UGRC 110 Complete Lecture Slides 2
UGRC 110 Complete Lecture Slides 2
UGRC 110 Complete Lecture Slides 2
Lecture 1
General Introduction to
Academic Writing
1
Introduction
Academic
discourse
Academic writing
Writing that allows you to take “Constructs the roles and
on a particular role that others relationships which create
in an academic context academics and students and
recognise. which sustain the universities,
•For instance writing that allows a the disciplines and the creation
lecturer to recognise you as a student of knowledge” (Hyland, 2009,
in Anthropology, Political Science p. 1).
Physics etc.
Academic
writing
Academic writing – Importance
• Constructing roles, and relationships
– The role of researcher
– The role of a student taking an exam
– The role of a lecturer as an examiner
• Sustaining universities
– Creating knowledge through writing about research findings; and
– Transmitting knowledge through the publication of written material
such as books, journal articles, thesis, long essays etc.
Academic writing – Features
The
process
approach
Drafting
Post-writing
• Composing
• Editing based on
• Proofreading information
gathered
Academic Writing – Sample
Example of an academic writing:
• Though the extract above is short, it has evident features of academic writing. It presents an argument; that
Africa lags behind in spite of its potential of being prosperous. It provides evidence backed by reference
information: the writer quotes the work of another author to support part of his claim and acknowledges his
source. Note that the author makes grammatical (i.e., the absence of contracted forms) and lexical (formal
diction) choices that render the writing academic.
Discourse communities
• Discourse community
– The kind of writing that has been described happens in particular
communities that are known as discourse communities. These
communities, according to Swales (1990), have four (4) defining
features.
• Mechanisms of intercommunication among members;
• The use of participatory mechanisms for providing information and feedback
[assessment, reviews, tutorials;
• The possession of a number of genres[ essays, reports, research articles] for
the communicative furtherance of aims; and
• The acquisition of specific lexis (words/ terms).
Discourse communities: Examples
• School of Languages
• Sociology
• A Facebook page
• Political Science department
• Etc
• Characteristics
• Goals
• Intercommunication
• Participation
• Genres
• Lexis
• Expertise
Discourse communities, reading, writing and you
• Success for you as a student is dependent largely on your being
able to function within the discourse communities that you
belong.
• To belong you must:
– Write in ways acceptable to other members of the community;
– Read what has been produced by other members of the community.
• In fact, it is by reading what has been written by members of a community
that you come to know how to write for that community.
Four ways to read
• Scanning
– Quick reading that allows you to locate information that you need.
• Skimming
– Quick reading that allows you to make up your mind about a piece of text. This reading
gives you what is called ‘the gist’ of the text.
• Close reading
– This is careful reading that ensures you do not miss any details in a piece of text. This is
the reading technique most useful to you as an enterprising member of an academic
discourse community.
• Extensive reading
– Extensive reading is employed where there is the need to broaden your understanding
of the world. In extensive reading, you do not limit the material you read to subjects,
courses, programmes you are studying.
Reading – SQ3R
• An important reading method that you need to master is the SQ3R.
• S
– Survey
• Review the text to have an initial general idea about it.
• Q
– Questions
• Ask questions about what you are reading
• Turn headings and subheadings to questions
• 3R
– Reading
• Employ close reading to the text
• Pay attention to every detail including punctuation, word meaning etc.
– Recite/recall
• Recite what you have read
– Review
• Review what you have recited to test your comprehension
Conclusion
• This lecture has discussed
– Academic discourse and academic writing;
– Highlighted the features of academic writing;
– Discussed the forms that academic writing take;
– Presented the process approach as essential to writing in academia;
– Discussed the concept of discourse community; and
– Highlighted the link between writing and reading.
Lecture 2
17
Reading for Information
Why reading?
• Reading is one of the main activities in the academic discourse
community.
• Generally, one’s writing is informed by one’s reading; thus,
there is a direct relationship between reading and writing, as
indicated in Lecture-1’s lesson.
• Students read to retrieve information for essays, assignments,
presentations, seminars, and examinations.
18
Reading for Information
Course reading lists
• Students are normally provided with reading lists from their
various courses.
• Each reading list contains recommended reading materials for
the course.
• Students are therefore required to read on topics in their
courses from the materials on the reading lists.
19
Reading for Information
Sources of reading
21
Reading for Information
Skimming reading technique
22
Reading for Information
Skimming
• When searching for an appropriate material to read, skimming
method will give you a general sense of a material you have to
read and tell you whether or not a material is useful.
• In other words, skimming can be used in finding and assessing
a reading material.
• Skimming could also form part of studying.
23
Reading for Information
Skimming
•In skimming, the reader does not read the entire
material; he or she reads selected parts of the
material to get an overview of the information.
24
Reading for Information
Items to include in Skimming
• In skimming a textbook or a journal article for instance, one may
read the following parts:
– Titles and subtitles: It gives you a good idea of the subject matter.
– Table of contents: It gives a review of the specific subjects covered in the
book.
– Foreword/ preface: to find out the purpose of the book
– Copyright page: It tells you the date and place of publication. If you need
very current information, the date of publication may tell you how old a
book is.
25
Reading for Information
Items to include in Skimming
– Headings and subheadings
– Introductions
– Illustrations (diagrams, charts, graphs, tables, pictures, etc.)
– Topic sentences
– Conclusions
– Occasionally, read a small section that looks important. It may deal with
what you really want to know.
• Reading these items will help one get an overview of the
information.
26
Reading for Information
Scanning reading technique
• Scanning is a quick method of reading aimed at locating
specific information, such as:
– Definition/ explanation of terminology
– Date of an event
– Meaning of an expression
– Spelling of a word
27
Reading for Information
28
Reading for Information
29
Reading for Information
30
Reading for Information
SQ3R study technique
(Source: Goepfert, P.S. (1982). The Communication Handbook, Ontario: Nelson
Canada)
• The SQ3R method of studying helps you to know what parts of
a reading material are important to remember.
• It also helps you to retain all the important information.
• SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review.
31
Reading for Information
• Survey
• Quickly skim the information you are about to
read by looking over the headings and
subheadings in the chapter to see the few central
SQ3R points that will be developed. Then read the
summary paragraph if the chapter has one. This
survey should take a minute or two. It will reveal
the central ideas in the chapter and will help to
organize those ideas.
32
Reading for Information
• Question
• Turn the first heading into a question that has
to be answered. It will bring to mind
SQ3R information that you already know and will
also help you to understand that section more
quickly. The question will also make points in
the section stand out, because they will be
important in the answer to the question.
33
Reading for Information
• Read
• Read the section under the first
heading in order to answer the
SQ3R question. Be aware that you are
making an active search for
information.
34
Reading for Information
• Recite
• Now that you have read the first section, put the
book aside and try to answer briefly the question
you asked earlier. Use your own words and try to
SQ3R give examples. If you can do this, you have
learned the material. If you cannot, look over the
section again. A good way is to jot down some key
phrases, perhaps in outline form, on a sheet of
paper.
35
Reading for Information
36
Reading for Information
• Review
• When you finish the chapter, glance over your
notes to get an overview of the points and their
37
Reading for Information
SQ3R
• These five steps of the SQ3R method should result in faster
reading and help you to remember the important points in a
reading assignment.
• You will also find that quizzes in class will be easier with this
method because the headings turned into question are usually
the points stressed in quizzes.
38
Reading for Information
Vocabulary: Prefixes and Suffixes
• Understanding the meaning of prefixes and suffixes
helps improve vocabulary which further helps improve
reading and comprehension.
• A prefix is added to the beginning of a word.
• A suffix is added to the end of a word.
39
Reading for Information
Prefixes
Prefix Meaning Example words
40
Reading for Information
Suffixes
Suffix Meaning Example words
41
References
• Gee, J. P. (2011). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory
and method. New York: Routledge.
• Hyland, K. (2009). Academic discourse: English in a global
context. London: Continuum.
• Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis. English in academic and
research settings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
UGRC 110 Academic Writing I
Lecture 3
Paragraphing I
(Wyrick 2011, pages 50-69; Bailey 2015:
Pages 7, 86-90)
43
Paragraphing
Preamble:
• Why paragraphs?
• The need to present different but related ideas
• The need to structure information in ways that allows us as well as our audience
to keep track of such information
44
Paragraphing
Preamble:
46
Paragraphing
What should be the length of a paragraph?
• Some authors recommend that a paragraph should by between five
to ten sentences
• The length of a paragraph is determined by the idea discussed in
that paragraph.
• A simple idea may require a relatively fewer number of sentences
to develop it.
• A complex idea on the other hand may require relatively more
sentences to fully develop it
47
Paragraphing
Introductory part:
topic sentence
Major supporting
sentences
Components / parts Body: supporting
of a (body) paragraph: sentences
Minor supporting
sentences
Conclusion:
concluding statement
48
Paragraphing
The topic sentence:
• It expresses the controlling idea or the main idea of the
paragraph.
• It should ideally be one sentence.
• It must be precise and concise.
• In an academic essay, students should begin each body
paragraph with a topic sentence.
49
Paragraphing
Supporting sentences (developmental sentences):
• They elaborate/ explain/ provide further details of the controlling idea.
• They develop the idea contained in the topic sentence.
• They could be in the form of:
➢analysis
➢explanation
➢examples
➢reasons
➢facts
➢statistics
➢ etc.
50
Paragraphing
• Sub-classification of supporting sentences:
• Major supporting sentence
It directly develops the topic sentence
• Minor supporting sentence
It directly develops a major support sentence
51
Paragraphing
Concluding Statement/ Topic Closure:
• It ends/ concludes the paragraph; it gives the paragraph a
sense of closure.
– Restate your main idea in other words
– Provide a transition to next paragraph
– Summarize
– Make an observation
52
Paragraphing
Unity
Principles of
paragraphing
Coherence Completeness
53
Principles of paragraphing
• UNITY
– Paragraph unity dictates that all the sentences in the paragraph should discuss the same idea.
– It means also that there should be one topic and one controlling idea.
• COHESION AND COHERENCE
– There must be logical relationship between the sentences.
– There should be expressions that signal connection between sentences.
• COMPLETENESS
– Enough information to support the idea
– The paragraph is fully developed
Paragraphing
A sample paragraph:
55
Conclusion
• Task
– Analyse the paragraph to identify the features of a paragraph as
discussed in this lecture.
56
Lecture 4
Paragraphing II
(Oshima and Hogue 2007, pages 147-159;
Wyrick 2011, pages 50- 69)
Paragraphing II
Introductions and conclusions
• An academic essay begins with an introductory paragraph and
ends with a concluding paragraph.
• This routine is part of everyday communicative behaviour.
58
What do introductions do?
61
What should influence your background?
Gender To explain
Professional
To persuade
background
Age To inform
Nationality
Level of
education
How long should your introduction be?
64
Paragraphing II
Sample Introductory Paragraph
(Method used: asking questions):
Concluding paragraphs
66
Paragraphing II
Concluding paragraphs
In writing a concluding paragraph, you need to:
– Summarize your argument and the main themes.
– State your general conclusions.
– Make it clear why those conclusions are important or significant.
– In your last sentence, sum up your argument very briefly, linking it to
the title.
67
Paragraphing II
Concluding paragraphs
Sum up the main points of the discussion and
– Provide a final thought
– Recall your thesis/ central idea (not in the same words as in the
introduction)
– Offer an advice/ a suggestion/ a recommendation; call for action
– Make a prediction
– Ask a provocative question
– Use an appropriate quotation
– Etc.
68
Paragraphing II
Sample Concluding Paragraph:
Stereotypes such as the helpless home maker,
harried executive, and dotty grandmother are insulting
enough to begin with. In magazine ads or television
commercials, they become even more insulting. Now
these unfortunate characters are not just being
laughed at; they are being turned into hucksters to sell
products to unsuspecting public. Consumers should
boycott companies whose advertising continues to use
such stereotypes.
69
Thank you for listening
70
LECTURE 5
Inter- Linear
Functions of
Introduction paragraph thought and
paragraphs
transition development
Introduction
What is structure? So?
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Introduction
84
Essay Structure II
The essay’s introduction:
• For a topic such as “Suggest three measures that should be put in
place to ensure peaceful election in Ghana”, the essay’s introduction
should have a thesis statement which mentions the three measures.
Alternatively, the thesis statement could announce that three
measures will be discussed in the essay.
• The introduction should use a method that is suitable for the topic.
• Generally, the introduction should be interesting.
85
Essay Structure II
The essay’s body:
• For such a topic, ideally, the essay’s body should be made up of three
developmental or body paragraphs.
• Each of the developmental paragraphs should discuss one measure.
• Each developmental paragraph should begin with a topic sentence
which focuses on the particular measure, i.e., the controlling idea.
• Each developmental paragraph should have enough details to develop
the controlling idea.
• Each developmental paragraph should be unified, complete and
coherent.
86
Essay Structure II
The essay’s conclusion:
• The conclusion may include a summary of the three measures
discussed in the body.
• The concluding paragraph should not contain a new idea or topic.
• The concluding paragraph should give the essay a sense of closure.
87
Essay Structure II
Unity completeness and cohesion
• In addition to intra-paragraph unity, completeness and cohesion, the
overall essay should be unified, complete and coherent.
88
Lecture 7
Essay Writing I
Planning the Essay: Terms and
Directives for Essays/ Titles
(Bailey 2015: 40-47)
89
Essay Writing I
Process approach versus product approach
90
Essay Writing I
The process approach
• In academic writing the process approach is the recommended
approach to writing essays.
• The process approach uses the writing process to accomplish the
essay writing task.
91
Essay Writing I
93
Essay Writing I
Prewriting/ Pre-drafting
• In some cases, prewriting starts with selecting a topic.
• When choosing a topic, students should ensure that the topic is neither too
broad nor too narrow.
• In other cases the topic may be given by the lecturer.
94
Essay Writing I
• After choosing or being given a topic, pre-writing may include the
Prewriting/ following activities:
• Analysing the essay title
Pre-drafting • Gathering information for the essay
• Organising the information
These activities
are discussed
in turn.
95
Essay Writing I
Prewriting: Analysing the essay title
• Analysing the essay title involves reading the essay title carefully to
understand the main requirements.
• In analysing the title, one should pay attention to keywords in the
title in order to understand it well.
96
Essay Writing I
99
Essay Writing I
100
Essay Writing I
101
Essay Writing I
102
Essay Writing I
Drafting/ writing
• After making an outline, the writer moves to the second stage of the writing
process, namely, writing or drafting.
• In assignments, the writing/ drafting stage may include two steps as follows:
• first or Initial draft
• Rewriting/ revising
103
Essay Writing I
Drafting/ writing
• The first draft involves following the outline to write the
various paragraphs of the essay.
• Rewriting includes any modification that is done to the first
draft to revise and complete the essay, such as:
• reorganizing/ changing/ deleting/ adding information
• reorganizing the paragraphs
• ensuring unity, completeness, and cohesion
• etc.
• In examinations, there may not be an opportunity for
rewriting or revision; i.e., the first draft may be the only
draft, hence, it should be carefully composed.
104
Essay Writing I
105
Essay Writing I
106
Essay Writing I
Summary
• Academic writing recommends the process approach to essay writing.
• The process approach involves the writing process.
• The writing process involves three main stages of writing (prewriting,
writing, post-writing).
• Each stage involves a set of activities.
107
Essay Writing I
Summary
• Prewriting activities include analysing the essay title, gathering
information for the essay, and organising the gathered information.
• Writing involves composing the paragraphs by using the organised
information and adding relevant details, as well as rewriting/ revising
the essay.
• Post-writing involves proofreading and editing the essay.
108
Lecture 8
Essay Writing II
a. Students practise writing a
full-length essay
b. Rewriting and proofreading
109
Essay Writing II
• Relevant information about diseases may be retrieved from sources like books
and journal articles on health and diseases, medical and health digests and
magazines, etc.
• In searching for such information, students may use internet pages as well as
hard copies.
• Information may also be gathered through freewriting and brainstorming
(especially in examinations where students may not have access to sources
like books, journals, magazines, internet, etc).
Essay Writing II
• Prewriting: organizing information
After completing the draft, i.e., after composing all the paragraphs, the student may have
to rewrite or revise the essay.
121
Academic style
Academic vocabulary
• In academic writing, formal vocabulary or academic vocabulary is
recommended.
• Academic vocabulary may refer to discipline-specific vocabulary (e.g.
metaphysics, socialism, sedimentation, assimilation, existentialism).
• Academic vocabulary may also refer to common or generic vocabulary (e.g.
analysis, abstract, evolve, demonstrate, evidence, consistent).
122
Academic style
Academic vocabulary
• Vocabulary from all parts-of-speech are important in academic
writing, nevertheless, this lesson focuses on vocabulary from the
following parts-of-speech:
• Nouns
• Adjectives
• Verbs
• Adverbs
123
Academic style
Academic vocabulary: Nouns
• Nouns refer.
• They function as subjects or objects in sentences.
• A list of nouns that frequently occur in academic writing could be
found in Unit 2.1 (pages 117-118), Bailey (2015), The Essentials of
Academic Writing for International Students.
• Read and complete all exercises/activities in Unit 2.1.
124
Academic style
Academic vocabulary: Adjectives
• Adjectives modify nouns.
• They can function as predicates in sentences.
• A list of adjectives that frequently occur in academic writing could be
found in Unit 2.1 (page 121), Bailey (2015), The Essentials of
Academic Writing for International Students.
• Read and complete all exercises/activities in the Unit.
125
Academic style
Academic vocabulary: Verbs
• Verbs denote.
• They indicate state-of-affairs in sentences.
• A list of verbs that may occur in academic writing could be found in
Unit 2.2 (pages 124-125), Bailey (2015), The Essentials of Academic
Writing for International Students.
• Read and complete all exercises/activities in Unit 2.2.
126
Academic style
Academic vocabulary: Reporting verbs
• Reporting verbs are used in academic writing to report or to refer to
information from sources.
• The use of appropriate reporting verbs enhances academic writing;
they sometimes reveal the writer’s attitude towards the information
being reported.
127
Academic style
Academic vocabulary: Reporting verbs
• The following are examples of reporting verbs:
assert
maintain
claim
argue
conclude
estimate
hypothesize
observe
disclose
128
Academic style
Academic vocabulary: Reporting verbs
• The following sentences illustrate the use of reporting
verbs:
• Berry (1980) distinguishes five possible forms of acculturation.
• It has been observed that verb serialization is common in some African languages
(Abassi 2009).
• Boadi (1976) maintains that the aim of the scheme was to provide sound foundation
for citizens.
• Antwi (2012) argues that, from 1952 to 1957, primary and middle school places
increased.
129
Academic style
Academic vocabulary: Adverbs
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
• They enhance clarity of expression in academic writing.
• Adverbs may also function as transitions to enhance cohesion in
academic writing.
• A discussion of adverbs could be found in Unit 2.2 (pages 126-127),
Bailey (2015), The Essentials of Academic Writing for International
Students.
• Read and complete all exercises/activities in Unit 2.2.
130
Academic style
Sentences
• The following three items will be discussed under sentences:
• Sentence fragments
• Run-on sentences
• Sentence variety
• Sentence fragments and run-on sentences should be avoided in academic
writing.
• Sentence variety is recommended in academic writing.
• The rest of the lesson discusses sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and
sentence variety.
131
Academic style
Sentence fragments
• A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence which has been
punctuated like a complete sentence. A fragment does not
express a complete thought. The following are examples of
sentence fragments:
1. Chocolates.
2. After seriously considering all the possible options presented to us
by the officer in charge.
3. Waiting for a long time.
4. To receive the parcel.
5. For instance, energy stored in different forms.
6. All the students.
132
Academic style
Types of sentence fragments
• There are different types of sentence fragments. This lesson discusses
four types as follows:
• Dependent-word fragment
• -ing and to fragments
• Added-detail fragments
• Missing-subject fragments
133
Academic style
Dependent-word fragments
• A dependent-word fragment begins with a dependent word.
Examples of this type of fragment are underlined as follows:
1. She entered the shop. When the door opened.
2. Everyone will have to wait. Until they finish playing the game.
3. Because it has been clearly explained. There are fewer
mistakes.
4. The bleeding stopped. After the nurse arrived.
• Each of the fragments in the examples begin with a dependent word
(when, until, because, after).
134
Academic style
Correcting dependent-word fragments
• One way to correct a dependent-word fragment is to add it to the
sentence before it, as in example (1), or after it, as in example (2).
(1) She entered the shop when the door opened.
(2) Because it has been clearly explained, there are fewer mistakes.
• Another way to correct a dependent-word fragment is to delete the
dependent word and form a new sentence, as in example (3).
(3) The door opened.
• Read further discussion of dependent-word fragments from
pages 162-166 of Langan (2007), Exploring writing: Sentences
and paragraphs. Complete all activities/exercises under the
discussion.
135
Academic style
-ing and to fragments
• The following examples illustrate –ing in
examples (1)-(3)and to fragments in (4)-(5):
137
Academic style
Correcting -ing and to fragments
• Another method of correction is to turn the fragment into a complete
sentence by adding a subject and using a correct form of the verb, as in
example (3).
3) I read most of the information on the notice board.
• In example (3), the subject ‘I’ and the appropriate verb form ‘read’ have
been used to eliminate the fragment.
139
Academic style
Correcting added-detail fragments
One way of correction is to make the fragment part of the preceding
sentence, as illustrated in examples (1) and (2):
140
Academic style
Missing-subject fragments
• Missing-subject fragments lack subject. The examples below illustrate
missing-subject fragment:
141
Academic style
Correcting missing-subject fragments
One way to correct a missing subject fragment is
to attach the fragment to the preceding
sentence to make it part of that sentence, as
illustrated below:
1) The poet opened the page and began to
read aloud.
143
Academic style
Run-on sentences
• Run-on sentences are sentences containing two ore
more complete thoughts with no adequate
punctuation or joining words to mark the end of each
sentence.
• There are two types of run-ons, namely:
• Fused sentences
• Comma splices
144
Academic style
Run-ons: Fused sentences
• A fused sentence is two or more complete thoughts or complete
sentences that are written together with no punctuation mark to
separate them or to mark the end of each sentence. The following is
an example of a fused sentence:
145
Academic style
Run-ons: Comma splices
• A comma splice occurs when a comma is used to separate complete
sentences or complete thoughts, as illustrated below:
146
Academic style
Correcting run-ons
The are various ways of correcting run-ons. One way is to use a period
and a capital letter to separate the sentences or the complete
thoughts. This is illustrated below:
147
Academic style
Correcting run-ons
• Another method is to use a comma plus a joining word, as in the
example below:
148
Academic style
Correcting run-ons
• Another method is to use a semicolon, as in the
example below:
1) One of the children responded; he was separated from the
rest.
150
Academic style
Sentence variety: Simple sentence
• A simple sentence is made up of one complete sentence;
it is made of an independent clause, that is, it can stand
on its own.
• A simple sentence has a subject and a predicate.
• Each of the following is an example of a simple sentence:
1) Birds fly.
2) The nurse arrived.
3) I filled the bucket.
4) Boys and girls like singing and dancing together.
5) The students submitted their assignments on time.
6) They donated them to the needy in their community.
151
Academic style
Sentence variety: Compound sentence
• A compound sentence is composed of two
simple sentences or two independent clauses
joined together by a coordination conjunction,
such as ‘but’, ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘so’, ‘yet’.
• The following are examples of compound
sentences
1) She did not have enough money, yet she was able
to buy all the things on the shopping list.
2) One of the children responded, so he was
separated from the rest.
3) I spent some time in front of the department
building, and I read most of the information on
the notice board.
152
Academic style
Sentence variety: Complex sentence
A complex sentence is composed of a simple sentence (or an
independent clause) and a dependent clause. The following are
examples of a complex sentences:
1) She entered the shop when the door opened.
2) When the door opened, she entered the shop.
3) Everyone will have to wait until they finish playing
the game.
4) Because it has been clearly explained, there are
fewer mistakes.
5) The bleeding stopped after the nurse arrived.
153
Academic style
Summary/ conclusion
• Students should use appropriate academic vocabulary, including
appropriate reporting verbs, to enhance their academic writing.
• Students should avoid sentence fragments and run-on sentences in
their academic writing; they should ensure correcting all such errors
in their academic writing.
• Students should employ sentence variety (simple sentences,
compound sentences, complex sentences) in their academic writing.
154
Lecture 10
Language Issues: Tense
and Punctuation
Bailey (2015: 147-158)
155
Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Introduction
• Issues concerning language in academic writing are many (e.g., faulty
agreement, faulty modification, illogical comparison, faulty spelling,
tense, punctuation).
• This lesson, however, focuses on two of them, namely:
• Tense
• Punctuation
156
Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Tense
• Tense is a property of verbs.
• Tense is used to indicates time reference in verbs.
• There are different tense forms in languages, indicating different time
references in verbs.
157
Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Tense
• Example of verb tenses in English may include the following:
• Simple present tense
• Present continuous tense
• Simple past tense
• Present perfect tense
• Past perfect tense
158
Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Tense
• Different tense forms indicating different time references in verbs.
• For instance, the simple present tense indicates an action that occurs
habitually.
• The present continuous tense indicates an action that is ongoing or
happening at the moment of speaking.
• The simple past tense indicates an action that is completed in a past
time.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Examples of different tense forms in use
Tense Examples
Simple present The study shows that new vocabulary can emerge.
tense The findings confirm existing claims.
There are new theories and hypotheses.
Simple past The study showed that new vocabulary can emerge.
tense The findings confirmed existing claims.
There were new theories and hypotheses.
Present perfect The study has shown that new vocabulary can emerge.
tense The findings have confirmed existing claims.
There has been new theories and hypotheses.
Past perfect The study had shown that new vocabulary can emerge.
tense The findings had confirmed existing claims.
There had been new theories and hypotheses.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Tense
• One common tense error in students’ academic writing involves the
use of the verbs being and been.
• The verb being is the present participle and it is often used with the
verbs am, is, are, was, and were.
• The verb been on the other hand is the past participle and it is often
used with the verbs has, have, and had.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Tense
• The following examples illustrate tense error involving
being and been:
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Punctuation
• Punctuation marks are used to divide writings (into sentences,
phrases, and words).
• Punctuation marks help readers; they help clarify the meaning of
sentences.
• There are different punctuation marks with different uses or functions
in writing.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Types of punctuation marks
• Below is a list of common punctuation marks
• Period (full stop)
• Comma
• Apostrophe
• Semicolon
• Colon
• Quotation marks
• Ellipsis
• Hyphen
• dash
• Slash
• Parenthesis
• Question mark
• Exclamation mark
• The use of some of the above listed punctuation marks is discussed in the
following slides.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks:
Period
• The period or full stop is used to end statements, as in the
examples below:
1. The book is interesting.
2. She did not listen to the music.
3. They asked me to answer the question.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks:
Comma
• Generally, the comma is used to signal a pause.
• It can be used to separate an introductory word or
phrase or clause, as in the examples below:
1. Surprisingly, the book is interesting.
2. Furthermore, it is not common.
3. To be more specific, it is used to signal a pause.
4. Since nobody was willing to talk, they asked me to
answer the question.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks: Comma
• The comma is also used to separate items on a list or
in a series, as in the examples below:
1. He called Azuma, Oko, Daniella, and Sena.
2. She knows how to play a drum, how to dance Gawu, and
how to sing.
3. Science, Maths, Geography, and French are my favourite
subjects.
4. Lateness in assignment submission, failure to participate
in group work, and truancy were the reasons he gave for
the punishment.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks:
Apostrophe
• The apostrophe is used to mark possession in nouns, as in
the examples below:
1. a dog’s kennel (a kennel for a dog)
2. dogs’ food (food for dogs)
3. Moses’ leadership (the leadership of Moses)
4. students’ mattress (mattress for students)
5. a student’s experiment(an experiment conducted by a
student)
6. children’s service (service for/by children)
7. nature’s law (law of nature)
8. everybody’s concern
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks: Apostrophe
• The apostrophe is also used to mark contraction, as in
the examples below:
1. it’s = it is/ it has
2. he’s = he is / he has
3. can’t = cannot
4. doesn’t = does not
5. weren’t = were not
6. wouldn’t = would not
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks:
Semicolon
• The semicolon is used to join closely related clauses
or sentences, as in the examples below:
1. You should discuss it with your supervisor; you can send
him an email to that effect.
2. She ignored the advice; I wonder why.
3. She is a residential student; he is not.
4. I need to pay my fees; school is reopening soon.
5. She passed the interview; apparently, she is fluent in
Spanish.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks:
Colon
• The colon is used to introduce a list, as in the
examples below:
1. It contains many colours: pink, red, yellow, orange,
purple, black, blue, and brown.
2. There are three main types of paragraphs: an
introductory paragraph, a body paragraph, and a
concluding paragraph.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Uses/functions of punctuation marks:
Colon
• The colon is also used to elaborate or explain a point,
as in the examples below:
1. Fred is truly gifted: he sings so beautifully and dances so
well.
2. There is a problem: we have run out of all protective
equipment.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Punctuation
• Students should research on the uses of the following punctuation marks:
1. Quotation marks
2. Ellipsis
3. Hyphen
4. Dash
5. Slash
6. Parenthesis
7. Question mark
8. Exclamation mark
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Summary
• Tense is a property of verbs; tense is used to indicate time reference
in verbs.
• There are different tense forms.
• Students should ensure the use of correct tense forms and correct all
tense errors in their academic writing.
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Language Issues: Tense and Punctuation
Summary
• Punctuation is used to divide writings to help clarify meaning of
sentences.
• Different punctuation marks have different uses; they perform
different functions in sentences.
• Students should endeavour to use punctuation accurately and correct
all punctuation errors in their academic writing.
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Lecture 11
General Introduction to
Referencing Skills &
Avoiding Plagiarism
Nukui & Peace (2015: pages 2-10);
Bailey (2015: pages 31-39)
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
What is referencing?
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Why referencing?
• Referencing is done to adequately identity the original source of
information or idea (reader can verify the source).
• Another reason for referencing is to demonstrate research done by
the student/ writer.
• Another important reason for referencing is to avoid plagiarism.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
What are reference sources?
• Reference sources may include the following:
• Textbooks
• Periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers)
• Reference books (dictionaries, encyclopaedias, atlases, almanacs)
• Electronic sources
• Telephone conversations, radio and television news, interviews,
movies, and other such programmes may constitute sources in some
disciplines.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
What items require referencing?
• Any information, item or idea that one may obtain from a source and
use in one’s own work. This may include any of the following:
• Tangible information, such as words, phrases, sentences (such information
may be paraphrased, summarized or quoted directly)
• Statistics
• Illustrations, such as pictures, diagrams, maps, graphs, charts, tables, figures
• Idea, style, method
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
What items do not require referencing?
• Common knowledge do not require referencing.
• Common knowledge is any information that is generally accepted and
commonly known that it cannot be claimed to be the idea or property
of one person or source.
• Example of common knowledge include the following:
• The ozone layer is being destroyed by pollution.
• The chemical formula for water is H2O.
• The novel Animal Farm was written by George Orwell.
• Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
How do we do referencing?
• To do adequate referencing, one must use an appropriate or recommended
referencing style.
• Referencing styles differ according to their way or format of referencing,
i.e. different styles use different formats.
• Examples of referencing styles include the following:
• MLA style
• APA style
• CSE style
• Chicago style
• Harvard style
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
How do we do referencing?
• Each style recommends two level referencing, namely: In-text
reference and end-text reference.
• In-text reference, also called in-text citation, is the first level and it
forms part of the essay.
• End-text reference, also referred to as reference list, is the second
level and it occurs as a list at the end of the essay.
• In-text citations identify ideas and information obtained from sources
and direct readers to the reference list at the end of the paper.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Items / information used for in-text referencing
• Depending on the referencing style, basically, items used for in-text
citation may include a combination of any of the following:
• Last name(s) of author(s)
• Year of publication
• Page number
• A short version of title
• For instance, for in-text citation, MLA style uses last name(s) of
author(s) plus page number whereas APA style uses last name(s) of
author(s) plus year of publication plus page number for direct
quotations.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Items/information used for end-text referencing
• Items that are used for a reference list include the following:
• Name(s) of author(s)
• Name(s) of editor(s)
• Title and subtitle of book, journal, magazine, newspaper
• Title and subtitle of article
• Edition number of book
• Year of publication
• Place of publication
• Name of publisher
• Page or paragraph number(s)
• Website address (URL / http / https)
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Sample in-text citations
• Below is a passage with APA in-text citations. The passage contains five in-text citations from five different sources.
NEW RESEARCH
The most recent breakthrough in breast cancer research has discovered a gene called BRCA1 that has been linked to breast
cancer through heredity. A woman increases her lifetime risk of developing breast cancer by 85% if she has the BRCA1 gene, and she
will usually develop cancer at a younger age (American Cancer Society, 1997). Some women diagnosed with the gene feel that the
risks are too great and choose, consequently, to have a preventative mastectomy (the complete removal of the breast). Laversen and
Stukane (1996) indicate that since research is underway to develop a drug which will treat the mutation on the BRCA1 gene many
women in the future will not have to resort to such invasive techniques.
But even if a woman does not have any of the known risk factors for breast cancer, she may not be out of danger. The National
Institutes of Health reveal that most women who develop breast cancer have never had a family history of the disease, nor dothey
fall into any of the other high-risk categories (1997).
Women are therefore urged to undergo yearly mammograms once they reach the age of 40, and earlier if they suspect they may
be at risk. A mammogram uses low-dose radiation to take an x-ray of the breast. In the 1990s, mammograms used as little as 1/40 of
the radiation of the 1960s and therefore are considered safe (Cancer Information Service, personal communication, March 21, 1997).
But mammograms are not fool-proof: Radiologists estimate that 10 – 15% of cancers may be missed (American Association of Retired
Persons [AARP], 1991).
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Sample end-text list
• Below is an APA reference list based on the passage entitled NEW RESEARCH. The list contains details
of all the five sources used in the passage.
REFERENCES
American Association of Retired Persons [AARP]. (1991). Chances are you need a
mammogram: A Guide for midlife and older women [Brochure]. Washington,
DC:Author.
American Cancer Society. (1997). Cancer Facts & Figures 1997 [Home page].
Retrieved October 20, 1998 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.cancer.org/abacs.html.
Cancer Information Service (1997, March 21). Personal communication.
Laversen, N. H., & Stukane, E. (1996). The Complete Book of Breast Care. New York:
Ballantyne Books.
National Institutes of Health. (1997, January 21 – 23). NIH Consensus Statement
[Press release]. Retrieved October 20, 1998, from
http://www.odp.od.nih.gov/consensus/statemnts/cic/103/103- stmt.html.
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Plagiarism: definition
• Plagiarism is the act of copying or including in one’s own work,
without adequate acknowledgement, intentionally or unintentionally,
the work of another, for one’s own benefit.
• Plagiarism is taking someone else’s ideas or words and using them as
if they were your own.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism: definition
• Plagiarism is the use of someone else’s ideas or language as your
own, accidentally or deliberately.
• Plagiarism is “using someone else’s words, graphics, or ideas without
giving credit” (Ebest et al., 2003: 32).
• Plagiarism is equated with theft but the stolen goods are intellectual
rather than material (Spatt, 1991).
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Plagiarism: definition
• Plagiarism is “using someone else’s ideas or phrasing and
representing those ideas or phrasing as our own, either on purpose or
through carelessness” (Guide to Writing Research Papers, 2010: 1).
NB:
1. There are different types of plagiarism. Students should research on
the various types of plagiarism.
2. Students should read the University of Ghana’s plagiarism policy
from the UG Homepage.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Sources/causes of plagiarism
• Plagiarism most often occurs through:
• Failure to place quoted passages in quotation marks and provide source information.
• Failure to identify the source from which a material is paraphrased or summarized.
• Failure to give credit to any creative ideas borrowed from any original source.
• Replacement of words of the original text with one’s own by maintaining the same
sentence structure during paraphrasing.
• Failure to acknowledge the source when topics or subtopics are borrowed from
authors.
• Failure to recognize author’s unique way of saying something.
• Having no adequate knowledge of documentation style.
• Not having enough time to construct a proper academic writing.
• Being afraid of criticism for having too many direct quotations.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Implications/consequences of plagiarism
• Plagiarism is against the law of intellectual property.
• Plagiarism is against university rule and regulations.
• Plagiarism could result in loss of grades, failure, or expulsion from the
university.
• Plagiarism should therefore be avoided.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Avoiding plagiarism
• Plagiarism could be avoided through the following ways:
• Place all quoted passages in quotation marks and provide source information, even if it is
only one phrase.
• Identify the source from which you have paraphrased or summarized ideas, just as you
do when you quote directly.
• Give credit for any creative ideas you borrow from an original source. For example, if you
use an author’s anecdote to illustrate a point, acknowledge it.
• Replace unimportant language with your own, and use different sentence structures
when you paraphrase or summarize.
• Acknowledge the source if you borrow any organizational structure or headings from an
author. Do not use the same subtopics, for example.
• Put any words or phrases you borrow in quotation marks, especially an author’s unique
way of saying something.
• Learn a documentation style relevant to your discipline – testifying that you did your
research, and assuring your reader that your sources and quotations are not fictitious.
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Referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
Concluding remarks
• Referencing skills are the techniques that a writer uses in
acknowledging sources.
• These skills include the effective ways of paraphrasing, summarizing,
quoting, incorporating sources into one’s work, and the effective ways
of acknowledging or documenting sources.
• These skills help students to avoid plagiarism in their academic work.
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Lecture 12
General Revision
196
General Revision
• This general revision gives an overview of the major topics discussed
in the semester.
• Students should go over their notes, weekly slides, recommended
readings and other supplementary readings for revision.
• Students should revise details of the topics in preparation towards
the end of semester assessments.
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General Revision
Lecture 1: General Introduction to Academic Writing (Bailey 2015,
pages 3-8)
• Discourse communities and their characteristics
• The academic discourse community and its characteristics
• Process approach to academic writing
• Features of academic writing
• The relationship between reading and writing
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General Revision
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General Revision
Lecture 3: Paragraphing I (Wyrick
2011, pages 50-69; Bailey 2015, Pages 7, 86-90)
• Paragraph structure: 3 parts of the body paragraph:
• Topic sentence
• Supporting sentences
• Topic closure
• Principles of paragraphing:
• Unity
• Completeness
• Coherence
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General Revision
Lecture 4: Paragraphing II (Oshima & Hogue 2007, pages 147-159; Wyrick 2011,
pages 50- 69)
• Introductory paragraphs
• Thesis statement
• Methods of introduction
• Concluding paragraphs
• Methods of conclusion
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General Revision
Lectures 5&6: Essay Structure (Wyrick 2011, pages 50- 69; Oshima & Hogue
2007, pages 147-159)
• Three parts of the essay:
• Introduction (introductory paragraph)
• Body (developmental Paragraphs)
• Conclusion (concluding paragraph)
• Inter-paragraph cohesion
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The structure of an essay with three body paragraphs
(Lectures 5&6)
Introductory Paragraph with Thesis Statement
Introduction Using appropriate method
developmental Paragraph 1:
Topic Sentence
Support Sentences
Concluding Statement
developmental Paragraph 2:
Body Topic Sentence
Support Sentences
Concluding Statement
Developmental Paragraph 3:
Topic Sentence
Support Sentences
Concluding Statement
Conclusion Concluding Paragraph
Using appropriate method
General Revision
204
General Revision
206
General Revision
Lecture 9: Academic style (Bailey 2015, pages 117- 127;
Langan 2007, pages 163-208)
• Sentences:
• Sentence fragments
• Dependent-word fragment
• -ing and to fragments
• Added-detail fragments
• Missing-subject fragments
• Run-On sentences
• Fused sentences
• Comma splices
• Sentence variety
• Simple sentence
• Compound sentence
• Complex sentence
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General Revision
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General Revision
Lecture 10: Language Issues (Bailey 2015, pages 147-158)
• Punctuation
• Period (full stop)
• Comma
• Apostrophe
• Semicolon
• Colon
• Quotation marks
• Ellipsis
• Hyphen
• dash
• Slash
• Parenthesis
• Question mark
• Exclamation mark
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General Revision
Lecture 11: General introduction to referencing skills & Avoiding Plagiarism
(Nukui & Peace 2015: pages 2-10; Bailey 2015: pages 31-39)
• Referencing:
• Definition of referencing
• Significance of referencing
• Referencing styles (APA, MLA, etc)
• Plagiarism
• Definition of plagiarism
• Implications/ consequences of plagiarism
• Types of plagiarism
• Causes of plagiarism
• Techniques of avoiding plagiarism
211