ENN103F/101/3/2016
Tutorial letter 101/3/2016 English for Academic Purposes
ENN103F Semesters 1 & 2
Department of English Studies IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This tutorial letter contains important information about your module
CONTENTS
Page 1
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 3
2
PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES OF THE MODULE …....................................................... 3
2.1
Purpose ........................................................................................................................... 3
2.2
Outcomes ........................................................................................................................ 3
3
LECTURERS AND CONTACT DETAILS....................................................................... 3
3.1
Lecturers ......................................................................................................................... 3
3.2
Department..................................................................................................................... 4
3.3
University........................................................................................................................ 4
4
MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES .............................................................................. 4
4.1
Prescribed books............................................................................................................ 4
4.2
Recommended books .................................................................................................... 4
4.3
Electronic reserves (e-reserves) .................................................................................. 5
5
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE................................................ 5
6
MODULE-SPECIFIC STUDY PLAN .............................................................................. 5
7
PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING ...................................... 5
8
ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................... 5
8.1
Assessment plan ........................................................................................................... 5
8.2
General assignment numbers ...................................................................................... 5
8.3
Unique assignment numbers ...................................................................................... 6
8.4
Due dates for assignments .......................................................................................... 6
8.5
Submission of assignments ......................................................................................... 6
8.6
The assignments ............................................................................................................ 7
8.7
Other assessment methods ......................................................................................... 28
8.8
The examination ............................................................................................................ 28
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8.8.1
Examination admission……………………………………………………………… 28
8.8.2
Semester mark………………………………………………………………………… 28
8.8.3
Examination period…………………………………………………………………… 29
8.8.4
Previous examination papers………………………………………………………. 29
8.8.5
Tutorial letter with information on the examination…………………………….. 29 ADDENDUM .................................................................................................................... 30
ENN103F/101
1.
INTRODUCTION
Dear Student Welcome to ENN103F, English for Academic Purposes. Primary Lecturer Dr SC Ndlangamandla Level Coordinator Prof. B Nchindila Chair of the Department of English Studies Professor L Rafapa Secretary: AELS UNIT Mr ML Molepo Tel: 012 429 6702 Email:
[email protected] 2. 2.1
PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES OF THE MODULE Purpose
The purpose of English for Academic Purposes is to: • provide an understanding of the theory of reading and writing • develop your ability to read critically with comprehension and insight • improve your linguistic competence • develop your ability to write logically and effectively 2.2
Outcomes
If you apply yourself to this module, you will develop the general competence to: • • • •
read and write effectively reflect on, and explore, a variety of strategies to learn more effectively analyse, organise and critically evaluate information organise and manage yourself and your activities responsibly and effectively
3. LECTURERS AND CONTACT DETAILS 3.1 Lecturers NB: Whenever you contact the Department of English Studies, you should have your student number handy. Always use it in correspondence and have it ready when you phone the university. Please also specify your course code (ENN103F). Never address enquiries concerning administrative matters to the Department of English Studies. Never enclose enquiries in assignments, as the letter is likely to be delayed or may even go astray. Please remember that we have thousands of students and, therefore, cannot return your phone calls. If you phone and the person you are looking for is not available, you will have to phone back at another time.
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The myUnisa system gives you the opportunity to contact your lecturers as well as fellow students. For all academic matters, you may contact the following lecturers: Dr Ndlangamandla, SC: Ms Britz, A: Dr Conduah, A: Mr Kekana, A: Ms Tlaka, HN: Ms Thoka, B: Ms Westbrook, T: 3.2
012 429 6765 012 429 6219 012 429 6575 012 429 3806 012 429 6933 012 429 8332 012 429 6440
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Department Department of English Studies Room 6-04, Theo van Wijk building Muckleneuk Unisa main campus
3.3
University
For general enquiries, please use the contact details below: The Registrar: Academic PO Box 392 Unisa 0003 For assignment-related queries: For examination-related queries: 4.
[email protected] [email protected]
MODULE-RELATED RESOURCES
4.1
Prescribed books
There are no prescribed books for this course. 4.2
Recommended books
We recommend that you purchase a copy of one of the following: a. Gaetz, L. and Phadke, S. (2015) The Writer’s World; Essays, (3rd Edition), Boston: Pearson b. Seligmann, J. (2012) Academic Literacy for Education Students, Southern Africa: Oxford University Press c. Beekman, L., Dube, C., and Underhill, J. (2011) Academic Literacy, Cape Town: Juta d. Crème, P. and Lea. M. (2003) Writing at University: a guide for students, Philadelphia: Open University Press, available online
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4.3
Electronic reserves (e-reserves)
There are no e-reserves for this module. 5.
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE MODULE
There are no discussion classes for this module. You may, however, participate in the online discussion forums and blogs, and use the other resources that are available online, both from Unisa and any other university. Tutorials are offered at most of the Unisa learning centres around the country. A tutor will be assigned to a group of students i n order to facilitate and augment the learning process. Contact your local learning centre for further details. You will find their addresses in the my Studies @ Unisa booklet. 6.
MODULE-SPECIFIC STUDY PLAN
This is a practical skills module in the sense that you need to read and write extensively in order to improve your general English Language proficiency and then be able to master the EAP skills which are taught in the module and apply them in academic studies across the University. Refer to the addendum in this Tutorial Letter for the skills, assessment criteria and marking procedure for the module. 7.
PRACTICAL WORK AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING
There are no practical sessions for this module. 8. 8.1
ASSESSMENT Assessment plan
Assignments are regarded as part of the learning materials for this module. As you do the assignments, you should study the reading texts, consult other resources, discuss the work with fellow students and tutors or do additional research to ensure that you are actively engaged in the learning process. Looking at the assessment criteria given for each assignment will help you to understand more clearly what is required of you. In some cases, additional assessment opportunities might be available on the myUnisa site for your module. For students attending tutorial sessions, tutors may also set additional tasks and give feedback in class. 8.2
General assignment numbers
There are four compulsory assignments for each semester. Turn to 8.8.2 to find out how the semester marks and exam marks are calculated.
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8.3
Unique assignment numbers
Semester 1 unique numbers
Semester 2 unique numbers
Assignment 01 – 820179
Assignment 01 – 786595
Assignment 02 – 710393
Assignment 02 – 710770
Assignment 03 – 730994
Assignment 03 – 799455
Assignment 04 – N/A
Assignment 04 – N/A
8.4
Due dates for assignments
Semester 1
Semester 2
Assignment 01 – 29 February 2016
Assignment 01 – 5 August 2016
Assignment 02 – 18 March 2016
Assignment 02 – 22 August 2016
Assignment 03 – 08 April 2016
Assignment 03 - 16 September 2016
Assignment 04 – 29 April 2016
Assignment 04 – 30 September 2016
8.5
Submission of assignments
You may submit written assignments Assignments may not be submitted assignments directly from students. For assignments are concerned, see the my with your study materials.
either by post or electronically via myUnisa. by fax or e-mail. Lecturers do not receive detailed information and requirements as far as Studies @ Unisa brochure, which you received
Address all written assignments to the Assignments Section, and use the assignment covers provided by the university. At the top/beginning of your assignments, write all the information required on the university assignment cover. Make sure that your assignments are numbered according to the unique numbers given in 8.3 and 8.4 above. Make sure that you submit ALL the sections of an assignment together in one cover. No marks will be awarded for incomplete assignments. If you submit via myUnisa, please submit as a pdf file.
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8.6
The assignments
8.6.1 FIRST SEMESTER ASSIGNMENTS Assignment: Unique number: Due date: Compulsory:
01 820179 29 February 2016 Yes
Function: The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to critically read an article, and to engage with and reflect on it in an academic manner by answering the assigned questions in short paragraphs. When marking the assignment, poor language expression will be penalised. Examples of poor language expression include serious errors in sentence structure, incomprehensible and barely literate vocabulary, spelling, punctuation, and so on. Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
Early men and women were equal, say scientists (Study shows that modern hunter-gatherer tribes operate on an egalitarian basis, suggesting inequality was an aberration that came with the advent of agriculture) Our prehistoric forebears are often portrayed as spear-wielding savages, but the earliest human societies are likely to have been founded on enlightened egalitarian principles, according to scientists. A study has shown that in contemporary hunter-gatherer tribes, men and women tend to have equal influence on where their group lives and who they live with. The findings challenge the idea that sexual equality is a recent invention, suggesting that it has been the norm for humans for most of our evolutionary history. Mark Dyble, an anthropologist who led the study at University College London, said: “There is still this wider perception that hunter-gatherers are more macho or male-dominated. We’d argue it was only with the emergence of agriculture, when people could start to accumulate resources that inequality emerged.” Dyble says the latest findings suggest that equality between the sexes may have been a survival advantage and played an important role in shaping human society and evolution. “Sexual equality is one of an important suite of changes to social organisation, including things like pair-bonding, our big, social brains, and language, that
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distinguishes humans,” he said. “It’s an important one that hasn’t really been highlighted before.” The study, published in the journal Science, set out to investigate the apparent paradox that while people in hunter-gatherer societies show strong preferences for living with family members, in practice the groups they live in, tend to comprise few closely related individuals. The scientists collected genealogical data from two hunter-gatherer populations, one in the Congo and one in the Philippines, including kinship relations, movement between camps and residence patterns, through hundreds of interviews. In both cases, people tend to live in groups of around 20, moving roughly every 10 days and subsisting on hunted game, fish and gathered fruit, vegetables and honey. The scientists constructed a computer model to simulate the process of camp assortment, based on the assumption that people would choose to populate an empty camp with their close kin: siblings, parents and children. When only one sex had influence over the process, as is typically the case in maledominated pastoral or horticultural societies, tight hubs of related individuals emerged. However, the average number of related individuals is predicted to be much lower when men and women have an equal influence – closely matching what was seen in the populations that were studied. “When only men have influence over who they are living with, the core of any community is a dense network of closely related men with the spouses on the periphery,” said Dyble. “If men and women decide, you don’t get groups of four or five brothers living together.” The authors argue that sexual equality may have proved an evolutionary advantage for early human societies, as it would have fostered wider-ranging social networks and closer cooperation between unrelated individuals. “It gives you a far more expansive social network with a wider choice of mates, so inbreeding would be less of an issue,” said Dyble. “And you come into contact with more people and you can share innovations, which is something that humans do par excellence.” Dr Tamas David-Barrett, a behavioural scientist at the University of Oxford, agreed: “This is a very neat result,” he said. “If you’re able to track your kin further away, you’d be able to have a much broader network. All you’d need to do is get together every now and then for some kind of feast.” The study suggests that it was only with the dawn of agriculture, when people were able to accumulate resources for the first time, that an imbalance emerged. 8
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“Men can start to have several wives and they can have more children than women,” said Dyble. “It pays more for men to start accumulating resources and becomes favourable to form alliances with male kin.” Dyble said that egalitarianism may even have been one of the important factors that distinguished our ancestors from our primate cousins. “Chimpanzees live in quite aggressive, male-dominated societies with clear hierarchies,” he said. “As a result, they just don’t see enough adults in their lifetime for technologies to be sustained.” The findings appear to be supported by qualitative observations of the huntergatherer groups in the study. In the Philippines population, women are involved in hunting and honey collecting and while there is still a division of labour, overall men and women contribute a similar number of calories to the camp. In both groups, monogamy is the norm and men are active in childcare. Andrea Migliano, of University College London and the paper’s senior author, said: “Sex equality suggests a scenario where unique human traits, such as cooperation with unrelated individuals, could have emerged in our evolutionary past.” From: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/14/early-men-women-equal-scientists
Answer the following questions in short paragraphs of not more than 100 words. Any verbatim copying from the passage or plagiarism will be penalised. Try as far as possible to use your own words in your answers. 1. In paragraph 4, the writer asserts that "Sexual equality is one of an important suite of changes to social organisation". Explain how equality between the sexes could be important to social organisation. (10 marks) 2. Paragraph 9 indicates that an egalitarian society has a lower density of men in the community. Explain why Dyble makes this assertion. (10 marks) 3. Discuss the link that the writer is making between polygamy and the dawn of agriculture in paragraph 12. (10 marks) 4. In paragraph 10 the writer uses the phrase “par excellence”. Explain the meaning of this term in the context of the article and what Dyble is implying by it. (5 marks) 5. Using your own ideas, compare and contrast the egalitarian society (as discussed in the article) to modern society. Write a paragraph not exceeding 200 words. (15 marks) Total: [50 marks]
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Assignment: Unique number: Due date: Compulsory:
02 710393 18 March 2016 Yes
Function: The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to adopt a point of view and defend it. Research-based essay This assignment should be about 500 words. Find at least five academically valid sources and include a reference list. At least one source must be from a printed book or journal. Website sources are allowed as a main source only if they are authored articles from journals or books from nationally/internationally recognised institutions (This means you may not use websites such as Wikipedia). Articles from newspapers, magazines or civic organisations may not be used as a reliable source of scientific information. Website articles written by unidentified individuals or authors may not be used. The writing process You are encouraged to study units 3 and 4 in your study guide. There is an overview of the writing process on page 68 of the study guide. Choose one of the following topics: 1. Plagiarism is a concern to both students and academics. Based on what you know and your research, discuss matters surrounding the issue of plagiarism (e.g. academic honesty or theft or corruption, academic integrity, referencing, knowledge production, and so on). Do not limit your discussion to these aspects on plagiarism, you can add other pertinent issues. State why plagiarism has become a major concern and reflect on the extent to which it has featured in your experience. 2. Global warming is a debated issue at present. Based on your research, discuss the causes and effects of global warming. Your essay should provide solutions for some of the effects. 3. The advantages of globalization outweigh its disadvantages. With reference to your own research and from your own experiences, write an essay in which you show the extent to which you agree or disagree with this claim. NB: Support your arguments as much as possible by using published literature on the chosen topic and refer to the essay assessment criteria. [100 marks]
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Assignment: Unique number: Due date: Compulsory:
03 730994 8 April 2016 Yes
Function: The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to critically read an article, and to engage with and reflect on it in an academic manner by answering the assigned questions in short paragraphs. When marking the assignment, poor language expression will be penalised. Examples of poor language expression include serious errors in sentence structure, diction, spelling, punctuation, and so on.
Moocs, and the man leading the UK's charge Twenty months ago, Simon Nelson was shown a picture of a Highland cow, known in Gaelic as a kyloe. It was the Open University's code name for a secret project which, according to some accounts, will revolutionise higher education, making it available to millions across the world at zero cost. Today, Nelson, whose previous job at the BBC involved launching iPlayer, heads FutureLearn, a company that, 11 months after it opened for business, has 450,000 learners studying courses from 40 leading universities, 10 of them overseas including two in China. The subjects range from dentistry to Shakespeare, archaeology to cancer, the Higgs boson to 15th-century England. Many more students and courses will follow, Nelson says. "We have just built the foundations. See where we are in six months, a year, two years, three years. There's tens of millions in the UK who'll be interested in what we offer and the international audience is enormous." FutureLearn is the first big British venture into Moocs (hence the OU's cow, geddit?), a name which Nelson admits is "appalling". Moocs are "massive open online courses": "massive" because they can be taken by thousands simultaneously; "open" because there is no selection of students and no fees; and "online" because you can read course materials, hear lectures, watch videos and take tests from just about anywhere on the planet. David Willetts, science minister until last month's reshuffle, has said Moocs "will revolutionise conventional models of formal education". Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist and enthusiast for globalisation, has said nothing "has more potential to lift people out of poverty". Lifelong learning for all – a goal that visionary educationalists have pursued for decades – can at last become a reality. If, that is, you believe the hype. "The revolution that has higher education gasping" (New York Times) began on America's west coast, in the computer science department of Stanford University, California. In 2011, the department's internationally renowned academic Sebastian Thrun, developer of Google's driverless car, put his three-month introductory course on artificial intelligence online, allowing anybody to access the same lectures and homework assignments as his Stanford students. To his astonishment, 160,000 people, aged from 10 to 70, from more than 190 countries, signed up. Even more amazingly, the top 400 places in the final exam went to the internet students, not to Stanford students paying annual fees of $52,000 (£31,000). Thrun was so excited that, with colleagues, he set up a company, Udacity, to deliver more courses.
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"I can't teach at Stanford again," he said. "I've seen Wonderland." Udacity now has 1.6 million users. It is one of several American platforms for Moocs, including edX (2.5 million users, 215 courses), founded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The sceptics are almost as numerous as the enthusiasts. Oddly, Thrun is now among them, saying a few months ago that "we don't educate people … as I wished; we have a lousy product". Udacity has switched its focus to vocational courses – a computer science master's degree offered jointly with Georgia Institute of Technology, for example – for which students pay fees, albeit only a third or less of what they would pay on campus. Other critics accuse Moocs of peddling outdated pedagogy; of playing a cruel trick on the masses because, even if courses are openly accessible, credentials will be as tightly controlled as ever; and even of being a new tool of western imperialism. Far from reaching new audiences, the majority of Moocs students – over 70% in FutureLearn's case – already have degrees. Yet the completion rates are usually below 10%. Some critics warn of a future in which thousands of academics lose their jobs (echoing journalists who work for newspapers that lack an online paywall, many ask "why give away our content for nothing?"); only the elite institutions flourish because everybody prefers output from, say, Oxford or Harvard; and higher education, turned into a mass market industry, settles into uniformity with a few courses and a few star lecturers. When the Harvard professor and 2009 Reith lecturer Michael Sandel turned his course, Justice, into a Mooc, staff at one university protested that it would be "downright scary" if every philosophy student in America took the same social justice course. Nelson doesn't accept most of the criticisms but also distances himself from some of the hype. "There have been some wild claims about solving world poverty and the educational problems of the developing world," he says. Moocs won't, he promises, develop into a winner-takes-all market, as the books and recorded music markets have. "There are huge differences between the providers. Learning is not something you can commodify." We meet in FutureLearn's open-plan offices in the British Library in London. Nelson, 45, is an unlikely geek. He went to Manchester grammar school and Downing College, Cambridge, where he was tutored for a time by the very ungeekish classicist and TV presenter Mary Beard. From 16 to 21, he studied nothing but ancient languages and civilisations. He says his mother, a passionate bridge player, adopted the internet before he did. With no particular career ambitions, he took a part-time MBA at Manchester University while working for a family friend in a wholesale wig and toupee business. He later worked in the marketing department of the Independent newspaper before joining the BBC where he eventually rose to a senior management position in charge of digital operations. He left the BBC in 2010 and freelanced briefly before the Highland cow came into his life. He has ended up where he is, he says, by "bizarre serendipity". So how is FutureLearn different from its American competitors? Nelson claims that FutureLearn alone is optimised for mobile devices but then moves on to what seems to be, in the marketing jargon, its unique selling point. "We started from the belief that learning has to be social," he explains. "If you go on many online learning platforms, you see a succession of videos while message and discussion groups are add-ons. Here, on every page, every video, every article" – he switches on his laptop to demonstrate – "we integrate the discussion right alongside the content. You can click a button, even in the middle of a video, and make a comment, ask a question or answer one. OU facilitators can come in.
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Learners can choose to follow particular facilitators or fellow students. We have peer review. Learners can write short pieces and then discuss each other's work. We put discussion steps into the course materials. "We believe that much of the learning comes from the discussion. Nearly 40% of our learners are actively commenting. At the BBC, I ran message boards for Radios 3 and 4. They could be horrible places, with terrible trolling. We have nothing like that. We are already getting superb results, even though the tools are still rudimentary – we shall develop them much further." By minimising what he calls the "loneliness of distance learning", Nelson says, FutureLearn is cutting non-completion rates. Of those who begin its six- to eight-week courses (discounting those who sign up but never start), 22% complete a majority of steps and all assessments, a figure that Nelson claims as "two to three times better than other providers". Those who complete can get a "statement of participation", costing £24. "Since you can't prove it was you who did the course," Nelson says, "it's not an authenticated certificate. But people do see it as valuable." On some courses, students can take an exam costing about £120 – set by the university that runs the course – in a test centre which requires ID and supplies invigilators. Charging for end-of-course assessment is just one way that FutureLearn – a profit-making company owned by the non-profit OU – expects to make money. Others include tuition and the sale of supporting material, such as CDs of Shakespeare plays. Student data, however, will not be sold to private companies. "This is an extremely sensitive area and we want our students to feel they can trust us," Nelson says. Who are the students? Isn't FutureLearn, like other Moocs, simply offering further advantages to the already advantaged? "I'm very sanguine that the majority have degrees. We're offering demanding courses from leading universities. But that said, 30% don't have a degree, which is quite a large number." Some study for professional development – Nelson mentions dentists scattered across Paraguay who are together studying dental photography – others as preparation for full-time university courses. A large number, however, are leisure learners pursuing knowledge without explicit vocational ambitions. Will students ever get university degrees, in whole or in part, if they take sufficient FutureLearn courses? Nelson says that's up to the universities; a reasonable answer, but perhaps also an evasive one. So far, one course is recognised by a professional accountancy body so that students who complete it are exempt from one module of its exams. But the universities that provide Moocs, here and in America, are reluctant to offer degree credit. Like the future of newspapers, the future of universities in a digital world is a mystery to which nobody can give a confident answer. "The internet is disrupting higher education and it's not going away," Nelson says. He's probably right about that. If nothing else, universities will surely stop holding conventional on-campus lectures; what's the point of standing in front of students talking for an hour when there's a superior means of introducing them to new knowledge? But it's hard to believe Moocs will ever replace the dreaming spires of Oxford and Cambridge, neither of which has signed up to FutureLearn, or, indeed, that they pose much threat to other Russell Group universities. The real attraction of elite universities, and the value of their degrees, lies in their exclusivity. Their exacting entry requirements determine their reputation, not the quality of their teaching.
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For FutureLearn, says Nelson, "the sky's the limit". That may be true for those who crave learning for its own sake, but not for those who seek the prestige and status of a top-level university degree. Adapted from, The Guardian; http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/aug/19/moocsman-leading-uk-foray-simon-nelson-futurelearn Questions Answer the following questions in short paragraphs of not more than 100 words. Any verbatim copying from the passage or plagiarism will be penalised. Try as far as possible to use your own words in your answers. 1. Discuss three advantages and three disadvantages of Moocs. Conclude your discussion with a sentence that expresses your view on Moocs. (10 marks) 2. Using your own words, describe the nature of the course developed by Thrun in 2011, including its outcomes. (10 marks) 3. In the penultimate paragraph, the author says, “…it's hard to believe Moocs will ever replace the dreaming spires of Oxford and Cambridge…” Explain what the author means and briefly give your opinion regarding this matter. (10 marks) 4. People normally react negatively to anything labelled or regarded as ‘being a new tool of western imperialism”. Explain what you understand as ‘western imperialism’ and briefly discuss some of the reasons linked to this form of reaction. You may cite your own examples. (10 marks) 5. The Highland cow is mentioned twice in this article. Explain what it represents and its significance in Nelson’s life. (10 marks) Total: [50 marks]
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Assignment: Due date: Compulsory:
04 29 April 2016 Yes
Function: The purpose of the questionnaire is to assess the impact of the module. We would like you to provide your honest opinion so that we can review the module and improve our teaching. There is no right and wrong answer. Please submit this assignment the same way in which you submit other Unisa assignments. If you are not submitting online, use the mark reading sheet provided. QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE QUALITY, EFFECTIVENESS AND DELIVERY METHOD OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: STUDENT NUMBER (OPTIONAL):………………………………………………….
Statements on the quality, effectiveness and delivery method of the module on ENN103F Example: The module on English for Academic Purposes supports a creative learning environment. Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 1.
Rating on a scale from1to 5 (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3= undecided; 4= agree; 5 = strongly agree) 1 2 3 4 5
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The study guide invites and assists me to actively engage with the learning material. The module is interactive and involves me in the learning experience through a variety of media, such as pictures, activities, exercises, DVDs, journals, glossaries, group discussions and myUnisa discussions. The module provides me with sufficient assignments to improve my English for Academic Purposes. The activities within the study guide are useful and help me to understand the topics being discussed and improve my academic literacy. The assignments are relevant to the topics covered in the module and help to put into practice what I have learnt. The module helps to improve my academic reading.
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The module helps to improve my academic writing.
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The module addresses my specific academic purposes relevant to my qualification.
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The module should focus on texts, skills and forms needed by students within individual academic disciplines. 10. The module provides adequate teaching on English Grammar.
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11. The module explains all aspects of English Grammar in a way that is easy to follow and understand. 12. The discussions in the study guide and on myUnisa help to improve my academic literacy. 13. All the topics that are covered in the module are explained and discussed in a way that is easy to understand and follow. 14. The overall experience of English for Academic Purposes has been a positive one and has improved my Academic English. 15. The staff on the module are helpful and readily available, responding to email and telephone queries promptly. 16. The feedback on assignments is fair with adequate comments to explain the mark received and help with improvement.
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8.6.2 SECOND SEMESTER ASSIGNMENTS Assignment: Unique number: Due date: Compulsory:
01 786595 05 August 2016 Yes
Function The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to critically read an article, and to engage with and reflect on it in an academic manner by answering the assigned questions in short paragraphs. When marking the assignment, poor language expression will be penalised. Examples of poor language expression include serious errors in sentence structure, language, diction, spelling, punctuation, and so on. Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
Early men and women were equal, say scientists (Study shows that modern hunter-gatherer tribes operate on an egalitarian basis, suggesting inequality was an aberration that came with the advent of agriculture) Our prehistoric forebears are often portrayed as spear-wielding savages, but the earliest human societies are likely to have been founded on enlightened egalitarian principles, according to scientists. A study has shown that in contemporary hunter-gatherer tribes, men and women tend to have equal influence on where their group lives and who they live with. The findings challenge the idea that sexual equality is a recent invention, suggesting that it has been the norm for humans for most of our evolutionary history. Mark Dyble, an anthropologist who led the study at University College London, said: “There is still this wider perception that hunter-gatherers are more macho or maledominated. We’d argue it was only with the emergence of agriculture, when people could start to accumulate resources that inequality emerged.” Dyble says the latest findings suggest that equality between the sexes may have been a survival advantage and played an important role in shaping human society and evolution. “Sexual equality is one of an important suite of changes to social organisation, including things like pair-bonding, our big, social brains, and language, that distinguishes humans,” he said. “It’s an important one that hasn’t really been highlighted before.” The study, published in the journal Science, set out to investigate the apparent paradox that while people in hunter-gatherer societies show strong preferences for living with family 17
members, in practice the groups they live in, tend to comprise few closely related individuals. The scientists collected genealogical data from two hunter-gatherer populations, one in the Congo and one in the Philippines, including kinship relations, movement between camps and residence patterns, through hundreds of interviews. In both cases, people tend to live in groups of around 20, moving roughly every 10 days and subsisting on hunted game, fish and gathered fruit, vegetables and honey. The scientists constructed a computer model to simulate the process of camp assortment, based on the assumption that people would choose to populate an empty camp with their close kin: siblings, parents and children. When only one sex had influence over the process, as is typically the case in maledominated pastoral or horticultural societies, tight hubs of related individuals emerged. However, the average number of related individuals is predicted to be much lower when men and women have an equal influence – closely matching what was seen in the populations that were studied. “When only men have influence over who they are living with, the core of any community is a dense network of closely related men with the spouses on the periphery,” said Dyble. “If men and women decide, you don’t get groups of four or five brothers living together.” The authors argue that sexual equality may have proved an evolutionary advantage for early human societies, as it would have fostered wider-ranging social networks and closer cooperation between unrelated individuals. “It gives you a far more expansive social network with a wider choice of mates, so inbreeding would be less of an issue,” said Dyble. “And you come into contact with more people and you can share innovations, which is something that humans do par excellence.” Dr Tamas David-Barrett, a behavioural scientist at the University of Oxford, agreed: “This is a very neat result,” he said. “If you’re able to track your kin further away, you’d be able to have a much broader network. All you’d need to do is get together every now and then for some kind of feast.” The study suggests that it was only with the dawn of agriculture, when people were able to accumulate resources for the first time, that an imbalance emerged. “Men can start to have several wives and they can have more children than women,” said Dyble. “It pays more for men to start accumulating resources and becomes favourable to form alliances with male kin.”
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Dyble said that egalitarianism may even have been one of the important factors that distinguished our ancestors from our primate cousins. “Chimpanzees live in quite aggressive, male-dominated societies with clear hierarchies,” he said. “As a result, they just don’t see enough adults in their lifetime for technologies to be sustained.” The findings appear to be supported by qualitative observations of the hunter-gatherer groups in the study. In the Philippines population, women are involved in hunting and honey collecting and while there is still a division of labour, overall men and women contribute a similar number of calories to the camp. In both groups, monogamy is the norm and men are active in childcare. Andrea Migliano, of University College London and the paper’s senior author, said: “Sex equality suggests a scenario where unique human traits, such as cooperation with unrelated individuals, could have emerged in our evolutionary past.” From: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/14/early-men-women-equal-scientists
Answer the following questions in short paragraphs of not more than a 100 words. Any verbatim copying from the passage or plagiarism will be penalised. Try as much as possible to use your own words in your answers.
1. Referring to Dyble and Migliano, discuss how equality between the sexes shaped human society. (10 marks) 2. In paragraph 2, the writer states that “our pre-historic forebears are often portrayed as spear-wielding savages”. In your own words, discuss what could be the probable bases for such ‘portrayals’. (10 marks) 3. In your own words, discuss how agriculture is seen as the cause of inequality between the sexes. Provide two reasons whether you agree or not with this argument put forward by the author. (10 marks) 4. Write a paragraph in which you discuss whether these findings about equality in hunter-gathering societies are of any relevance to 21st century society. (10 marks) 5. Read paragraph 14 closely. Write a paragraph in which you discuss the ways in which ‘the findings’ referred to, affect your views of marriage relationships and the involvement of men in the family. (10 marks) Total: [50 marks]
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Assignment: Unique number: Due date: Compulsory:
02 710770 22 August 2016 Yes
Function: The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to adopt a point of view and defend it. Research-based essay This assignment should be about 500 words. Find at least five academically valid sources and include a reference list. At least one source must be from a printed book or journal. Website sources are allowed as a main source only if they are authored articles from journals or books from nationally/internationally recognised institutions (This means you may not use websites such as Wikipedia). Articles from newspapers, magazines or civic organisations may not be used as a reliable source of scientific information. Website articles written by unidentified individuals or authors may not be used. The writing process You are encouraged to study units 3 and 4 in your study guide. There is an overview of the writing process on page 68 of the study guide. Choose one of the following topics: 1. Several countries in Africa are facing problems resulting from the conflict between politics and the justice system e.g. Egypt, South Africa, Swaziland, are some examples. Take a stance on the topic, formulate your own thesis and write an argument on politics and the law based on research. The essay should be based on any country of your choice. 2. Discuss both the positive and negative effects of a particular scientific advancement on a society of your choice. Based on your research, consider whether any constraints should be put in place to ensure ethical and legal practice. 3. Due to greater economic stability, people living in developed countries are happier than those in developing countries. Argue for or against this statement. Give relevant examples to support your argument. NB: Support your arguments as much as possible by using published literature on the topic chosen and refer to the essay assessment criteria. [100 marks]
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Assignment: Unique number: Due date: Compulsory:
03 799455 16 September 2016 Yes
Function: The purpose of this assignment is to teach you how to critically read an article, and to engage with and reflect on it in an academic manner by answering the assigned questions in short paragraphs. When marking the assignment, poor language expression will be penalised. Examples of poor language expression include serious errors in sentence structure, diction, spelling, punctuation, and so on.
Moocs, and the man leading the UK's charge Twenty months ago, Simon Nelson was shown a picture of a Highland cow, known in Gaelic as a kyloe. It was the Open University's code name for a secret project which, according to some accounts, will revolutionise higher education, making it available to millions across the world at zero cost. Today, Nelson, whose previous job at the BBC involved launching iPlayer, heads FutureLearn, a company that, 11 months after it opened for business, has 450,000 learners studying courses from 40 leading universities, 10 of them overseas including two in China. The subjects range from dentistry to Shakespeare, archaeology to cancer, the Higgs boson to 15th-century England. Many more students and courses will follow, Nelson says. "We have just built the foundations. See where we are in six months, a year, two years, three years. There's tens of millions in the UK who'll be interested in what we offer and the international audience is enormous." FutureLearn is the first big British venture into Moocs (hence the OU's cow, geddit?), a name which Nelson admits is "appalling". Moocs are "massive open online courses": "massive" because they can be taken by thousands simultaneously; "open" because there is no selection of students and no fees; and "online" because you can read course materials, hear lectures, watch videos and take tests from just about anywhere on the planet. David Willetts, science minister until last month's reshuffle, has said Moocs "will revolutionise conventional models of formal education". Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist and enthusiast for globalisation, has said nothing "has more potential to lift people out of poverty". Lifelong learning for all – a goal that visionary educationalists have pursued for decades – can at last become a reality. If, that is, you believe the hype. "The revolution that has higher education gasping" (New York Times) began on America's west coast, in the computer science department of Stanford University, California. In 2011, the department's internationally renowned academic Sebastian Thrun, developer of Google's driverless car, put his three-month introductory course on artificial intelligence online, allowing anybody to access the same lectures and homework assignments as his Stanford students. To his astonishment, 160,000 people, aged from 10 to 70, from more than 190 countries, signed up. Even more amazingly, the top 400 places in the final exam went to the internet students, not to Stanford students paying annual fees of $52,000 (£31,000). Thrun was so excited that, with colleagues, he set up a company, Udacity, to deliver more courses.
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"I can't teach at Stanford again," he said. "I've seen Wonderland." Udacity now has 1.6 million users. It is one of several American platforms for Moocs, including edX (2.5 million users, 215 courses), founded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The sceptics are almost as numerous as the enthusiasts. Oddly, Thrun is now among them, saying a few months ago that "we don't educate people … as I wished; we have a lousy product". Udacity has switched its focus to vocational courses – a computer science master's degree offered jointly with Georgia Institute of Technology, for example – for which students pay fees, albeit only a third or less of what they would pay on campus. Other critics accuse Moocs of peddling outdated pedagogy; of playing a cruel trick on the masses because, even if courses are openly accessible, credentials will be as tightly controlled as ever; and even of being a new tool of western imperialism. Far from reaching new audiences, the majority of Moocs students – over 70% in FutureLearn's case – already have degrees. Yet the completion rates are usually below 10%. Some critics warn of a future in which thousands of academics lose their jobs (echoing journalists who work for newspapers that lack an online paywall, many ask "why give away our content for nothing?"); only the elite institutions flourish because everybody prefers output from, say, Oxford or Harvard; and higher education, turned into a mass market industry, settles into uniformity with a few courses and a few star lecturers. When the Harvard professor and 2009 Reith lecturer Michael Sandel turned his course, Justice, into a Mooc, staff at one university protested that it would be "downright scary" if every philosophy student in America took the same social justice course. Nelson doesn't accept most of the criticisms but also distances himself from some of the hype. "There have been some wild claims about solving world poverty and the educational problems of the developing world," he says. Moocs won't, he promises, develop into a winner-takes-all market, as the books and recorded music markets have. "There are huge differences between the providers. Learning is not something you can commodify." We meet in FutureLearn's open-plan offices in the British Library in London. Nelson, 45, is an unlikely geek. He went to Manchester grammar school and Downing College, Cambridge, where he was tutored for a time by the very ungeekish classicist and TV presenter Mary Beard. From 16 to 21, he studied nothing but ancient languages and civilisations. He says his mother, a passionate bridge player, adopted the internet before he did. With no particular career ambitions, he took a part-time MBA at Manchester University while working for a family friend in a wholesale wig and toupee business. He later worked in the marketing department of the Independent newspaper before joining the BBC where he eventually rose to a senior management position in charge of digital operations. He left the BBC in 2010 and freelanced briefly before the Highland cow came into his life. He has ended up where he is, he says, by "bizarre serendipity". So how is FutureLearn different from its American competitors? Nelson claims that FutureLearn alone is optimised for mobile devices but then moves on to what seems to be, in the marketing jargon, its unique selling point. "We started from the belief that learning has to be social," he explains. "If you go on many online learning platforms, you see a succession of videos while message and discussion groups are add-ons. Here, on every page, every video, every article" – he switches on his laptop to demonstrate – "we integrate the discussion right alongside the content. You can click a button, even in the middle of a video, and make a comment, ask a question or answer one. OU facilitators can come in.
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Learners can choose to follow particular facilitators or fellow students. We have peer review. Learners can write short pieces and then discuss each other's work. We put discussion steps into the course materials. "We believe that much of the learning comes from the discussion. Nearly 40% of our learners are actively commenting. At the BBC, I ran message boards for Radios 3 and 4. They could be horrible places, with terrible trolling. We have nothing like that. We are already getting superb results, even though the tools are still rudimentary – we shall develop them much further." By minimising what he calls the "loneliness of distance learning", Nelson says, FutureLearn is cutting non-completion rates. Of those who begin its six- to eight-week courses (discounting those who sign up but never start), 22% complete a majority of steps and all assessments, a figure that Nelson claims as "two to three times better than other providers". Those who complete can get a "statement of participation", costing £24. "Since you can't prove it was you who did the course," Nelson says, "it's not an authenticated certificate. But people do see it as valuable." On some courses, students can take an exam costing about £120 – set by the university that runs the course – in a test centre which requires ID and supplies invigilators. Charging for end-of-course assessment is just one way that FutureLearn – a profit-making company owned by the non-profit OU – expects to make money. Others include tuition and the sale of supporting material, such as CDs of Shakespeare plays. Student data, however, will not be sold to private companies. "This is an extremely sensitive area and we want our students to feel they can trust us," Nelson says. Who are the students? Isn't FutureLearn, like other Moocs, simply offering further advantages to the already advantaged? "I'm very sanguine that the majority have degrees. We're offering demanding courses from leading universities. But that said, 30% don't have a degree, which is quite a large number." Some study for professional development – Nelson mentions dentists scattered across Paraguay who are together studying dental photography – others as preparation for full-time university courses. A large number, however, are leisure learners pursuing knowledge without explicit vocational ambitions. Will students ever get university degrees, in whole or in part, if they take sufficient FutureLearn courses? Nelson says that's up to the universities; a reasonable answer, but perhaps also an evasive one. So far, one course is recognised by a professional accountancy body so that students who complete it are exempt from one module of its exams. But the universities that provide Moocs, here and in America, are reluctant to offer degree credit. Like the future of newspapers, the future of universities in a digital world is a mystery to which nobody can give a confident answer. "The internet is disrupting higher education and it's not going away," Nelson says. He's probably right about that. If nothing else, universities will surely stop holding conventional on-campus lectures; what's the point of standing in front of students talking for an hour when there's a superior means of introducing them to new knowledge? But it's hard to believe Moocs will ever replace the dreaming spires of Oxford and Cambridge, neither of which has signed up to FutureLearn, or, indeed, that they pose much threat to other Russell Group universities. The real attraction of elite universities, and the value of their degrees, lies in their exclusivity. Their exacting entry requirements determine their reputation, not the quality of their teaching.
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For FutureLearn, says Nelson, "the sky's the limit". That may be true for those who crave learning for its own sake, but not for those who seek the prestige and status of a top-level university degree. Adapted from, The Guardian; http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/aug/19/moocs-manleading-uk-foray-simon-nelson-futurelearn
Questions Answer the following questions in short paragraphs of not more than 100 words. Any verbatim copying from the passage or plagiarism will be penalised. Try as far as possible to use your own words in your answers. 1. Paragraph 2 states: ‘Lifelong learning for all – a goal that visionary educationalists have pursued for decades – can at last become a reality. If, that is, you believe the hype.’ Explain what a Mooc is and state whether ‘you believe the hype’. (10 marks) 2. Identify the main ideas in paragraphs 1 to 5 and write a summary of the section in no more than 200 words. (20 Marks) 3. According to the passage, what are the major criticisms of Moocs? Remember to use your own words, as far as possible. (10 marks) 4. In Paragraphs Seven and Eight, the author describes some of the advantages of FutureLearn. In your own words explain why you would find FutureLearn helpful or not helpful to you as a student? (10 marks) Total: [50 marks]
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Assignment: Due date: Compulsory:
04 30 September 2016 Yes
Function: The purpose of the questionnaire is to assess the impact of the module. We would like you to provide your honest opinion so that we can review the module and improve our teaching. There is no right and wrong answer. Please submit this assignment the same way in which you submit other Unisa assignments. If you are not submitting online, use the mark reading sheet provided. QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE QUALITY, EFFECTIVENESS AND DELIVERY METHOD OF ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: STUDENT NUMBER (OPTIONAL):………………………………………………….
Statements on the quality, effectiveness and delivery method of Rating on a the module on ENN103F scale from1to Example: The module on English for Academic Purposes supports a creative learning 5 (1 = strongly environment. Rating:
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disagree; 2 = disagree; 3= undecided; 4= agree; 5 = strongly agree) 1 2 3 4 5
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The study guide invites and assists me to actively engage with the learning material.
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The module is interactive and involves me in the learning experience through a variety of media, such as pictures, activities, exercises, DVDs, journals, glossaries, group discussions and myUnisa discussions. The module provides me with sufficient assignments to improve my English for Academic Purposes. The activities within the study guide are useful and help me to understand the topics being discussed and improve my academic literacy. The assignments are relevant to the topics covered in the module and help to put into practice what I have learnt. The module helps to improve my academic reading.
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The module helps to improve my academic writing.
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The module addresses my specific academic purposes relevant to my qualification.
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The module should focus on texts, skills and forms needed by students within individual academic disciplines. 10. The module provides adequate teaching on English Grammar.
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11. The module explains all aspects of English Grammar in a way that is easy to follow and understand. 12. The discussions in the study guide and on myUnisa help to improve my academic literacy. 13. All the topics that are covered in the module are explained and discussed in a way that is easy to understand and follow. 14. The overall experience of English for Academic Purposes has been a positive one and has improved my Academic English. 15. The staff on the module are helpful and readily available, responding to email and telephone queries promptly. 16. The feedback on assignments is fair with adequate comments to explain the mark received and help with improvement.
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Guidelines for writing essays • • • • •
•
• • •
Analyse/interpret the topic, keywords and action words (verbs). Refer to unit 3 in your study guide on the writing process. First conduct a topic analysis and then brainstorm ideas on the topic. Read the sources and make your own notes. Refer to the study guide, which deals with the functions of paragraphs and cohesion within paragraphs. There is a diagram of an overview of the writing process on page 68 of the study guide. (Write a detailed essay plan for the essay, then draft, redraft and edit your essay.) Check the guidelines for how to acknowledge a direct quote/cite a secondary source/ paraphrase. (Refer to page 71 of the study guide.) Use the recommended referencing system for your qualification, such as APA, MLA or the Harvard system. (We use the Harvard system in English Studies.) Provide a list of the references or bibliography at the end of the assignment.
Structure of the essay a. • • • •
Introduction: should be generally informative, relevant and interesting Address the question directly from the outset. Outline the essay’s main argument and its structure/organisation. Make it clear to the reader where you are heading in the essay (thesis statement). Ensure that your introduction is not long and rambling. Main text: should be well argued, with the main points emerging clearly
b. • • • • c.
Use literary signposts to help the reader to follow the sequence of your argument (e.g. furthermore; on the other hand). Ensure that links between points are logical and not confusing or contradictory. Ensure that your paragraphs reflect the organisation of the essay. Always support your points with evidence, facts or literature. Conclusion: should effectively draw together major points in the text and outline their implications for the essay title. Focus on the following points:
• •
Aim to draw together points made earlier. Avoid introducing new material in your conclusion.
Electronic submission of assignments To submit an assignment via myUnisa: • Go to myUnisa. • Log in with your student number and password. • Select the module. • Click on Assignments in the menu on the left. • Click on the number of the assignment that you want to submit. • Follow the instructions on the screen.
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We strongly recommend that you register as a myUnisa user, since the university is moving very rapidly to the electronic delivery of all course material and we do not want you to be left behind! Tutorial letters As mentioned, you will receive tutorial letters that comment on the assignments. These tutorial letters will contain feedback on the short-answer questions, essay questions and difficult questions, as well as guidelines for the examination. If you have access to the internet, you can obtain your study guide and tutorial letters from the myUnisa website, which will save you time. Plagiarism The Department of English Studies places great emphasis upon integrity and ethical conduct in the preparation of assignments. We believe that this is part of what university education should provide. It is very important to us that all our students know how secondary material should be used and what the scholarly method of presenting and acknowledging references is. If you submit an assignment in which plagiarism (the unacknowledged use of secondary material) is detectable (can be proven), you will definitely fail that assignment, very likely with 0%. If you copy something out of a book or an article or from a website without acknowledging the source and present it as your own, that constitutes plagiarism. In effect, you are stealing something that belongs to someone else and pretending that it is your own. Even if you paraphrase this material (i.e. change the wording only slightly) or use a line of argument/reasoning without acknowledging it, that also constitutes plagiarism and the same severe penalty will apply. Assignments that contain plagiarized content will be penalised. Unit 5 in the study guide has guidelines for finding and using information. 8.7
Other assessment methods
There are no other assessment methods for this module. 8.8
The examination
You will receive a tutorial letter with exam guidelines during the semester. 8.8.1 Examination admission In order to be admitted into the examination, you are required to submit the three compulsory assignments on the dates that they are due. You will not be allowed to write the examination if you have not submitted all of these assignments. 8.8.2 Semester mark It is important that you do well in the assignments, since the combined marks for the assignments give you a semester mark, that in turn, counts towards your final mark for this module.
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Assignment 01 counts 25%, Assignment 02 counts 50% and Assignment 03 counts 25% of your semester mark. As mentioned previously, all the assignments are compulsory. Your final mark will be calculated as follows: • •
Semester mark (40%) Examination mark (60%)
A student needs to achieve a minimum mark of 40% in the summative assessment, for his or her year mark to be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the final examination mark. 8.8.3 Examination period This module is offered in a semester period of 15 weeks. This means that if you are registered for the first semester, you will write the examination in May/June 2016 and the supplementary examination will be written in October/November 2016. If you are registered for the second semester, you will write the examination in October/November 2016 and the supplementary examination will be written in May/June 2017. During the semester, the Examination Section will provide you with information regarding the examination in general, examination venues, examination dates and examination times. 8.8.4
Previous examination papers
Previous examination papers are available to students (see myUnisa). We advise you, however, not to focus only on old examination papers, as the content of modules, and therefore, also examination papers, changes from year to year. You may, however, accept that the type of questions that will be asked in the examination will be similar to those asked in the activities in your study guide and in the assignments. 8.8.5
Tutorial letter with information on the examination
To help you in your preparation for the examination, you will receive a tutorial letter that will explain the format of the examination paper, give you examples of questions that you can expect and set out clearly what materials you should study for examination purposes.
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9.
ADDENDUM
1.
Module information
2.
Title of module:
English for Academic Purposes
Module code:
ENN103F
Unisa information Discipline:
English for Specific Purposes
Department offering the module: English Studies 3.
SAQA information
4.
NQF level:
5
Credit value of module:
12
Field:
Communication Studies and Language
Sub-field:
Language
Learning assumed to be in place before this module is commenced
Students have attained a Level 4 English credit, first or second language. They are able to read extended texts, comprehending the main ideas and following a line of argument. They are able to read a number of texts on a related topic and collate the ideas. They are also able to write extended discursive/argumentative texts that focus on a given topic, using the structure of an introduction, body and conclusion. 5.
Purposes of the module
To develop your ability to read critically with comprehension and insight, improve your linguistic competence and develop your ability to write logically and effectively. 6. table
Outcomes
Learning outcome 1:
You are able to apply reading strategies flexibly in order to read more efficiently and increase comprehension.
Range statement:
Range of non-fiction texts, including newspaper and magazine articles, advertisements and other material commonly found in a literate community.
Assessment criteria: 1
Adapt reading speed to the nature of the text and the specific reading purpose.
2
Read a variety of texts critically: identify main ideas, make predictions and inferences, and draw conclusions.
Specific outcomes of degree: The BA graduate is able to demonstrate academic literacy.
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Critical cross-field outcomes: communicating effectively using language skills in a written medium reflecting on, and exploring, a variety of strategies to learn more effectively analysing, organising and critically evaluating information organising and managing yourself and your activities responsibly and effectively Learning outcome 2:
Range statement:
You are able to write effectively for different purposes, which includes implementing planning strategies, writing a draft, editing the draft and producing a final text. Range of writing tasks
Assessment criteria: 1
Submit a planned, edited rough draft and a final revised product.
2
The revised final product will be assessed according to the following criteria: content (ideas are clear, related and fully developed) organisation (introductory and concluding sentences/paragraphs, arrangement of ideas, main ideas, supporting sentences) vocabulary (range and effectiveness of vocabulary used, appropriate register) language usage (grammatical control, for example tenses, articles, word order, word form, prepositions) and mechanics (spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, paragraphing, handwriting)
7.
Syllabus/Content topics/Essential embedded knowledge Reading: competent reading, developing reading speed, identifying key information, mapping reading texts Writing: writing with a purpose, the writing process, reconstructing writing Grammar at sentence level: sentence structure, ideas in sentences Language use: contextual language use, manipulative language, persuasive language Vocabulary development
This is a skills-based module. Therefore, in the study guide, we follow the method of giving a short exposition of the skill or strategy to be acquired, with examples where necessary, and then providing activities for you to practise the skill. Assignments also require you to apply what you have learnt. 8.
RPL assessment:
Applicants may submit a portfolio or write a challenge examination.
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9. Assessment criteria ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR ESSAYS LEVEL 1
2
3
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RANGE
CONTENT & STRUCTURE 75-100% Irrefutable evidence of sound interpretation and knowledge of topic Logical and excellent development of ideas Well researched with accurate referencing skills Insightful and original Highly selective supporting details Captivating introduction a n d highly convincing 66-74% Sound understanding and knowledge of topic Convincing presentation of topic Concerted effort at originality Relevant supporting details
50-65%
Some understanding and knowledge of topic Some evidence of supporting details Reasonable development of information
LANGUAGE
PRESENTATION
Excellent command of grammatical structures Skilful/sophisticated use of diction and linking devices to illustrate coherence, purpose and register Mastery of conventions Near-perfect discourse
Outstanding Painstakingly done Exceptionally neat and legible Clearly defined paragraph breaks Bibliography meticulously listed
Very good command of grammatical structures Wide range of vocabulary, linking devices and sentence structures Sound discourse Meaning seldom hindered by grammatical errors Occasional flawed sentences, punctuation and spelling errors Effective use of simple sentence constructions
Well-structured essay Clearly defined paragraphs Neat and legible Complete & correctly listed bibliography
Good-very good
Reasonably good presentation A few poorly structured paragraph breaks Legible, but with some typing errors
Satisfactory -good
OVERALL COMMENT Excellentoutstanding
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3 (cont.)
4
30-49%
5
0-29%
A few lapses in content Sometimes disjointed and loosely presented ideas Inadequate/incomple te sequencing of ideas Adequate introduction and conclusion Unsatisfactory handling of topic Some irrelevant and repeated information Mundane handling of topic Flawed by generalisations and inadequate supporting detail Ineffective introduction/conclusi on Very little or no evidence of understanding and knowledge of topic Very little understanding of essay-writing skills Fragmented/disjointe d/muddled ideas Lack of preparatory reading of study material/textbooks Too little information
Complete bibliography, but incorrectly listed
Limited vocabulary and sentence variety Inadequate use of appropriate linking devices Poor punctuation and sentence construction Obscured/confused meaning
Inconsistently defined paragraphs Need for more clearly defined paragraphs Bibliography incomplete & incorrectly listed
Poor
Poor command of vocabulary, sentence structure and punctuation No knowledge of grammar structures
Cluttered presentation Illegible handwriting/ many typing errors No bibliography
Very poor
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Marking code When assessing your essays, markers use the following codes in addition to written feedback. Symbol abb
Error
Explanation
Abbreviation - Do not use abbreviations or contractions (such as can't, don't, etc.) in formal writing (e.g. a written assignment).
agr (s/v) Agreement error - Your verb does not agree with your subject in number. Check whether your subject is singular or plural. A plural subject takes a plural verb: The students read the book. A singular subject takes a singular verb: The student reads the book. amb
Ambiguity - Your statement could have two meanings. Rephrase.
ap
Apostrophe error - An apostrophe is a comma that hangs above the line.
An apostrophe is used to indicate possession. • The boy’s hands are dirty (the hands of the boy). • Mandela's leadership (the leadership of Mandela). • The boys' privileges (the privileges of the boys). An apostrophe is used to indicate when letters are left out (contraction or omission). • We'll (we will) • Can't (cannot) • I've (I have) • It's (it is) Contractions such as these are unacceptable in formal writing. NB: 'its' (without an apostrophe) is the possessive form. The dog chewed its bone. arg
Argument - Your argument/explanation is not methodical/coherent/relevant. A clear and logical line of thought needs to emerge.
art
Article error - You have used a instead of the, or the instead of a, or you have omitted to use a or the where you should have. Alternatively, you have used a or the with a word that should not have an article.
awk
Awkward phrasing - Your sentence sounds awkward and clumsy. You need to revise your word choice and word order.
cap
Capital letter - The word should begin with a capital letter, either because it begins a sentence, or because it is a proper noun.
c/s
Comma splice - You have joined two ideas (i.e. two separate sentences) without using a connecting word or proper punctuation. Either add a connecting word, or change the comma to a semi-colon, or break the comma-spliced sentence into two separate sentences.
exp
Expression faulty - Your sentence is difficult to understand because of errors too numerous to list.
frag
Fragmentary sentence - Your sentence does not have a verb and, therefore, is only a fragment of a sentence.
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inc
Incomplete sentence - You have left out part of the sentence.
irr
Irrelevant - What you have said has nothing to do with the topic.
L?/ill Logic faulty/illogical - Illogical, or your writing does not make sense here. N.P. New paragraph - You have started discussing a new idea, so you need a new paragraph. Para Paragraph structure - A paragraph consists of a main idea (usually expressed in a topic sentence) and several supporting sentences t h a t explain the main idea or give examples and/or details concerning the main idea. Single-sentence paragraphs are not acceptable because a single sentence cannot develop or expand the main idea. Your paragraph is too long and needs to be divided where appropriate. p
Punctuation - You have misused a punctuation mark, or omitted one where it was necessary.
sp
Spelling - You have misspelt a word. Try to get into the habit of using a dictionary consistently.
T
Tense error -
Your verb is in the wrong tense.
Note: Use the present and related tenses when discussing a literary work, such as "Bosman's humour has a strong South African flavour." "In her short stories, Nadine Gordimer touches on issues ..." voc/
Vocabulary error/ - You have used the wrong word or you could have used a better one. (Look up the word you have used in the dictionary. You will find that its meaning is either not correct or not appropriate in your sentence.)
wdy
Wordiness - You have used too many words to say something t hat could be said far more simply and concisely.
WO
Word order incorrect - The words in your sentence are in the wrong place. Your marker will have used arrows
ENDS
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