Warm-up: Discuss in groups: What was yesterday’s afternoon lesson about? What did you cover and what did you learn? Write a short summary (100-150 words): Key aspects of writing: Differences from L1: As academics: As teachers: Useful structures Parallelism Important element of English writing Listing, comparing, contrasting items or ideas Each element in a list or comparison follows same grammatical pattern Not parallel Parallel My English conversation class is made up of Chinese, Spaniards, and some are from Bosnia. The students who do well attend class, they do their homework, and practice speaking in English The teacher wanted to know which country we came from and our future goals. My English conversation class is made up of Chinese, Spaniards, and Bosnians. (the items are all nouns) The students who do well attend class, do their homework, and practice speaking in English. (the items area all verbs + complements) The teacher wanted to know which country we came from and what our future goals were. (both noun clauses) The language skills of the students in the evening classes are the same as the language skills of the students in the day classes. (both noun phrases) Participle clauses Participle clauses are used to make our writing (and speaking) more economical, efficient and, sometimes, more elegant. They can also be used to add information about reason, condition and result. Cleft sentences Cleft means “divided”. In cleft sentences, on sentence is divided into two parts, each with its own verb. This adds emphasis to part of the sentence. Linking devices Introduce additional information (meaning “and”) What is more, Another (problem, issue, point, etc.), In addition to this, Furthermore, Likewise Indicate a contrast with what has come before (meaning “but”) In contrast, on the contrary, conversely, however, on the other hand, nevertheless Follow a logical argument (meaning “therefore”) Thus, hence, accordingly, as a result, consequently, so, for this/that reason Prove your point Evidently, obviously, indeed, in fact, to conclude/in conclusion Cause signal words and phrases Coordinators for Bison were indispensable to the Native American tribes, for this one animal provided them with nearly everything they needed for survival: meat, clothing, shelter, tools, and weapons. Note: When used in this way, for has the same meaning as because. However, you MUST use a comma in front of for, and you MUST NOT use a comma in front of because. Subordinators because since as Bison were indispensable to the Native American tribes because/since/as this one animal provided them with nearly everything they needed for survival: meat, clothing,-shelter, tools, and weapons. Others to result from to be the result of due to because of the effect of the consequence of as a result of as a consequence of The bison's near extinction resulted from/was the result of loss of habitat and overhunting. Bison nearly became extinct due to/because of loss of habitat and overhunting. One effect of/consequence of westward expansion was the destruction of habitat for the bison. The areas in which bison could roam freely shrank as a result of/as a consequence of the westward expansion of the 1800s. Taken from: Oshima, A., & Hogue, A. (2006). Writing Academic English, Longman, p. 101 Effect signal words and phrases Transitions words and phrases as a result as a consequence therefore thus consequently hence Workers building the new transcontinental railroad needed meat; as a result/as a consequence/therefore/thus/consequently/hence, hunters killed bison by the thousands. Note: Notice the difference between as a result and as a result of. As a result is followed by a full sentence (independent clause) and introduces an effect. As a result of is followed by a noun phrase and introduces a clause. Coordinators so Native Americans began trading bison skins to the settlers for steel knives and guns, so they began killing bison in larger numbers. Others to result in to cause to have an effect on to affect the cause of the reason for thereby Loss of habitat and overhunting resulted in/caused the near extinction of bison. The reduced numbers of bison had a terrible effect on/affected the lives of the Native Americans who had depended on them for survival. The rescue of the bison from near extinction is a cause of/a reason for celebration. The 85 bison that survived were given refuge in Yellowstone National Park in 1892, thereby saving this species from total extinction. Note: Thereby is most frequently used in front of -ing phrases. Various clauses and their linking words/structures Reason subordinators because Europeans are in some ways better environmentalists than North Americans because they are more used to conserving energy. since Since many Europeans live, work, and shop in the same locale, they are quite accustomed to riding bicycles, trains, and streetcars to get around. as As the price of gasoline has always been quite high in Europe, most Europeans drive high-mileage automobiles that use less fuel. Result subordinators so + adjective/adverb + that Joanna's cookie business is so successful that she hired three new employees last week. New orders are coming in so rapidly that she has expanded her production facilities. such a(n) + noun + that Joanne's cookies are such a success that she is considering franchising the business. so much/many + noun + that Running the business takes so much time now that Joanne no longer does the baking herself. There were so many orders for her holiday cookies that her workers were baking 24 hours a day. so little/few + noun + that Now Joanne has so little free time that she has not taken a vacation in months. Her cookies contain so few calories that even people on diets can enjoy them. Purpose subordinators so that Farmers use chemical pesticides so that they can get higher crop yields. in order that In order that consumers can enjoy unblemished fruits and vegetables, farmers also spray their fields. Direct opposition subordinators whereas San Francisco is cool during the summer, whereas Los Angeles is generally hot. while While most homes in San Francisco do not have air conditioning, it is a necessity in Los Angeles. Concession subordinators although Although I had studied all night, I failed the test. even though Our house is quite comfortable even though it is small. though Though the citizens had despised the old regime, they disliked the new government even more. Conditional subordinators if If you study, you will get good grades. The mayor would have lost the election if the labor unions had not supported him. unless Unless you study, you will not get good grades. The mayor cannot govern unless the labor unions support him. Teacher 1 Teacher 1 is Assistant Professor in English and Director of the Masaryk University Language Centre, Brno, Czech Republic. His/her broad international teaching experience and teacher training activities include EAP soft skills such as intercultural communication, critical thinking, academic writing, academic presentations and videoconferencing; however, his/her main academic interest lies in creativity and Creative Approach to Language Teaching (CALT). He/she is also an author and co-author of a number of materials, online courses and publications, such as Oral Presentations or Grada’s Academic English – Akademická angličtina Průvodce anglickým jazykem pro studenty, akademiky a vědce. Teacher 2 Teacher 2 is responsible for studies and quality of education at Masaryk University Language Centre, Brno, Czech Republic. He/she is also in charge of internal teacher training and further teacher development. Being also a teacher of English as a foreign language, she is based at the Language Centre’s Department at the Faculty of Law where he/she specializes in teaching English for law. His/her broad academic and teacher training experience covers mainly the use of videoconferencing technology in teaching ESP and EAP, ESP methodology, teaching academic writing, soft skills and the use of hedging in scientific writing. As a teacher trainer, he/she has co-operated with the British Council at summer courses in various European and Asian countries. Teacher 3 Teacher 3 is an international relations scholar with a focus on grand strategy and international security. He/she is especially interested in the future of American power in Europe and its impact on European strategic autonomy. Teacher 3 obtained his/her doctorate in political science at the University of Amsterdam (UVA) with a project on the impact of victory and defeat in war on grand strategy and the propensity of states to use military force and diplomacy. The dissertation was awarded the 2016 prize of the Dutch and Flemish political science associations. Previously, Teacher 3 worked as a strategic policy analyst at the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) From 2011 to 2016, Teacher 3 taught graduate and undergraduate courses at the UVA and Leiden University on grand strategy, trans-Atlantic relations, and contemporary international security, as well as supervised theses at both levels. Feedback for writing: what to consider TASK FULFILMENT Does the essay answer the question? Are there any irrelevant points/sections? Is it long enough? Is it too descriptive? ORGANIZATION Is the overall organization clear? Is there a clear thesis statement? Are arguments supported? Is there any consideration of counter arguments and are these evaluated? Is there a justified conclusion? USE OF SOURCE MATERIALS Are the sources used appropriately to support arguments? Are any sources irrelevant to the argument? Are the sources properly acknowledged? Is there any plagiarism? LANGUAGE Are errors very frequent? Do they make reading essay difficult? Is there a wide range of vocabulary and structures? Are cohesive devices used clearly? GENERAL COMMENTS