as a new measure to evaluate the existing models.

Online already at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/eap/2004/u6/pg135ex2modals.htm
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7. Vocabulary - Register

Working with words: register

Register refers to a style of writing or speaking that is used in a particular

situation. In this unit you have learned that the style of your writing is determined
in part by your choice of vocabulary. If you wish to achieve an academic style
(and thereby impress your lecturers), you will need to ensure that the words and
phrases you use are formal. The exercises below give you further practice in
some of the key areas of vocabulary choice that you covered in the section
headed ‘Improving the style and tone of your writing’.

7.1 Formal verbs

Academic writers tend to use single-word verbs such as examine or devise

rather than phrasal or prepositional verbs such as look at or come up with.

Put the appropriate formal verb in the space provided.

conclude find accumulate express raise

review abolish address propose support

Informal Verb Formal Verb

1. come across an old document
2. do away with a law
3. build up a large of sum of money
4. bring up a concern
5. finish off a presentation
6. go over the main points
7. back up an argument
8. put forward a plan
9. put across ideas
10. deal with a problem

Online already at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CiLL/eap/2004/u6/pg136ex1formal.htm
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8. Idioms

Idioms are common in informal written and spoken English, but tend to be
avoided in academic writing. The language used in seminar discussions is often
quite informal, so it would be acceptable to say:

Hunt’s arguments do not hold water.

In a written assignment, however, it would be more appropriate to use a formal

word such as unconvincing or flawed instead of the idiom ‘do not hold water’.

The 10 sentences below contain idioms. Replace each idiom with a more formal
word from the following list. Write the word in the space next to the idiom.

honest unsure exaggerated likely

obstacle quit secret avoid
identified in preparation

1. Janice put her finger on the source of the

problem.

2. Tom was in two minds whether to take on

another part-time job so close to the final examinations.

3. Frank decided to throw in the towel because

he found the course too demanding.

4. The Engineering Department has a new course in the pipeline

which is likely to be very popular.

5. It’s on the cards that a new CEO will be

appointed before the end of the month.

6. There were doubts as to whether the company’s dealings were above

board __________________ .

7. The company kept its new logo under wraps until

the day of the presentation.

8. Ursula doesn’t like Rick very much so she tries to steer clear of
him as much as possible.

9. Paul’s account of the problem was a bit over the top

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. I don’t think it’s anything like as serious as he makes out.

10. As usual, the shortage of money proved to be the main stumbling block
__________________.

Online already at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/eap/2004/u6/pg137ex2idioms.htm

9. Precise words

You should use precise words rather than basic words such as good and bad in
your writing. You should also use cautious language when expressing negative
ideas.

Each sentence contains an inappropriate word or phrase. Underline the

inappropriate word / phrase and replace it with a more suitable word from the list
below.

sizeable stimulating minor significant questionable

senior unacceptable controversial disappointing affordable
_______________
1. Pollution is a big problem in Hong Kong _
2. Living conditions in some housing developments are _______________
horrible. _
3. The influence of computer games on young people _______________
is a hot topic. _
_______________
4. Mark’s performance in the examination was bad. _
5. She received a big sum of money from the _______________
insurance company. _
_______________
6. Chan’s (2001) method of investigation is wrong. _
7. The company’s cheap products have proved to be _______________
very popular. _
8. A number of old members of staff have left in recent _______________
years. _
_______________
9. Professor Yau’s new book is very good. _
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10. This is a small detail, which I think we can discuss _______________
another time. _

Online already at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/EAP/2004/u6/pg137ex3precisewords.htm
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10. Replacing ‘get’

Replace the word get or the expression with get with a more appropriate word
from the list below. Change the form of the verb where necessary.

communicate collect deteriorate improve eliminate

recover from receive win persuade obtain

1. I (got) _________________ the data between 1 September and 30

September 2010.

2. Ida has now (got over) ____________________ the shock of losing her
job.

3. The economic outlook is expected to (get better)

____________________in the coming months.

4. The government hopes to (get rid of) ____________________ the

problem by the end of the year.

5. Our company (got) ____________________ many orders in the second

half of the year.

6. Candy hopes to (get) ____________________ a loan from the bank.

This will enable her to continue with her studies.

7. The patient’s condition (got worse) ____________________ during the

night.

8. Dr Yeung tried to (get across) ____________________ her ideas as

clearly and simply as possible, but some of the students still couldn’t
understand.

9. Professor Shiu (got) ____________________ her colleague, Mr Watson,

to take the laboratory session as she had to attend a meeting.

10. I (got) ____________________ a letter from the journal today.

Apparently, they want to publish my article.

Highlighted questions have been changed, although answer remains the same
as before.

Online already at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/cill/eap/2004/u6/pg137ex4get.htm
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11. Key words in university study: important versus unimportant

In your written and spoken work at university you will often need to discuss what
is important or central and what is unimportant or peripheral. The following
words can be used.

major marginal focus minority crucial significant

predominant primary minimal core foremost trivial
emphasis negligible stress subsidiary dominan subordinate
t
priority fundamenta centre secondary minor principal
l

Online already at:

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/EAP/2004/u6/pg138ex6importanceandunimport
ance.htm

Complete the sentences below with words from the list. Make sure that you put
the words in the correct form. More than one answer is sometimes possible.

1. This essay on the impact of SARS on Hong

Kong’s tourism industry.

2. This really is a issue and I really don’t know

why we are wasting our time discussing it.

3. I believe that we should give to students with

grade ‘5*’ in their HKDSE English exam.

4. Dr Au thinks we should place greater on the

teaching of grammar.

5. This is a really point so I think we should

discuss it in detail.

Highlighted – change from current online version

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12. Listening

This exercise will give you practice in listening skills, as well as telling you
more about the differences between spoken and written English, This will
help you to do better written and spoken assignments when at University.

Video: http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/Audio-visual/P38.wmv

Tapescript: The differences between speaking and writing (hidden unless

student requests to see it; answers highlighted on request)

Well, hello. Today, I want to discuss with you some of the differences between
spoken and written communication. Some of the differences are quite clear, but
others are less so − and the fact is we do need to be aware of the differences so
that we don't write as we speak, and we don't speak as we write. You can
imagine how ridiculous this would be − most everyday speaking is informal, while
most writing demands a more formal style. Many languages are in fact two
languages, spoken and written. They share the same code but exhibit some very
different characteristics. It's these contrasting characteristics I want to talk to you
about today.

I think we'd all agree that speaking is common to all normal individuals and
societies. Speaking is a frequently used and extremely important medium of
communication and, despite its subtlety and complexity, is usually not taught
formally − by that I mean that our native language is ‘caught' rather than taught.
This is in great contrast to writing, which is acquired − often slowly and painfully −
through formal instruction. Indeed, a writing system is one of the marks of a
developed society, and there are still many societies which have no system of
writing.

Unlike speaking, then, writing may not be natural to humans, but it is vitally
important. It's probably true to say that a society cannot evolve very far without
creating a writing system. This is because writing allows us to create a
permanent record of important things such as contracts, agreements, intellectual
knowledge, and practical information – and let's not forget either that writing
permits the development of respected literary and sacred works as well as more
popular literature.

Speaking is a real time phenomenon – it is short-lived and often ambiguous – but

writing transcends time and − because it is permanent − can be checked to make
sure that the right things are being expressed. For example, oral agreements are
dangerous because they may be misunderstood by one of the parties making
them or may be misinterpreted by future generations. Also, people die and get ill,
so speaking is an unreliable and inadequate medium for transmitting and storing
important information.
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Writing is a very complex system in the sense that it is dense − the vocabulary
range is wide and a considerable variety of grammatical structures is
accommodated. Writing is also uninterrupted; unlike speaking, with its ‘ums' and
‘ahs', there is no repetition of words in writing. Writing also needs to be coherent
and accurate. Unlike many speaking scenarios (in which the speaker and listener
are physically present and facing each other), the writer and reader are
separated in time and space and so cannot interact to check mutual
understanding of the intended meanings in a piece of writing. Accuracy in terms
of correct grammar and appropriate choice of vocabulary − is perhaps more
important in writing than in speaking. Indeed, much everyday spoken language is
rather loose and even ungrammatical − and I'm talking here about native
speakers – but the use of correct forms is an integral part of good writing.

Most speaking situations are interactive situations in which listeners can check
their understanding and receive immediate feedback from the speaker. Body
language is also used to communicate meaning in speaking situations. Also, the
interactive nature of speaking means that the pronoun ‘you' is used frequently. In
writing, particularly objective, academic writing, ‘you' should not be used to
address the readership. Instead, a more impersonal phrasing is usually
employed. For example, phrases beginning ‘there is' or ‘it is' are commonly found
in writing.

Another way in which speaking is different from writing is that speaking is

produced in chunks and not in complete sentences, and often these chunks are
not grammatically perfect − speakers always focus on getting the message
across rather than grammatical accuracy. In writing, however, accurate grammar
and appropriate word choice, as I've pointed out already, are very important.
Writing makes use of different sentence types and punctuation to organise and
communicate its messages, while speaking makes use of phenomena such as
stress, rhythm, and intonation to communication information.

In this short talk, I've taken a brief look at some of the major differences between
spoken and written communication. I'm sure that you can think of other
differences – some are obvious; for example, speaking requires no implements
or material but writing does. Another point is that speaking speeds everyday
communication but has a limited range − we can't shout loud enough to
communicate orally with our friends 10 kilometres way! I'll leave you to think
about and discuss further differences.
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Online questions:

1. Many languages are in fact ________ languages

a) one
b) two
c) three
d) four

2. Languages share the same code but exhibit some very different
________________

a) characteristics
b) characters
c) materialistic
d) ecclesiastic

3. Our native language is ‘_____________’ rather than taught.

a) fought
b) bought
c) sought
d) caught

4. A society cannot evolve very far without __________________ a writing

system.

a) creating
b) making
c) rating
d) faking

5. Writing permits the development of respected literary and ___________

works.

a) aged
b) sacred
c) sick
d) sacked

6. People ______________________, so speaking is an unreliable and

inadequate medium for transmitting and storing important information.

a) buy and sell

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b) buy a gecko
c) die and get ill
d) by the ghetto

7. Accuracy in terms of correct grammar and appropriate choice of vocabulary is

perhaps ___________________ in writing than in speaking.

a) more important
b) less important
c) as important
d) much importance

8. Most speaking situations are interactive situations in which listeners can check
their understanding and receive__________________ feedback from the
speaker.

a) intermediate
b) interfering
c) immediate
d) interesting

9. In writing, particularly objective, academic writing, ‘___________’ should not

be used to address the readership.

a) who
b) he
c) me
d) you

10. Speaking makes use of phenomena such as stress, rhythm, and

_________________ to communication information.

a) information
b) intonation
c) tones
d) accent

11 We can’t shout loud enough to communicate orally with our friends

___________ kilometres way.

a) 1
b) 10
c) 100
d) 150
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