ACADEMIC WRITING COURSE SESSION 2 (selected activities) Radomíra Bednářová, Robert Helán Masaryk University Department of Geography, Faculty of Science in collaboration with University Language Centre 1. DISCUSSING AND SUMMARIZING YOUR CURRENT ACADEMIC POSITION 2. HOW TO WRITE AN ABSTRACT 3. LANGUAGE PRACTICE: LINKING WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS 4. ERROR ANALYSIS Aims: - to practice oral summaries to talk about students´ current situation in terms of study and their research - to engage students in analyzing sample abstracts - to engage students in authentic error correction 1. DISCUSSING YOUR ACADEMIC POSITION Work with your partners in a small group, answer the following questions. Make short notes on your partners´ answers as a group for a subsequent brief report. A. How is your PhD study programme structured at your institution? B. What are your motivations for the engagement in research? C. How have you been developing as a researcher in the recent years? D. What is the role of your supervisor in your particular research/during your studies? E. What are the pluses and/or minuses of publishing in your first language (Czech/Slovak)? F. How do you perceive the pluses and/or minuses of publishing in a second language (English)? G. Do you personally perceive any pressure to publish? If so, how do you deal with it? H. Are you planning on writing extensively in Czech and/or in English? Is there a project or task coming up in the near future? 2. SUMMARIZING – your current academic position Task: Listening for specific information. You are going to watch an excerpt from a short clip advertising PhD positions at a university. Listen closely to the student’s way of describing his research and the institution and answer the following questions: Listening 1: a) What is the student’s position? b) What is the student’s research focus? What reasons does he give? c) What is the most valuable aspect of the department where the student works? Listening 2: a) What does the first speaker find appealing about the study programme? b) How did the female speaker feel at the beginning? c) What are the options ahead of both the speakers? Task: Speaking SITUATION 1: You are attending an international conference. For the day the sessions are over and now you are at an informal networking dinner with the other participants, sitting at a table. Introduce yourself, your current academic position and engagement in research and your institution in 1 minute. Try to act as naturally as possible. SITUATION 2: You are strongly interested in receiving funding for your current research (PhD study project; post-doctoral project etc). Explain why you should be given the funding. Please mention the theoretical and conceptual framework of your research, methods used in your study and expected results (possibly including your research questions and hypotheses). You have 3 to 5 minutes for your speech. 3. DISCUSSING READING After you have read Peter Antes´ Scientific Writing: English, French and German Compared, answer the questions below: a) When he was a child, how did he think foreign people communicated with each other? b) What is the author’s language background? c) When writing a paper in a foreign language, you have to o Repeat what you would say in your language o Translate everything linguistically o Change the frame of the paper according to the culture of the foreign language d) Fill in the missing words: The differences between the papers are not due to your __________knowledge in terms of __________, words and __________ expressions but in terms of __________. To make the choice of a language is to ______________________________. 4. ABSTRACTS WRITING Watch the following extract of An Introduction to Writing (Good) Abstracts. http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/2010/how-to/research-documentation/an-introduction-to-writing-good-ab stracts/ As you listen, answer these questions (make notes if convenient): a) What is the cartoon representing? b) What does the speaker suggest when mentioning “elevator speech”? c) Which two major divisions of abstracts is the speaker referring to? d) Fill in the missing words/phrases: On the individual stages of writing the abstract (13:10) 1: The idea with this first stage is that you’ll determine the _________ of abstract that you need to write (plus the relative length and you focus on the basic features of the material to be abstracted). 2: Now moving on to stage two, that’s the identification of _________________. This involves the searching for cue and function words and phrases structural headings and topic sentences. The idea is that you’ll identify a representative amount of relevant information for extraction. Extract into abstraction. 3: Extract into abstraction. And that involves organizing and writing the extracted relevant information into a standard format. And the idea here is that you are going to end up with a concise, yet unified, ________________. 4: Fourth stage is refinement, which is essentially the __________________of the abstract by you the original writer, or somebody else (in this stage, you produce a solid informative or indicative abstract). How to write an abstract 1. Introduction What is an abstract? Why are abstracts so important? What types of abstracts do you know? How do the specific types of abstracts differ? Exercise 1. Look at the abstract samples below and answer the following answers. a. Which one is a descriptive abstract? b. Which one is an informative abstract? c. Which one is a conference abstract? d. Which one is a research abstract? e. Which one is a dissertation abstract? Discuss what features differentiate them. 1. Economies with Interacting Agents Alan P. Kirman This paper discusses economic models in which agents interact directly with each other rather than through the price system as in the standard general equilibrium model. It is suggested that the relationship between micro and macro behavior is very different than that in the standard model and that the aggregate phenomena that can arise are rich. The models considered include ones with global interaction in which all agents can interact with each other and ones in which agents can only interact with their immediate neighbors. Both static and dynamic models are considered and the latter includes the class of evolutionary economic models. 2. Economics of Organizing Product Development in the Extended Enterprise Paulo Gomes Firms are increasingly facing the challenge of organizing product development effort in extended settings, i.e., across the boundaries of several firms. This dissertation looks at the implications of this trend to the development cost structure, in particular to the coordination cost. The theoretical framework is based on transaction cost economics, design theory and organizational learning. Building on this literature, the dissertation addresses the following questions: what are the indicators of coordination costs for different types of development tasks? Do these help explain the task sourcing decision? And, do firms learn how to coordinate development tasks? Three empirical models were developed to address these questions. The first model proposes that a set of task attributes derived from transaction cost economics, including a proxy for asset specificity, affect both the task sourcing decision and its coordination cost. Then, I test for differences in the coordination cost of 'generation' and 'test' types of tasks, a classic distinction in design theory. Finally, the dissertation tests a 'learning model' for development task coordination effort. The data was collected from 11 software development projects conducted at a global firm in the medical device industry. The total sample size consists of 71 system development tasks. The main findings were as follows. The proxy for asset specificity, internal problem solving, is a significant predictor of both the likelihood of outsourcing a development task and the associated coordination cost. Moreover, the impact of internal problem solving on the coordination cost is significantly larger for outsourced tasks. The results also reveal asymmetries in the coordination cost for generation and test tasks. Finally, I find evidence that projects were able to reduce coordination effort over time. The findings of the dissertation should be useful in several ways. Recognizing indicators of coordination cost and the asymmetric nature of coordination costs for different types of tasks may provide a more principled approach for organizing extended product development. By systematically exploring the ability to reduce coordination effort through competence development and management of the task dependence structure, we may be able to discover more efficient ways for engaging external partners in development efforts. 3. Hurricane Katrina - Storm Stretches Refiners Past a Perilous Point Jad Mouawad, New York Times, September 11, 2005, Page A27 This article discusses the impact of the storm on the country's oil refining capacity. At one point the article notes that the storm idled 5 percent of the refining capacity in the United States. It then quotes an analyst who comments that this is just 1 percent of world production, and that there is a world market. Actually, for refined products, like gasoline and home heating oil, to a large extent the market is national or even regional. Many states have very specific rules on emissions of various pollutants. Refineries have to be set up to produce fuel that meets these requirements. In many cases, few, if any, foreign refiners will be set up to meet these standards. While they can change over time, at the moment foreign refiners may have little ability to meet U.S. demand for gasoline or other refined products. It is also worth noting that major U.S. oil companies may benefit by deliberately keeping capacity off line. The loss of capacity will push up prices and possibly raise profits. 4. Disciplinary Writing for Publication in English: Empowering and Equipping EFL Doctoral Students with Writing Tools and Skills Katherine Jenkins and Paul Sonders The proposed presentation will draw on and contribute to the research in genre-based pedagogies with a focus on teaching of disciplinary writing in English for publication. Although the concept of genre has been utilized as a research and teaching tool in many different fields of inquiry, attempts at establishing effective EFL writing pedagogies have not completely succeeded in achieving their didactic goals as explicit genre teaching raises many unanswered questions such as: How can a specific genre be taught outside the context of its use? In particular, how can EFL students acquire such a complex and intricate genre as the research article in classroom environments? What tools, skills and knowledge are necessary for these students to apply in order to be adequately equipped for disciplinary writing? Several solutions to these questions will be offered stemming from the experience of the authors with teaching an EFL doctoral writing course focused on publishing in geographical and medical journals. Particularly, two specific approaches to teaching disciplinary writing will be put forward, namely a corpus-based and process-based approach. The last decade has seen a gradual shift from the passive use of large general English corpora (e.g., British National Corpus) to the exploration and application of quite small genre- and journal-specific corpora collected by students themselves (e.g., a corpus of 40 medical case reports from a specific medical journal). This shift has been conducive to greater autonomy of EFL students and their increased self-confidence in learning to write in the disciplines. The authors will offer suggestions how such a corpus-based approach can be applied to teaching writing for publication. In addition, important questions will be tackled regarding the nuts and bolts of creating small disciplinary corpora and ways students can avail themselves of using simple text analysis tools (e.g., TextSTAT). Regarding the latter approach, we will argue for a process-based writing instruction including pre-writing strategies such as ‘free writing’, ‘mind mapping’, and ‘patch writing’. Various revision techniques and strategies will be discussed such as frontal ‘group editing’, organizing and delivering ‘writers’ retreats’ and designing ‘one-to-one writing conferences’. The overall aim of the presentation is to stress the importance of raising students’ awareness of the many complex but often implicit linguistic, disciplinary and cultural aspects of writing in English for publication. Specific examples and illustrations of both the approaches will be included in the presentation to attain the stated aim. Some initial hints Here are some other points to keep in mind when writing abstracts. Read and discuss them. · Your readers expect you to summarize your conclusions as well as your purpose, methods, and main findings. Emphasize the different points in proportion to the emphasis they receive in the body of the document. · Do not refer in the abstract to information that is not in the document. · Choose whether to write in first person style (“I” or “We”) or third person style (“This dissertation shows…”). If you prefer first person style, however, avoid using “we” unless your work has more than one author. Likewise, avoid beginning each sentence with “I”. In other words, third person style is always preferable. · Do not overuse the passives. “The study tested” is better than “It was tested by the study”. · If possible avoid trade names, acronyms, abbreviations, or symbols. You would need to explain them, and that takes too much room. · Use keywords from the document. For published work, the abstract is "mined" for the words used to index the material--thus making it more likely someone will cite your article. · Be coherent and cohesive. 2. Structure of research and dissertation abstracts A properly written abstract consists of the Title of the study and the Body of the abstract. Title Make your title concise, but also descriptive. Body of the abstract The abstract is a very brief overview of your entire study. It tells the reader what you did, why you did it, how you did it, what you found, and what it means. The abstract is the chief way that scientists decide which research reports to read. The following Abstract Worksheet Form is meant to help you prepare the first draft of your abstract. The sequence of sentences in the worksheet is ordered in a logical fashion, beginning with an introduction and proceeding to your methodology, results, discussion, and conclusions. For your final draft, make sure the abstract “flows” logically (again, see below Cohesion section). Give it to friends to read. Ask them to tell you what they think you actually did and what you found. Revise as necessary. Abstract Worksheet Form Adapted from How to Write an Abstract, online at http://www.okstate.edu/education/jshs/abstract.htm Project/Study Title - Keep it concise, but descriptive. Body 1. Topic sentence - Introduction (optional) Introduces the topic of the study and the reasons for its investigation. 2. Subject/Purpose What is this project about? Why is this project interesting or important? 3. Hypothesis/Prediction What did you think you would find? Why? 4. Approach/Methodology Briefly explain the approach/methodology you followed in order to test your prediction. 5. Findings/Discussion What did you find when you performed your test? And are your results consistent with your initial hypothesis and prediction? Why or why not? 6. Conclusion What do these results mean? Why should anyone become excited or interested in your findings? Exercise 2. (from Writing up Research - The Abstract, online at http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/el21abst.htm) Here is an abstract from a published paper. It is 220 words long. Read it through looking for the main purpose of each sentence (for example, introduction, hypothesis/prediction, methodology, main findings, or conclusion). Helwa, N. H. and Abdel Rehim, Z. S. (1997). Experimental Study of the Performance of Solar Dryers with Pebble Beds. Energy Sources, 19, 579-591. Major problems of the arid region are transportation of agricultural products and losses due to spoilage of the products, especially in summer. This work presents the performance of a solar drying system consisting of an air heater and a dryer chamber connected to a greenhouse. The drying system is designed to dry a variety of agricultural products. The effect of air mass flow rate on the drying process is studied. Composite pebbles, which are constructed from cement and sand, are used to store energy for night operation. The pebbles are placed at the bottom of the drying chamber and are charged during the drying process itself. A separate test is done using a simulator, a packed bed storage unit, to find the thermal characteristics of the pebbles during charging and discharging modes with time. Accordingly, the packed bed is analysed using a heat transfer model with finite difference technique described before and during the charging and discharging processes. Graphs are presented that depict the thermal characteristics and performance of the pebble beds and the drying patterns of different agricultural products. The results show that the amount of energy stored in the pebbles depends on the air mass flow rate, the inlet air temperature, and the properties of the storage materials. The composite pebbles can be used efficiently as storing media. 3. Language Focus A. Topic sentence - Introduction The introductory sentence is optional. It allows the writer to focus the reader’s attention on the topic of the study and the reasons why that subject is worth investigating. Here are some examples: a. According to recent evidence, racial and ethnic discrimination in housing continues to be widespread. [This paper…] b. Central city households who subsidize local public sector goods through local property taxes have an incentive to flee from the city or to change the jurisdiction's boundary. [The authors focus on…] c. There is an active debate in transition economies about the extent to which employee and foreign ownership ought to be encouraged or discouraged in privatization, but empirical evidence is scarce. [This paper …] d. Since 1978, China has experienced four episodes of economic fluctuations, during which the government used macro controls to restore stability. [This paper …] Exercise 3. Read the examples above and discuss the following points. 1. Are introductory statements general or specific? 2. Are they in first person style or third person style? 3. What tenses are used? B. Subject/Purpose § Third person style: The / This paper analyzes, investigates, explores, article examines, re-examines, outlines, thesis describes, shows, introduces, dissertation evaluates, considers … § First person style: In this paper I / we* analyse, investigate, explore, article examine, re-examine, outline, theses describe, show, introduce, dissertation evaluate, consider… Exercise 4. Read the sentences below and fill in the gaps with one of the following verbs: develops - calls - argues - provides - looks - consider 1. This paper _______________ an axiomatic basis for a representation of personal preferences in which the utility of an act can be expressed as an expected value of conditional utilities of the act given any set of mutually exclusive and exhaustive scenarios, under a unique subjective probability. 2. The authors _______________ a broad class of situations where a society must choose from a finite set of alternatives. 3. This paper ______________ that the analysis of these games involves a key technical issue. 4. This paper ____________ at the effectiveness of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in reducing the time that manufacturing plants spend in a state of non-compliance. 5. This study ___________ into question the established view that lack of information on clean-up cost functions represents a serious problem in designing an optimal charge on polluting waste discharged by N point sources. 6. This paper _____________ a model of corporate hierarchy in which workers accumulate heterogeneous human capital suitable for different positions within the hierarchy. C. Hypothesis/Prediction In an abstract, the founding hypothesis and related prediction can be expressed in several ways. They can also be included in the introductory sentence or in the Subject/Purpose statement. Read the following excerpts and notice how each author has expressed them. 1. Henry George (1839-1897) has left an intellectual legacy which is shrouded under a cloak of controversy. Unprofessional economists who focused attention on the single-tax proposal and condemned Henry George's teaching, root and branch, were hardly just to him ..." (Schumpeter 1954). This essay tries to do justice to Henry George from the point of view of economic theory and relevant economic practical questions in 1997. […] 2. […] Based on a brief theoretical outline, this paper deals with those two issues. It will be argued in favor of an anti-inflation policy by the ECB, based on monetary targets with securities repurchase transactions (repos) as the central instrument. Rediscount quotas, which should only be available for a market based interest rate, should play a secondary role. To secure and stabilize the need for base money, interest bearing minimum reserves should be held at the ECB, and the ECB should be able to offer banks with temporary liquidity needs collateralized credits for a penalty rate. […] 3. […] It is argued that updated preferences necessarily have one affine indifference curve but that other indifference curves are unrestricted. […] 4. […] While the model is consistent with some features in the data, we reject the hypothesis that factor markets worked perfectly and find support for the historian's intuition regarding the disproportionate impact of land inequality in the countryside. […] 5. […] The hypothesis examined is that the greater the investor's flexibility, the easier it is for him to change his portfolio depending on his results, the more willing he will be to accept risks. […] Online exercise. Use the Web and a major search engine to look for what verbs and/or what adjectives collocate with the terms hypothesis, theory, model, principle, framework (and their respective plurals). D. Approach/Methodology Sometimes, the Approch/Methodology sentences are expressed in passive form. Exercise 5. Read the excerpts below and underline all the passive verb forms. 1. The single tax proposal is looked at from the point of view of constitutional economics, and the wider applicability of Henry George's basic notions is emphasized 2. Analysis of data on incorporation and investment decisions, the relative sensitivity of the stock prices of firms with different asset mobility to political events, and the market for office space most strongly support hypotheses about credibility, adaption, and demand augmentation. 3. A model of farm marketing is developed for the period 1913-28 and is embedded in a general equilibrium model for the Soviet economy. 4. We test whether patterns of income inequality were consistent with the predictions of a market-clearing, neoclassical model linking land and labor endowment through factor markets to household income. 5. Building on the work of P. N. Courant (1978), the paper develops a housing search model and measures the cost of discrimination by its impact on the gain a household can achieve through housing search. The cost of discrimination is then calculated for a representative sample of households. 6. A discussion of changes in the organizational structure and legal environment surrounding gold production is followed by a description of state gold purchasing and storage activities. 7. In an application to US GDP, it is found that inferences about the nature of the trend in output are not robust to changes in the specification for short-run fluctuations. Exercise 6. Complete each sentence below with the present tense, passive voice, of the verb in parentheses. 1. The Malmquist productivity index, constructed using nonparametric linear programming methods, _________________ (to employ) for the relevant comparisons. 2. Characteristics of the incidence of employee and foreign ownership and associated firm performance _________________ (to examine). 3. Respondents' stated preferences for attributes related to various electricity-generation scenarios _________________ (to analyse) using a series of pairwise ratings. 4. In the standard case of "adverse-selection," a firm ______________ (to show) to have an unbounded incentive to under-report marginal clean-up costs. 5. First the employment expectations of companies for 1997 and in the medium term __________________ (to describe) for eastern and western Germany. This ________________ (to follow) by analyses of the personnel inflows and outflows in the first half of 1996, in which the evaluation differentiates between enterprises with expanding employment, declining enterprises and stagnating enterprises. Exercise 7. Transform the following sentences from passive into active starting with the phrase given. 1. The notion of civil society is initially considered in the light of intellectual history and differentiated into a number of constitutive concepts such as trust, commercial society, and a civil network of interpersonal relationships. This article ________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. A simple game-theoretic framework is applied to analyse international cooperation by focusing on the prisoner's dilemma on the one hand and bargaining in the Coasian sense on the other. We _______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ E. Findings/Discussion Research findings can be communicated in a series of different ways. However, they are often introduced by the terms result/results or findings. See below how they collocate with verbs and adjectives. 1. With verbs The results show, state, suggest, uncover, findings indicate, imply, provide… 2. With adjectives striking, contradictory Main / partial / empirical RESULTS (are) different, consistent with Examples 1. The main result states that if the payoff functions are semicontinuous and strongly quasi-concave then an Epsilon-Nash equilibrium in pure strategies exists for positive Epsilon. 2. The results obtained through the estimation of a series of structural VAR models are consistent with this view and indicate also that deflation affected output mainly by increasing real wages. 3. The result holds for a large class of consistent and monotone rules, including the Constrained Equal Award, the Propositional Rule, and many other well known rules. Results, however, are often supported by some evidence. 1. […] The evidence suggests that five price series exhibit stochastic trends, while the remaining six price series appear to be stationary around a deterministic trend. 2. […] Furthermore, quantitative evidence is presented supporting the view that Federal Reserve monetary policy was constrained by international considerations. 3. […] The authors find, on the contrary, consistent evidence that, first, resources went where the benefits to patients were greatest, and, second, resources were appropriately allocated in terms of their opportunity cost once provision exceeded certain thresholds.[…] 4. We provide new evidence on the effectiveness of disclosure requirements by examining firm behavior in response to disclosures of TRI emissions. Online exercise. Use the Web and a major search engine to find other occurrences of the term evidence and discuss how and in what context it is used. F. Conclusions Read the following excerpts and analyse how conclusions are drawn and discussed. 1. In light of these results, we believe that efforts to eliminate SOES based on volatility considerations are unwarranted. 2. Analysis of the conditions that have to be met, illustrated with examples ff attitudes and preferences within Europe, leads to the conclusion that we are unlikely to see the end of the nation state in the near future either in Europe or anywhere else. 3. The main conclusion of the paper is that the Italian depression, comparable to that of other major industrialized countries, was the combined result of a contraction in world demand and of the restrictive monetary policies imposed by the rules of the Gold Standard. 4. Through his careful discussion of the foreseeable problems, the author reaches the conclusion that Hong Kong is "useful pretty much the way it is" to China and does not see China disturbing the balance. 5. These conclusions for nine consultant specialties reinforce similar conclusions for two other services, whose allocations were made by central government (the Scottish Home and Health Department) and general medical practitioners. 4. Cohesion Using Repetition and Reference Words to Emphasize Key Ideas in Your Writing Cohesion is the glue that holds a piece of writing together. In other words, if a paper is cohesive, it sticks together from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to paragraph. Cohesive devices certainly include transitional words and phrases (linking words and expressions), such as therefore, furthermore, or for instance, that clarify for readers the relationships among ideas in a piece of writing. However, transitions aren't enough to make writing cohesive. Repetition of keywords and use of reference words are also needed for cohesion. Repetition of Keywords We can tie sentences or paragraphs together by repeating certain keywords from one sentence to the next or from one paragraph to the next. This repetition of keywords also helps to emphasize the main idea of a piece of writing. Use of Reference Words Another way of tying sentences and paragraphs together involves using reference words that point back to an idea mentioned previously. Among the many reference words that can be used to tie one sentence to another or one paragraph to another are words like this, these, those, such, and that. These reference words should not be used by themselves but should be combined with the important words and phrases from previous sentences or paragraphs. In the following paragraphs, we can see how reference words are used not only to tie sentences and paragraphs together, but also to emphasize the main idea. Underline all the transitional words and phrases and all the reference words you can find in the following paragraph. 5. Some final suggestions * Write the abstract only when the document is finished. Abstracts written before then are just previews. * If you are forced to write an abstract before the document is completed, think about its purpose and write a topic sentence. Keep in mind that you'll need to rewrite the abstract when the document is finished because it will no longer accurately reflect the contents of the document. * Before starting the abstract, list your thoughts on the document. Group related items together. Prioritise the list and put the most important group first. The first few groups form the core of the topic sentence. The rest lead to supporting sentences. * If you can't create a topic sentence (i.e. the introductory statement), write the supporting sentences first. The topic sentence may then become obvious. * Write for an audience not necessarily up to speed in your subject area. This is important because you never know who will read your abstract. * Choose acronyms, abbreviations, and technical terms carefully as they may confuse many readers. * Define the scope of the project in the abstract. * Reread your abstract after several days have passed. Remove all superfluous information. References Writing up Research - The Abstract, online at http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/el21abst.htm. How to Write an Abstract, online at http://www.okstate.edu/education/jshs/abstract.htm. LEO - Literary Education Online: Transition Cues, online at http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/style/ transitioncues.html. LINKING WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS I. Complete the table with examples of linking words and expressions. MEANING LINKING EXPRESSIONS FOR BOTH INFORMAL AND FORMAL USE LINKING EXRESSIONS FOR VERY FORMAL USE ADDITION and additionally CAUSE-EFFECT / REASON CONDITION CONTRAST / OPPOSITION EXAMPLE SUMMARY – CONCLUSION TIME II. Decide which type of linking expressions the following sentences belong to. 1. Moreover, travel information is very important for route planning. 2. We suspect they are trying to hide something, hence the need for an independent inquiry. 3. He subsequently became the chairman of the party. 4. Estimates suggest that the effects will continue, but at a more moderate rate. 5. There is a serious problem in the district, namely unemployment. 6. This poses a threat to agriculture and the food chain, and consequently to human health. 7. Both the husband and the wife were similarly successful in their chosen careers. 8. Some of the studies show positive results, whereas others do not. 9. The results are important for scientific research in general and geography in particular. 10. There is little chance that we will succeed in changing the law. Nevertheless, it is important that we try. 11. Unless I’m mistaken, she was back at work yesterday. III. Join together the following sentences. 1. She wasn't very rich. She gave money to the beggar. (although) _________________________________________________________________________ 2. He left early. He wanted to arrive on time. (so that) ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. You can go out tonight. You must tell us where you are going. (provided) __________________________________________________________________________ 4. I don't earn a big salary. But if I did, I wouldn't buy a car. (even if) __________________________________________________________________________ 5. Take a sandwich. There might be no restaurant. (in case) __________________________________________________________________________ 6. There was a lot of noise. He managed to sleep. (despite) __________________________________________________________________________ 7. Sue likes Opera. Joe prefers jazz. (They have different tastes.) (whereas) __________________________________________________________________________ 8. The weather was bad. They enjoyed the trip. (even though) __________________________________________________________________________ 9. He had the 'flu. He went to work. (in spite of) __________________________________________________________________________ 10. You have to put the alarm on. If not, it won't work. (unless) _________________________________________________________________________ IV. Test what you have learnt. Select a suitable conjunction in each sentence. 1. Polls show that Tony Blair is the most popular Prime Minister this century. ______________ , there are even members of his own party who are uneasy with his approach. In particular However For instance 2. There are some slight variations in temperature, but ________________ 26 to 27ºC should be expected. consequently otherwise as a rule 3. The two main Channel Islands, ________________ Jersey and Guernsey, are much closer to France than to England. for example namely in particular 4. It was announced that nurses' working hours would be increased by 25%. ______________ , even fewer trainee nurses are expected to join the profession. As a result So that Likewise 5. Sales of CDs have experienced a small but steady fall over the past 12 months. _____________ , vinyl records have seen an increase in their share of the market, up to 1.7%. Above all Correspondingly In contrast 6. The Vice Chancellor explained that in light of the current financial climate and because of unexpected bad debts, it would be necessary to peg salary levels at their current level for all grades of staff. ______________ , no-one was getting a pay rise. Nevertheless In other words Similarly 7. It is clear, therefore, that the situation in Brazil will improve only slowly. ______________ the economic problems being experienced in Japan, the outlook is slightly more optimistic. Furthermore In comparison With reference to 8. In order to try to reduce car use in the inner cities, the government has announced new restrictions on company parking spaces and ______________ , a new tax on individual car use. as well as in addition in the same way 9. Essays must be handed in by the deadline, ______________ they will not be marked. obviously otherwise as a result 10. ______________ it has been shown that fractures can occur at even relatively low pressures, the use of the material should not be completely discounted. Nevertheless Because Even though TAPESCRIPT Task: Listening for specific information My name is ….......... I am a third-year student at the University of Western Ontario. My research is concerned with answering the question of What should we do with water? The main policy experts in the world are increasingly turning towards the influence of moral and philosophical values in trying to understand the conflicts that arise around limited water resources and increasing social demands whether they be industry, energy and agriculture; and so my research looks at these problem in the context of the Canadian problem of Alberta. The reasons I came to Western are quite a few. First, when I visited the campus I was treated very professionally, and that would get a sort of financial and academic support that I needed; was also attracted to the city of London, which is small, I can live close to work, I can live close to a river, I live downtown without owning a car, and so far all of my expectations have been greatly exceeded. I’ve had a number of excellent opportunities in the department for teaching, for being a teaching assistant, and also have had an incredible amount of support from people not necessarily involved in my project, whether it be professor dropping off /up books they think I might be interested in, or just taking interest in my research and providing perspectives that I may not necessarily have or haven’t thought of. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Since arriving at Western the funding that I have been able to gain from external fellowships and scholarships has been tremendous. The scholarship committee here at the department worked closely with me on my application to the Trudeau Foundation, which is Canada’s highest award for the doctoral scholarships in the humanities and social sciences and I was very fortunate to have their support and advice … and the internal support of the university to support my travel for interviews and also other aspects of being awarded the Foundation scholarship I feel that Western has a excellent reputation in this regards, especially our department for getting researchers in the department who not only care and are at the top of their disciplines or in their specific field areas, but who also take the time to collaborate with students and to show students how to become that type of researcher and I would say that’s the most added value aspect of the department. ________________________________ * Only in case the authors are more than one.