CALT1508

Critical Academic Literacies

for Education

NQF level 5

32 Credits

Academic Literacy and

Language Development

Compiled by

Dr Christie Le Grange

2025

Faculty of
Education
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Instructor Information .......................................................................................................... 4
Module Description ............................................................................................................... 5
Graduate Attributes .............................................................................................................. 6
HOW LEARNING WILL TAKE PLACE .................................................................................. 8
Module Schedule .................................................................................................................. 9
List of materials .................................................................................................................. 13
Assessment of learning ..................................................................................................... 14
Policies and expectations .................................................................................................. 15
Evaluation procedures ....................................................................................................... 16
ORIENTATION ..................................................................................................................... 18
SEMESTER 1 ....................................................................................................................... 20
UNIT 1: INSTRUCTION ANALYSIS ..................................................................................... 20
LESSON 1.1: CONSEPTUALISING ACADEMIC LITERACY ............................................. 20
LESSON 1.3: QUESTION/INSTRUCTION ANALYSIS........................................................ 44
UNIT 2: INFORMATION COLLECTION ............................................................................... 59
LESSON 2.1: DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION IS NEEDED ....................... 59
LESSON 2.2: SOURCE EVALUATION ............................................................................... 69
UNIT 3: READING AND CATEGORISATION OF INFORMATION ..................................... 90
LESSON 3.1: READING ACADEMIC SOURCES ............................................................... 90
LESSON 3.2: NAVIGATE ACADEMIC TEXTS ................................................................... 98
LESSON 3.2: BASIC NOTETAKING AND INFORMATION ORGANISATION ................. 111
LESSON 3.3: SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING .................................................... 131
LESSON 3.4 MAKING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SOURCES ............. 156
WRITING WEEK ................................................................................................................. 168
BONUS LESSON: VOCABULARY BUILDING ................................................................. 175
UNIT 4: ARGUMENT CONSTRUCTION AND IDEA ORGANISATION ............................ 191
LESSON 4.1: FINAL ASSESSMENT TOPIC INTRODUCTION ........................................ 191
LESSON 4.2: INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS ............................................................ 194
LESSON 4.3: ACADEMIC PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE ................................................ 205
LESSON 4.4: TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS ....................................................................... 216

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LESSON 4.5: DEVELOPMENT OF ARGUMENT(S) SUPPORTED WITH SOURCES .... 237
LESSON 4.6: CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................... 258
UNIT 5: DRAFTING AND FORMATTING .......................................................................... 277
LESSON 5.1: OUTLINING ESSAY ESSAY/ASSIGNMENT ............................................. 277
LESSON 5.2: COHERENCE ............................................................................................. 280
LESSON 5.3: TEXT COHESION - MICRO ........................................................................ 293
LESSON 5.4: HEDGING AND BOOSTING ......................................................................... 10
LESSON 5.5: REFERENCING ............................................................................................ 22
HOW TO USE FEEDBACK (ADDITIONAL) ........................................................................ 41

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 INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

If you have any query related to the running of the CALT1508 programme, CALT1508
content and material, or queries about your facilitator please contact the course
coordinator:

CALT1508 Coordinator
Coordinator: Dr. Christie Le Grange
Office number: Centre for Teaching and Learning, room 347
Email address: [email protected]
Consultation hours: Per appointment only:
Times available for appointments - Mo-Fri: 08:00-12:00

For all queries related to how the classes are run on campus, Blackboard queries, or
any other administrative issues regarding CALT1508 please contact the administrative
officer
Bloemfontein campus administrator
Officer: Mrs Annamarie Otto
Office number: Centre for Teaching and Learning, room 362
Email address: [email protected]
Consultation hours: Per appointment only

The programme director oversees all the academic literacy programmes on campus.
Before you contact her, first contact either the CALT 1508 coordinator or Administrative
Officer, they will first try to assist you. If they cannot assist you, they will direct your query
to the Director.
ALLD Director

Deputy Director: Dr. Michelle Joubert

Office number: Centre for Teaching and Learning, room 360

Email address: [email protected]

Phone number: 051 401 2273

Consultation hours: Per appointment only

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 MODULE DESCRIPTION

What this Module is all about?

Are you anxious about all the academic work you have to do? Or stressing about what
the lecturers expect from you when your have to submit an assignment? Well, if that is
the case, then this module, CALT1508, is the right one for you! This module will help you
acquire all the necessary academic literacy skills to successfully complete all the
academic work in the Faculty of Education, and reduce your academic stress significantly.

The aim of this programme is to assist you to acquire the following academic literacy
abilities:
• Firstly, be critical readers who are not afraid to question what they read and be able
to identify the crux of any written text and be able to identify if the text is worthy of their
time by evaluating its credibility.
• But wait there’s more, it also aims to help you develop responsible and ethical
writing skills who are able to avoid plagiarism in your writing by using effective
paraphrasing strategies and acceptable referencing methods when expressing your
thoughts, as well as opinions, facts and information in an appropriate structural format.
• It further strives to allow you to acquire efficient and effective oral abilities to let you
express your opinions about a variety of issues verbally in a fluent, critical, as well as
in a creative manner.
• Furthermore, this programme aims to help you become a critical thinker that can
apply, analyse, and/or evaluate information without being clouded by one’s own
emotions and pre-conceptions.
• Another skill that this programme aims to develop is your critical listening skills that
are able to analyse what you hear before responding.
• Lastly, stay life-long critical self-reflectors that always questions your own
assumptions, biases and perspectives.
Does this look overwhelming? Do not worry, we will assist you every step of the way. The
following list is the module outcomes that you will acquire throughout the course of this
module:
After you have successfully completed this module, you should be able to:
1. Evaluate academic sources in terms of its credibility, usefulness and relevance to your
task at hand;
2. To unpack complex questions in order to what is required from the question, what are
the restrictions of the question, as well as how it is expected to be answered;
3. Select and apply an appropriate note-taking strategy to take effective notes while
reading academic texts or while listening to lectures;

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4. Choose the most suitable graphic organiser to organise your notes that you have take
from, either, reading or listening to a lecture or video;
5. Use and understand an expanded vocabulary base in English, as well as Faculty-
specific vocabulary;
6. Summarise texts while still adhering to proper academic conventions in terms of
paragraph structure;
7. Apply applicable paraphrasing techniques, as well as appropriate referencing
methods to avoid academic misconduct, such as plagiarism;
8. Synthesise information from several different academic sources effectively in a
coherent manner in order to provide a balanced view of the topic or issue;
9. Become confident public speakers when addressing colleagues or patients, while
doing a presentation or giving s lecture;
10. Obtain critical listening skills to value the contributions of other peoples messages and
viewpoints; and
11. Develop effective self-reflecting habits to allow consistent self-development and grow
as a person and be open to life-long learning.

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

During the course of your studies, you will not only reach the respective module outcomes
of all your different modules, but you will also acquire the following Graduate Attributes,
which will make you so much more employable in the future.

The following section provides a brief description of these Graduate Attributes that you
will eventually acquire throughout your studies. The applicable You will not necessarily
acquire all these attributes in each and every module, but the aim is this module is to
assist you to acquire some level of the indicated (in the last column) attributes.

Graduate Attribute Descriptors Outcomes

Academic Academic competence refers to the knowledge, skills 1-11
Competence and attitudes that students develop through their
interaction with discipline specific content. Critical to
academic competence is lifelong learning, which is an
all purposeful learning activity, undertaken on an
ongoing basis with the aim of improving knowledge,
skills and competence. Lifelong learners are curious,
take initiative, learn independently, transfer
knowledge, and reflect on their learning.

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 Critical Thinking Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the 8
comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts,
and events before accepting or formulating an opinion
or conclusion.
Problem Solving Problem solving is the process of designing, 2; 4; 10
evaluating and implementing a strategy to answer an
open-ended question or achieve a desired goal.
Oral Oral communication is a prepared, purposeful 9
Communication presentation designed to increase knowledge, to
foster understanding, оr to promote change in the
listeners' attitudes, values, beliefs, оr behaviors
Written Written communication is the development and 3; 4; 6; 7; 8;
Communication expression of ideas in writing. Written communication 11
involves learning to work in many genres and styles.
It can involve working with many different writing
technologies, and mixing texts, data, and images.
Written communication abilities develop through
iterative experiences across the curriculum.
Community Community engagement is continuous negotiated N/A
Engagement collaborations and partnerships between the UFS
and/or its members and the interest groups that it
interacts with, aimed at building and exchanging the
knowledge, skills, expertise and resources required to
develop and sustain society.
Ethical Reasoning Ethical reasoning is reasoning about right and wrong 7
human conduct. It requires students to be able to
assess their own ethical values and the social context
of problems, recognise ethical issues in a variety of
settings, think about how different ethical
perspectives might be applied to ethical dilemmas
and consider the ramifications of alternative actions.
Students’ ethical self-identity evolves as they practice
ethical decision-making skills and learn how to
describe and analyze positions on ethical issues.
Entrepreneurial Entrepreneurial mindset is a set of attitudes, skills and N/A
Mindset behaviours that can be applied in all spheres of life.
This mindset enables citizens to nurture their personal
development, to actively contribute to social
development, to enter the job market as employee or
as self-employed, and to start-up or scale-up ventures
which may have a cultural, social or commercial
motive.
(Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2015; Bacigalupo et al., 2016; UFS
VALUE Rubrics, 2019; Yorke et al., 2006)

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 HOW LEARNING WILL TAKE PLACE

- Outline what students can expect from their learning experience.

- Will learning be f2f, online, or a blend of both?

- How often will contact sessions take place?

- What types of activities will students engage in?

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 MODULE SCHEDULE

Due dates and Assessments

Learning Unit Name

iCan and Mreader quizzes to be completed

throughout the year from the time the reading
level results are published)
Week#

Date Lesson Theme Tasks to be Tasks to be Reading and

completed in completed Grammar
Class outside course
class

10 Feb – 14 Feb Orientation

Unit 1: Instruction Analysis

Term 1: Grammar Course

17 Feb – 21 Feb Lesson 1.1: Conceptualising
Academic Literacy
2

test: ____________
24 Feb – 27 Feb Lesson 1.2: Implication of Action
3 Verbs
3 Mar – 7 Mar Lesson 1.3: Instruction Analysis Assignment
4
10 Mar – 14 Mar Determine What Type of
5 Information Is Needed

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 6 17 Mar – 21 Mar Source Evaluation Assignment
21 Mar: Human
Rights day
Unit 2: Information

7 24 Mar – 28 Mar Review of Unit 1 and 2

Collection

31 March – 4 April Holiday Break

8 7 Apr – 11 Apr Reading Academic Sources

9 14 Apr – 18 Apr Navigate Academic Texts

18 Apr: Good
Unit 3: Reading and Categorisation of Information

Friday

10 21 Apr – 25 Apr Basic Notetaking and Information Assignment

Term 2: Grammar Course test: ___ _________

21 Apr: Family Organisation
day

11 28 Apr – 2 May NO CLASS

28 Apr: Freedom
day
1 May: Worker’s
Day
2May: UFS
holiday

12 5 May – 9 May Summarising And Paraphrasing

13 12 May – 16 May Making Meaningful Connections

Between Sources

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 14 19 May – 23 May Writing Week Assignment

15 26 May – 30 May Review Unit 3 BB Test Unit

1-3

Semester 2 Starts on 21 July

1 21 Jul – 25 Jul Final Assessment Topic

Introduction
Unit 4: Argument construction and

2 28 Jul – 1 Aug Introductory Paragraphs

Term 3: Grammar Course test:

3 4 Aug – 8 Aug Academic Paragraph Structure

4 11 Aug – 15 Aug Types Of Paragraphs

Idea Orgainsation

5 18 Aug – 22 Aug Development Of Argument(S)

Supported with Sources

____________
6 25 Aug – 29 Aug Conclusions

7 1 Sept – 5 Sep Unit 4 Review

8 Sept-12 Sept Holiday Break

8 15 Sept – 19 Sept Outlining Essay Essay/Assignment Assignment

Term 4: Grammar
and Formatting
Unit 5: Drafting

9 22 Sept – 26 Sept Coherence

____________
Course test:
24 Sept: Heritage
day

10 29 Sept – 3 Oct Text Cohesion - Micro

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11 6 Oct – 10 Oct Hedging And Boosting

12 13 Oct – 17 Oct Referencing

13 20 Oct – 24 Oct Review Unit 5 Assignment

14 16 Oct – 31 Oct Bonus Lesson BB Test Units

4 and 5

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 LIST OF MATERIALS

List materials/resources that students will consult or must purchase, such as videos, readings,
etc. or you can refer students to Blackboard. You can also merge this section with the “How
learning will take place” section.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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 ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING

Indicate the types (quizzes, assignments, discussions, reflections, etc) of assessments and the
weighting of each.

Assessment Plan
Assessment type Mark allocation

SEMESTER 1
Unpacking questions 20

Identify Credible Sources 30

Graphic Organisers 20

Notetaking 40

Synthesis 20

BB Test 50

iCAN 40

Academic Engagement 20

Grammar Course 40

Class activities 20

Total: 300 marks

SEMESTER 1
Assignment Outline 30

Final Assessment 100

BB Test 50

Mreader 40

Academic Engagement/Participation 20

Grammar Course 40

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 Class Activities 20

Total: 300 marks

POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS

To pass this course (which is not that difficult if you apply yourself), you need to attend one double
period every week. You must attend the same class with the same facilitator. It is compulsory to
write all your assessments in the class that you usually attend throughout the year. If you do not
write in your assigned classes, you might run the risk of not having their assessments marked.
Therefore, you must remain with the same facilitator for the entire semester.

Since this is a semester course, continuous assessment is used to calculate your final mark.
Please remember that the writing you complete during the semester forms an integral part of your
final mark. It is imperative that you complete all class assignments, as well as homework that your
facilitator assigns to you. For a detailed breakdown of the mark allocation, please turn to the
Assessment section of the module guide.

Unfortunately, no late submissions of any assignments will be accepted without prior arrangement
with your facilitator. With loadshedding being (or becoming) part of our daily lives, this will not
count as a valid excuse as daily loadshedding schedules are available.

Some good news, no examination will be written for this course. However, this reinforce the
importance of completing all your assessments during the course of this module

Absenteeism

If you miss a class because of illness, an official university sporting event, or because of the death
of an immediate family member, you need to bring the necessary documentation (medical
certificate, an official letter from your coach that indicates when you will be taking part in this
sporting event, or a copy of the death certificate) that proves this to your facilitator within 7 days.
Please note that writing a test for one of your other content (subject) areas does not constitute a
legitimate excuse for missing EALM. If a test is scheduled during your EALM class time, you have
to make an arrangement with the lecturer of that subject to write the test during another time.

If students miss a test or any other assessment due to illness, death in the family, or an official
UFS sport event, they are obliged to report their absence within 7 working days of the test date

15
or submission date to Mrs Annamarie Otto (Bloemfontein campus) at the Academic Literacy Office
in the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Only students with the necessary documentation
(as stated above) will be given an opportunity to write the additional test.

Dispute clause

Please feel free to contact the EALM administrators, the EALM coordinator, Dr. Christie le Grange
or the administrative director of the Unit, Ms Michelle Joubert, if you experience any problems
with the module.

Make sure that you contact your facilitator in good time if you are not satisfied with the assessment
procedure followed in the evaluation of your work. In this regard, queries or complaints must be
lodged within 7 working days after each piece of assessment was completed. Please do not wait
until the end of the semester to do so. Your semester marks and final results will be placed on
Blackboard. You will also be able to obtain your marks from your facilitator.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the act of taking someone else’s ideas and/or words and presenting them as
your own. Thus, plagiarism is intellectual theft and is regarded as a criminal offence in terms of
the Copyright Act 98 of 1978. Plagiarised assignments (Lab reports, paragraphs, and essays) will
receive a mark of zero. Students who continuously commit plagiarism run the risk of failing the
course and not being allowed to retake the module.

For more information regarding plagiarism you can go read up on the University of the Free State’s
plagiarism policy which can be found on the UFS website.

EVALUATION PROCEDURES

Since you are the one who has to complete the module, your opinions and suggestions are
extremely important to keep this module relevant to your needs.

Please click on this link: https://response.questback.com/universityofthefreestate/Student2024

This link will be available throughout the entire module and you can submit your ideas anytime.

Thank you, and I hope you will have fun during this learning process!

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17
ORIENTATION
Lesson aims:

• Familiarise yourself with:

• Procedures of this module
• Requirements of the course
• Classroom rules
• Policies applicable in this programme

PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE IMPORTANT POINT IN THIS DISCUSSION:

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SEMESTER 1
UNIT 1: INSTRUCTION ANALYSIS
LESSON 1.1: CONSEPTUALISING ACADEMIC LITERACY
Lesson aims:

• See the differences between school reading and writing requirements and university
reading and writing requirements
• Notice the difference between academic reading and writing and reading and writing
for specific purposes
• Take note of the requirements and expectations of this course

Prepare for class

Thorough preparation before class helps you understand the content discussed in class, and
enables you to contribute to the various discussions and tasks given in class.

Complete this section on your own before class.

Watch the video about academic writing. The purpose of the video is to introduce you to the
nature of the type of writing you will be asked to do at university. You do not have to make
notes of all the information in the video, but if something stands out, and you would like to
remember it, you can make notes in the space below. Feel free to pause the video at any time
if you want to write something down first. Click here to watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyTLosz6aHA (Watch time 7 min).

Try to answer the following questions as you watch the video:

1. What is academic English?

2. What is academic writing?
3. What are the general characteristics of academic writing?
4. Why is academic writing important?

Have your notes ready for class!

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Notes:

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What is Academic Writing?
The secret to academic writing depends on how well you understand what you are doing as you
write and then how you approach the writing task. Writing in college is a fairly specialized writing
situation, and it has developed its own codes and conventions that you need to have a keen
awareness of if you are going to write successfully in university.
Let us break down the writing situation in university:

Who is your audience? Primarily the lecturer and possibly your classmates (though
you may be asked to include a secondary outside audience).

What is the occasion or An assignment given by the teacher within a learning context
context? and designed to have you learn and demonstrate your
learning.

What is your message? It will be your learning or the interpretation gained from your
study of the subject matter.

What is your purpose? To show your learning and get a good grade (by accomplishing
the goals of the writing assignment).

What documents / genres are The essay is the most frequent type of document used. (In the
used? academic literacy classes, the essay is broken down into
paragraphs first).

A. Let us look at some “myths” about academic writing

Myth #1: Writers only start writing when they have everything figured out
Writing is not like sending a WhatsApp! Writers figure out much of what they want to write as
they write it. Rather than waiting, get some writing on the page—even with gaps or problems.
You can come back to patch up rough spots.
Myth #2: Perfect first drafts
We put unrealistic expectations on early drafts, either by focusing too much on the impossible
task of making them perfect (which can put a cap on the development of our ideas), or by making
too little effort because we do not care or know about their inevitable problems. Nobody writes
perfect first drafts; polished writing takes lots of revision.
Myth #3: Good grammar is good writing

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When people say “I can’t write”, what they often mean is they have problems with grammatical
correctness. Writing, however, is about more than just grammatical correctness. Good writing is
a matter of achieving your desired effect upon an intended audience. Plus, as we saw in Myth#2,
no one writes perfect first drafts.
Myth #4: What other myth can you think of?

Academic Skills

Evaluating information Reading selectively Academic vocabulary

development

Referencing Previewing Writing for a purpose

Brainstorming ideas Making inferences Identifying important

information (main ideas)

Paraphrasing information Connecting text to Guessing meaning from the

background knowledge context

Summarising information Using the dictionary Creating information

Critical thinking Reflecting on what has Application of knowledge

been learned from the
text

Making predictions Monitoring main idea Rereading

comprehension

Subject-specific vocabulary Taking notes Revision

Examining graphics Using graphic organisers Paying attention to text structure

Using the correct grammar Underlining or Concept building

highlighting

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 Visualizing information Posing and answering Connecting one part of the text
questions to another

 Academic writing is an argument

Typically, you will be required to write an “essay” based upon your analysis of some reading(s).
In this essay you will need to present an argument where you make a claim (i.e. present a
“thesis”) and support that claim with good reasons that have adequate and appropriate evidence
to back them up. The dynamic of this argumentative task often confuses first year writers, so let
us examine it more closely.
At university, everything is an argument. To start, let us focus on argument. What does it mean
to present an “argument” in university writing? Rather than a shouting match between two
disagreeing sides, argument instead means a carefully arranged and supported presentation of a
viewpoint. Its purpose is not so much to win the argument as to earn your audience’s
consideration (and even approval) of your perspective. It resembles a conversation between two
people who may not hold the same opinions, but they both desire a better understanding of the
subject matter under discussion.
Thinking about the topic

Task 1.1.1

Take some time to think about the writing you had to do at school. Was it for assignments, tests
or mainly for notes for yourself? Was it mainly for language subjects or did you have to do some
writing in other subjects too? List the types of writing had to do, below.

Task 1.1.2
Now that you have thought about your writing experiences at school and watched the video
about academic writing it’s time to organise this information by comparing the writing that

24
happens at school, with that of university. A useful way to think about similarities and differences
is to write them down in table format (to tabulate them).

In the table below, write down at least one difference and one similarity you can think of for each
aspect of academic writing.
Similarities Differences

High School University High School University

Kind of writing Kind of writing

Kind of texts to read Kind of texts to read

Level of complexity - reading Level of complexity - reading

Level of complexity - writing Level of complexity - writing

Amount of extra reading Amount of extra reading

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 Type of listening Type of listening

Amount of self-study and self-motivation Amount of self-study and self-motivation

Role of teacher/lecturer Role of teacher/lecturer

Type of note-taking Type of note-taking

Task 1.1.3

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Now, write down your responses to the following questions and report back to the class.

What do you think is an assignment?

What is the purpose of an assignment? In other words, why do lecturers give students
assignments to complete?

What do you think is the structure of an academic assignment? In other words, how is the content
of an assignment organized?

Can you think of any similarities and differences between the type of assignment you were
required to write in high school, and the type of assignment you will be expected to write at
university? A useful way to think about similarities and differences is to write them down in table
format (to tabulate them). In the table below, write down at least one difference and one
similarity you can think of for each aspect of academic writing.

High school University

27
 Similarities

Differences

What do you think is the main difference between writing at university and writing at school?

28
Do you anticipate having trouble doing this? Why?

Task 1.1.4

Now that we understand the differences and similarities between high school and university, let
us explore the differences in the kind of texts we’ll be reading at university in more depth.
Consider the following texts and complete the table that follows after the texts.
Text 1

Students’ lack of English proficiency affects their academic success in Higher Education. In
a well-structured essay, discuss the validity of this claim.

Effective teaching and learning is determined by the ability of the students to comprehend
what is being communicated to them in any textual form, and to communicate effectively
with peers and instructors. In any learning institution, where the medium of instruction is
English, the students’ lack English proficiency is a barrier between them and academic
access. In supporting the given assertion, this essay will discuss two major negative
consequences that are caused by the lack of proficiency in English and explain how these
two speak to the academic success of students. The essay identifies the student’s stunted
mental development and lack of comprehension as negative consequences.

Proficiency in the language used in teaching and learning is a pivotal factor in determining
mental growth, which can be formally measured in academic success (Stephen, Welman &
Jordan, 2004). What this means is that students who are not proficient in English are failing
to benefit from the academic experiences which are necessary to develop some of the
concepts and schema they need in order to deal with tertiary studies. Consequently,

29
students fail to make mental connections with content that is presented to them in a
language that they are not competent in. Furthermore, Aina, Ogunde and Olanipekun
(2013), in their study of the Nigerian education system, concluded that there is a
relationship between language proficiency, mental development and academic success.
Their study found that students who cannot converse articulately in English as a language
of teaching and learning perform poorly academically, and this also indicates a lack of
mental growth. They further argue that when students’ proficiency in the English language
is high, this gets reflected in their improved mental capabilities in dealing with the demands
of Higher Education (HE) and this leads to the improved academic performance of such
students. From the above observations, the lack of English language proficiency limits the
mental development of the students, hence the failure to deal with the demands and
expectations of HE, and this leads to poor academic performance.

Another challenge that students face that leads to poor academic performance, due to a
lack of proficiency, is the lack of comprehending what is being learnt and taught. This lack is
a barrier to communication and understanding of what needs to happen if any learning is
to take place. This means that the students struggle to understand and communicate with
their instructor and peers in a collaborative context. Furthermore, these students also
struggle to engage with the content that is presented to them as it will be mediated in the
English language. It is critical to note that this challenge is not limited to failure to
comprehend the content of the actual learning but also a failure to comprehend
assessments and the demands of the task or questions given in assessments (Jadie, Sonya,
Laura & Natasha, 2012). Kong, Powers, Starr and Williams (2012) state that due to lack of
language proficiency, students fail to perform in assessments as they cannot express
themselves at a level expected by the assessor. In essence, to use Van der Berg (2002:171)
wording, language proficiency is a vital ‘single moderator of test performance’, and
comprehension plays a huge factor in the performance.

In a nutshell, lack of English language proficiency is detrimental to a learner’s academic

success. Students fail to mentally connect and understand what they are supposed to learn

30
 due to lack of competence in the language used in teaching and learning. What remains is
for HE Institutions to come up with interventions that provide students with a balanced
‘linguistic diet’ in order to build linguistically complete learners who can be global citizens
not just discipline citizens.

Text 2

Subject: Use of loud speakers

Dear Sir,

The use of loudspeakers in our part of Bloemfontein has become a nuisance. Almost every
night someone or other plays music on the loudspeakers. It is impossible to read or sleep with
the loudspeaker blaring well into the night. I am not opposed to anybody enjoying music at
home, but nobody has the right to force it on others, particularly at a time when people go to
bed. I suggest that the district administration should impose restrictions on the use of
loudspeakers in residential areas.

Yours sincerely,

Ben Terblanche

Adapted from: bankof info.com

Text 3

FS annual Women’s Breakfast event not to be missed

Story by Leonie Bolleurs
Women of the UFS, and now also elsewhere in South Africa, can look forward to yet another
Women’s Breakfast event to commemorate National Women’s Day. The event will be
coordinated by the Division of Organisational Development and Employee Wellness.
Burneline Kaars, Head of the division, says this year’s event will look a bit different from past
events, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual event will be interactive and engaging, with
a balance of serious topics and light-hearted humour.

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The theme of the event is ‘From surviving to thriving’. Kaars says they will be honouring all the
remarkable women for their ability to thrive despite ongoing difficulties.
And with guest speaker duo, Shaleen Surtie-Richards and Hannes van Wyk – who will charm
and dazzle attendees – this is definitely an event not to be missed.
“We will also relate experiences of strength and resilience that every woman can draw upon,
as well as provide additional entertainment with musical productions performed by local
Bloemfontein artists,” adds Kaars.
Not only UFS women, but women across South Africa are invited to join the Division of
Organisational Development and Employee Wellness for this year’s UFS Women’s Breakfast.
(https://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item/campus-news/2020/august/ufs-
annual-women-s-breakfast-event-not-to-be-missed)

32
Question Text 1 Text 2 Text 3

Is there a specific focus in the

writing?

How does the writer indicate where

information/evidence / examples
are from?

How does the writer make sure

ideas are easy to follow? Think
about language and about
organisation.

How ‘formal’ is the use of

vocabulary? Give specific
examples.

Who is the audience?

What other differences do you

notice?

33
Discussion
Below are some of the textual aspects that can differ among different text types.
Read through the following table. Ask your peers and facilitator if anything is unclear to you.

Academic Writing vs Non Academic Writing

Definition Academic writing is a formal and Non-academic writing is an

impersonal style of writing that is informal and often subjective
intended for a scholarly or style of writing that aims the mass
academic audience public

Audience Academia / lecturers Mass public

Purpose Inform / persuade the readers with Inform, entertain or persuade

solid evidence readers

Style Formal and impersonal Personal, impressionistic,

emotional, or subjective

Structure Standard structure No rigid structure

Language Formal language avoids Informal and casual language, may

colloquialisms contain colloquialisms

Citations and Contain citations and references Often do not contain citations and
reference references

Examples Academic essays and case studies, Newspaper and magazine articles,
research papers, dissertations, memoirs, letter, digital media etc.
scholarly articles

(Adapted from www.differencebetween.com)

Task 1.1.5

Read the following short paragraph. What do you think about the style of the paragraph?

• Underline all the aspects of the paragraph you think are inappropriate.
• Re-write the paragraph so that it demonstrates a more academic style.

Another problem with native speaker teachers is that their teaching methods are sometimes
really weird for international students. I had a native-speaker teacher who always wanted us to
work in pairs or discuss stuff in groups- totally different to what I’d done at school and although
it was quite good fun it did make me really uncomfortable at first. My teacher always wanted us
to correct ourselves- giving the answer wasn’t really her style. At first this was pretty odd and I
was a bit confused but I can see that she really wanted us to learn for ourselves and it wasn’t that
she didn’t know the answer!

Your rewrite:

Reflection

• What aspects of academic reading and writing are clear to you?

• What aspects of academic reading and writing are still unclear?

• What do you expect to learn this year?

• What strategies will you use to copy with the amount of reading and writing you will do?
LESSON 1.2: IMPLICATIONS OF ACTION VERBS

Lesson Aims:

• Understand the difference between the requirements of various Action verbs

• Being able to respond to the requirements of different action verbs

Subjects are designed with a specific learning experience in mind. By reviewing the subject
outline, assigned readings, and the assignment brief, you may be able to identify the overall
plan, purpose or approach the lecturer has for the subject. Once you have identified this
bigger picture, the next question is: “What is the purpose of completing this assignment?” Is
it to gather research and present a coherent argument? Is it to take materials learnt in class
and apply it to a new situation? The instruction words (active verbs) in the assignment brief
can help you to answer this question (Boston media house).

Below is a table of typically used instruction words and their definitions. Keep this
throughout your undergraduate degree as a reference.

Task 1.2.1
Why do you think it is important to know the difference between different action
verbs/Instruction words?
 A.V. Instruction Definition Own Words
Word

Define State clearly what something is and what it is

like.

List Write your answer in point form.

Remember

Relate Tell the story in a clear sequence or

demonstrate how things are connected to
each other.

Compare Focus on the similarities between two or

more objects, ideas, events or theories (NB:
sometimes this word is used to refer to both
similarities and differences)
Understanding

Contrast Focus on the differences between two or

more objects, ideas, events, or theories.

Define State clearly what something is and what it is

like.
Describe Give a detailed account of the characteristics
and qualities of a thing.

Explain Give a detailed account and illustrate your

answer with examples.

Illustrate Respond to a topic by using examples,

diagrams, statistics etc. to support your
argument.

Interpret Present the meaning of a text, graph, image,

etc. in your own words, using examples
where appropriate.

Outline Present the answer in the form of main points

only.

Summarise Outline the main points

 Apply Solve problems by applying acquired
knowledge, facts, techniques and rules in a
Apply

different way.

Analyse Focus on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of an issue or

topic. Do not simply describe or summarise.
Break it down into its component parts and
examine each part in detail.
Analysing

Examine Examine a subject critically, analysing and

commenting on the main points.

Assess Decide on the value or significance of

something after considering its ‘positive’ and
‘negative’ features.

Criticise Asses the merit of something by considering

Evaluating

both good and bad points and then draw a

conclusion from your analysis

Evaluate Similar to assess.

 Compose/ Compiling information from different sources
Construct/ in different ways by combining elements into
Create

Create new patterns or by proposing alternative

solutions, thus creating new knowledge.
Task 1.2.1
In your own word, please explain, in detail, how you would respond to the following questions.
(This is NOT about the content).
Define the concept ‘Teaching-and Learning environment’

Construct a plan to ensure the discipline at the school increase.

Describe the examination process at school

Compare the writing requirements at University and High School.

List the subject that you are studying at the UFS.

Write a short reflection regarding the importance of Instruction verbs.
LESSON 1.3: QUESTION/INSTRUCTION ANALYSIS
Lesson aims:

• To be familiar with the process approach to academic writing

• To recognise the use of assignments in university.

• To identify the steps that you can follow to ensure you respond to academic tasks
correctly

• Analyse an assignment question to show understanding of the demands of a task.

Prepare for class

Thorough preparation before class helps you understand the content discussed in class, and
enables you to contribute to the various discussions and tasks given in class.

Complete this section on your own before class.

The aim of this lesson is to give you some perspective of the writing process. Academic
writing is a process during which you learn and document your learning. The video that you
need to watch (Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRJuwzCfix4) will address this
writing process. On the next page, there is a graphic to present some of the information
included in the video.
See if you can add notes from the video onto the graphic to personalize it and make it more
understandable to you. Also consider the following:

• Which of the stages indicated on the graphic was not covered in the video?

• How does the stages in the video, relate to the stages indicated in the graphic?
 •Analysing assignment brief
Pre-writing (1)
•Thinking about the assignment brief
•Identifying appropriate readings
Pre-writing (2) •Reading and Note-taking
•Discussing and gathering ideas
•Formulating a thesis
•Finding evidenc and examples

•Creating an outline
•Planning paragraphs
Planning •Continue thinking, reading and note-
taking
•Refining thesis

•Writing first draft

•Using notes in writing
Drafting •Writing thesis statement
•Making and supporting
claims
•Organising and
reorganising

•Checking for:
•Punctuation
Editing •Clarity
•Spelling
•Style
•Formatting
Final
•In-text citation
submission
Reflect
Take a moment to think about the following two questions. Write down your thoughts. Be
prepared to share them with your class.

• What do you usually do when you get an assignment/essay from a lecturer? What did
you do at school when you received an academic task?

• If you are unsure of what is expected of you for an academic assignment or essay, what
can you do to clarify the requirements?

Sometimes it is hard to figure out exactly what the essay brief is asking you to do.
 It is important to note that there is a difference between a topic area and a question.
Students often confuse the two and end up writing an assignment (normally an essay) which
is too broad, does not answer the question, and has no focus.

A topic is a broad area of enquiry. An essay brief/question asks you to focus on something
specific. One topic area can therefore have many focal points (i.e. many
questions/assignment briefs).

Another way of looking at it is like a chocolate chip cookie!

TOPIC: Broad area of

enquiry

Specific
questions/focal
points

Your job is to identify that broader topic area and then figure out what the essay brief is
asking you to do, because you will never get an essay question that says “write everything
you know about …

For essays, it is sometimes hard to know what general topic is and what the specific focus of the
essay should be. Sometimes lecturers state the focus explicitly (clearly) and other times you
have to do some digging to find out what the focus is. It is useful to know that most
assignment/essay questions have certain parts that can help us to figure out what exactly a
lecturer is asking of us. We are now going to look at some ways to figure out the focus of your
assignment.

General parts of an academic essay brief: Essay Questions

Academic essays are notorious for being daunting and complex. However, understanding the
purpose and outcomes of the essay can make the task less intimidating. Thus, regardless of
the subject or essay style, it is important that you understand the different parts of the essay
brief as well as any instructions given to you.
If you can identify the different parts of your essay brief you can narrow down the focus or
question that you need to address in on writing.
In order to determine what the focus of the assignment is, you will need to consider the
following three parts of assignment briefs:
PART 1) Instruction words (action verbs):
Explanation: To identify instruction words, you start by looking for action verbs. These are
verbs that indicate that you have to DO something.
Some examples of action verbs include discuss, compare and contrast, evaluate, explain 1
Sometimes the instruction is not stated but implied:
As an example, the assignment instructions can say: What is the importance of academic
literacy in preparation for study at university?
In terms of instruction words, this would mean explain the importance of academic literacy
in preparation for study at university.
Another example If the assignment instructions say “How useful is the knowledge of
academic skills in preparation for study at university?”
In terms of instruction words, this would mean, evaluate the extent to which the knowledge
of academic skills is useful for study at university.

PART 2) Content words (key terms):

Explanation: Content words are words that have to do with the main topic and specific focus
of your assignment instructions. It is a good idea to try to identify which works has to do with

1
See a more complete list of action words later in this lesson
 the broader topic and which words has to do with the specific focus or question. Part 1 and 3
in this process can help you with that.
Some examples of content words in assignment questions can be:
What is the importance of academic literacy in preparation for study at university?
OR
How useful is the knowledge of academic skills in preparation for study at university?
Important: these terms often needs to be defined as part of your assignment as well.
PART 3) Restricting words (words implying a scale of degree or importance)
Restricting, sometime called limiting words, narrow the focus further by indicating aspects
you should narrowly concentrate on. According to James Cook University (2019), restricting
or limiting keep you focused on a particular area, and stop you from trying to research
everything in the history of mankind. The limit could be by:

• Time (you may be asked to focus on the last five years, or the late 19th Century, etc.)

• Place (you may be asked to focus on Bloemfontein, University of the Free State or
South-East Asia etc.)

• People groups (such as: women over the age of 50 years or people from poor
backgrounds or African-Americans etc.).

• Extent (you are only to look at a particular area, or the details you believe are most
relevant or appropriate).

Examples:
Assignment question: Discuss the following statement: African-Americans are more
susceptible to the COVID-19 virus that any other race in America.

Assignment question: The EAL classes are important to student success at the UFS.

Task 1.3.1
Before we look at all the parts of the assignment brief together, we will first recap instruction
words as this is the aspect students often overlook.
Write down what you can remember regarding the importance of instruction words.

Task 1.3.2
Let’s look at some sample instructions to see how these parts can work together to request a
specific response.
Complete the following table. Look at the essay briefs and write down what the assignment
brief is asking you to do. Notice how the topic is the same, but the focus of each question
differs. Two have been done for you as example.
Essay brief Part 1: Instruction word (add what the word Part 2: Content words Part 3: restricting words
means)

Define what plagiarism is. State clearly what plagiarism is? Provide a
definition similar to what I would find in a
dictionary (but in more detail).

Explain how you can

avoid plagiarism.

Analyse how effective

paraphrasing is in
avoiding plagiarism.

Apply the UFS plagiarism Take the UFS plagiarism policy and consider
policy to your own essay. whether I have plagiarised (or not) according
to what it says in the UFS policy.

Critically assess your own

work in terms of the
plagiarism policy.

Create a plagiarism policy

for your CALT1508
course.
Task 1.3.3

Now that you have identified the various parts of the assignment instructions, you can try to
identify the general topic and specific focus of each. You can also use all of the information you
have gathered up until now, to write in your own words what you think the lecturer expects of
you in each case.

Essay brief Topic and Focus What should you do?

Define what plagiarism is. State clearly what plagiarism

is? Provide a definition similar
to what I would find in a
dictionary (but in more detail).

Explain how you can avoid

plagiarism.

Analyse how effective

paraphrasing is in avoiding
plagiarism.

Apply the UFS plagiarism Take the UFS plagiarism policy

policy to your own essay. and consider whether I have
plagiarised (or not) according
to what it says in the UFS
policy.

Critically assess your own

work in terms of the
plagiarism policy.

Create a plagiarism policy

for your CALT1508 course.
 Reflect

• How easy is it to identify the relevant aspects (instruction words, content words,
restricting words) on an essay brief?

• Was there one of these aspects that you struggled with? Which one?

• Have you seen these words in you essay briefs from other subjects/modules?
Because you will have to analyse assignment instructions often and because it is so important
to be confident in your analyses, we are going to practice unpacking more assignment
questions by identifying the important parts and attempting to restate what is expected of us
Task 1.3.4
Let’s proceed practice to identify these aspects in various briefs and think about how this
information can help us to figure out the focus of the essay and what the appropriate response
should be
Example 1
Describe the commercialisation 2 of education.
a) Identify part 1: What is the instruction word and what does it mean?

b) Identify part 2: What are the content words?

2 noun: commercialisation

1. the process of managing or running something principally for financial gain.

c) Identify part 3: What are the restricting words?

d) Is there any other important information?

e) What is the main topic and what is the specific focus of this instruction?

f) Using all of the information you have gathered, write down (in your own words) what
you should do in this task.
Example 2
Critically assess the extent to which learners from rural communities are disadvantaged in
terms of digital education.
a) Identify part 1: What is the instruction word and what does it mean?

b) Identify part 2: What are the content words?

c) Identify part 3: What are the restricting words?

d) Is there any other important information?

 e) What is the main topic and what is the specific focus of this instruction?

f) Using all of the information you have gathered, write down (in your own words) what
you should do in this task.

Example 3
In a well-structured essay discuss the influence, either negative or positive, that social media
has on education in South Africa. Include examples in your discussion.
a) Identify part 1: What is the instruction word and what does it mean?

b) Identify part 2: What are the content words?

c) Identify part 3: What are the restricting words?

d) Is there any other important information?

e) What is the main topic and what is the specific focus of this instruction?

f) Using all of the information you have gathered, write down (in your own words) what
you should do in this task.
Reflection

Do you think this method of unpacking assignment briefs/analysing essay questions is useful?
Why, why not?

There are components of this lesson that will be assessed in the Unit Assessment Task. Make
sure you understand this content and know what to do for the Unit Assessment Task.
UNIT 2: INFORMATION COLLECTION
LESSON 2.1: DETERMINE WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION IS
NEEDED
• Leson Aims

• Learn what resources are used in law studies and the law profession

• Explore what resources are used for what purposes

• Recognise where to find various types of resources

• Supplies

If you have a smartphone, tablet or laptop, bring it along for this lesson. If not, no worries!

• Task 2.1: Link

Page to task 1.6 and refresh your mind on the content of the previous theme.
Think about the following two questions.

• What was a new or useful idea you learned in the previous theme?

• What was still unclear or confusing in the previous theme?

Prepare to participate in a class discussion about these two questions
Task 2.2: Link

• Explore what resources are used for what purposes

While gathering materials might sound like a straightforward task, you will soon learn that the
world of information gathering at university can be extremely confusing and downright
demotivating. As an education student, you are fortunate that the information you are going to
use and find during your studies, are the same type of information you will use one day if you are
a law practitioner.
 • What sources of information are out there?

During this semester, we will help you to identify the types of sources/information
you need for various tasks and determine where to find it. For now, it will be good if
you can take note that you will likely use the following sources of information during
your studies and in your career as a legal practitioner.
Some of the general academic sources you will encounter includes the following:

Source type What is this?

Books/Textbooks You are likely familiar with this type of source. These are books
that typically have chapters addressing various theoretical
concepts and provide general information on a specific topic.
You will typically be required to buy textbooks for some of
your modules. You can also access information from books via
the internet or the library, whether you visit the physical
library on campus, or access the UFS library’s website.

Academic articles Academic articles are typically 10–35-page long texts that
usually reports on research done by academics, such as your
lecturers. This research can sometimes entail reading widely
on a specific topic and providing a perspective of various views
or it could entail reporting on data that was collected through
questionnaires, experiments or evaluations.
Academic articles are basically like assignments for lecturers.
They write these as a part of their job. They write these articles
and it gets approved (reviewed) by fellow academics to ensure
accuracy and trustworthiness of the information. These
articles the gets published in books called academic journals.

Internet The internet refers to a worldwide network of online

information. This information is typically accessible through
search engines like Google or Mozilla Firefox. There is a lot of
reliable and non-reliable information and if you want to use
this information in your academic writing, you should evaluate
its reliability thoroughly before using it.
Many of the sources that we mention in this table, is available
through the internet.

Newspaper You are likely familiar with the nature of newspapers.

Newspapers are mostly useful to students and legal
 practitioners when looking for information about public
opinion on current affairs.

In addition to these general academic sources, there are certain sources that
Education students and teacher use, almost on a daily basis. These sources are often
completely unknown to the general public, but through the process of becoming a
legal practitioner, you should become very familiar with these sources. They include:

Legal/law These are documents such as the South African Constitution and
documents the various documents outlining laws, such as the various Acts.
These are critical in any legal research.
While a lot of these might seem foreign to you during your first
year of studies, you will likely become extremely familiar with
parts of these documents as your studies progress.

• Task 2.3: Apply

Consider the following situations. Think about what type of source you will likely need
to help you with this situation, and why. Complete the table in the next row to
synthesise your thoughts.

Sample situations:
1. You must find information about the history of South Africa’s Education
system
2. You need to look for current teaching strategies
3. You must find information that compares the situation in South African schools
to what is prescribed in the South African Schools Act.
4. You must find information to assist you with learners with ADDH in your
classroom.

Situation Which source(s)? Why?

1
 2

Prepare to share your ideas with the class.

• Recognise where to find various types of resources

• Big idea: Where can you find the various types of sources?

We are used to being able to just Google information and find immediate answers.
Unfortunately, when we are looking for specialized information, such as information that
pertains to our studies, we have to find our information in specialized places. In the physical
world, the most recognizable place of that nature is a library. But, you might be happy to
know that there are also virtual spaces that house relevant and current sources that you
might need in your studies – these places are often called databases.
Databases are similar to virtual libraries, where you can look for specialized information.

Where can we typically find this source?

 Library – You can use the UFS website to search for the availability of
books as well as the library code that indicates where the book is
situated on the library.
You can follow these steps to look for books:
1. Go to the UFS website (www.ufs.ac.za)
2. Click on the word ‘Library’ at the top of the UFS landing page
3. Hover over the ‘Resources’ tab in the red navigation strip at
the top of the page, and click on ‘Catalogue (Kovsiekat)’.
4. You will now see a search page open, that searches within the
books available in the UFS library.
Books/Textbooks

5. Once you have found the title you are looking for, look for the
alphanumerical code next to the book, and ask a library
assistant to help you find that code in the library when you
visit.

Academic articles are most easily found through the internet,

although not simply by Googling the content words or questions you
have. There are several databases where you can find information that
has bee published in academic articles. Some of these databases are
called:

• Academic Search Ultimate

• HeinOnline

• Juta

• ButterworthsLexisNexis

• Library

• Others
You can also find academic articles through a specialized division
within Google, called, Google Scholar.
To find articles on these databases, you can Google the name of the
Academic articles

database as go to the database website once your search results have

appeared. Once you are on the specific database’s website, you can
use the SEARCH box on the website, to find articles related to the
content you are looking for.
 This is probably a source that you are fairly familiar with. You can
access information here by using a search engine like Google, Mozilla
Firefox, and others.
Internet

Bear in mind that the information found generally on the internet, is

not always academic in nature, or trustworthy as an academic source.

Newspapers have moved a lot of their provision online, and you are
Newspaper

now able to find various newspaper sources online. You are likely to
also find older newspaper articles and sources via the library. Ask a
library assistant to help you find this.

These are documents such as the South African Constitution and the
various documents outlining laws, such as the various Acts. These are
critical in any research.
It is important to note that legislation is constantly changed,
amended and updated and it is of extreme importance, that you know
how to find the most recent version of legislation. Always ensure that
you are using the most updated versions of legislation. To prevent
embarrassment, only use Juta or LexisNexis or other academic
databases to find legislation, and not Google. Legislation is first
published in the Government Gazette. If one is looking for a very
recent Act the Government Gazette must be consulted. The
databases or sources where the most recent legislation can be found,
includes:

• Government Gazettes accessible via the UFS library databases

via Sabinet

• ButterworthsLexisNexis

• Sabinet

• Juta

• SAFLii
Later in this semester, we will explore the practicalities of finding
these sources. For now, it is sufficient to note that these databases
Legislation

exist, and that you can use this table as reference when you start
looking for sources.
Note that the UFS Library has various resources available for finding sources, including, but
not limited to resources specifically for Law students. You can find these resources through
the UFS website, by following these steps:
1. Go to www.ufs.ac.za
2. Click on the Library heading at the top of the page
3. Hover over Resources and click on Libguides
4. Find the Faculty of Law guide, and click to open
5. Click through the topics listed in the menu to find various resources

Did you know that you can use the UFS Wi-Fi while on campus?
For the next task it will be great if you can use your smartphone. Try to
connect your phone to the UFS Wi-Fi by following these steps:
1. Select the Wi-Fi function on your device.
2. Select the UFS_Wireless1 option.
3. Click/tap on Connect. If the pop-up screen about connection issues
appears, select “Connect”, and not terminate.
4. Enter your student number and password.
5. You are connected! Happy UFS browsing

We found these guidelines on the UFS website. Find other IT resources

yourself at www.ufs.ac.za > Students > Digital life

Work with a fellow student and use a smartphone to see if you can find some of the databases
we have mentioned in the previous section on the internet.
Try to go to the databases mentioned below and search for a sample source.
 Database Could we find it?

SAFLii

I can do this! I need some practice Save me!

LexisNexis

I can do this! I need some practice Save me!

Kovsiekat

I can do this! I need some practice Save me!

Google Scholar

I can do this! I need some practice Save me!

Government
Gazette through
Sabinet

I can do this! I need some practice Save me!

Prepare to share your experiences with the class.

 • Task 2.8 Wrap up

This theme’s learning objectives included the following:

1. Learn what resources are used in law studies and the law profession.
2. Explore what resources are used for what purposes.
3. Recognise where to find various types of resources.
4. Recognise basic referencing principles, related to:
> the nature of referencing (What is referencing?)
> the purpose of referencing (Why do we reference?)
> the format of referencing in Law texts (How does referencing look like in Law
texts?)
Reflect on these objectives. To what extent are you comfortable with it? Make some notes to
capture your reflection below.

Notes:

Objective Comfort level

1. Learn what
resources are
used in law
studies and
the law I can do this! I need some practice Save me!
profession

2. Explore what
resources are
used for what
purposes
I can do this! I need some practice Save me!
 3. Recognise
where to find
various types
of resources
I can do this! I need some practice Save me!

What are you still unsure about?

What can you do to fill this gap?

LESSON 2.2: SOURCE EVALUATION
Lesson aims:
• Learn to question the author
• Finding evidence in text to support your answer

Let’s revise:

• Why does it help to critically read a text?

• Why do you think it is important to compare articles / readings from different authors on the
same topic?

• Why is it important to look for evidence (ideas / arguments / facts / author’s opinions) in a
text?
 Questioning the Author (QtA)
Questioning as an instructional tool can be traced back to the fourth century BCE, when
Socrates used questions and answers to challenge assumptions, expose contradictions, and
lead to new knowledge and wisdom. Socrates, a classical Greek philosopher (died 399 BC),
was one of the greatest educators who taught by asking questions and thus drawing out
answers from his pupils ('ex duco', means to 'lead out', which is the root of 'education').
There are various types of questions that Socrates asked his pupils. Probably often to their
initial annoyance but more often to their ultimate delight. He was a man of remarkable
integrity and his story makes for marvellous reading. The overall purpose of Socratic
questioning, is to challenge accuracy and completeness of thinking in a way that acts to
move people towards their ultimate goal.

Question the author of a text is a reading comprehension strategy that actively engages
students with a text by asking them to pose questions of the author
In forming their questions, students become engaged in the reading and solidify their
understanding of the text. QtA teaches students to critique the author’s writing,
challenge the author, recognize the author’s perspective, and understand why the author
made choices.

Try and answer the following questions:

• What does it mean to “challenge accuracy and completeness of thinking” as mentioned in the
textbox above?
• How does one go about questioning accuracy and completeness of thinking?

Task 2.2.1
Consider some of the Socratic questions below and select any 4 that you can ask about the either
text A or text B (read in the previous lesson). Write them down below. Thereafter, pose your
questions to the person sitting next to you and ask them to answer it.

• How does the author know this?

• Can you give me an example of this?

• What is the nature of…?

• What evidence is there to support what the author is saying?

• Is there another way of looking at this?

• Who benefits from this?

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of…?

• How does … compare to …?

• What are the implications of…?

• Why is this important?

Question Possible answer

1.
2.

3.

4.
Answer the following questions:

• Why does it help to question the author and text as you have done in the table above?

• Refer back to the previous lesson to revise your assignment instructions:

Since we entered the 21st century, one of the most pressing medical related issues is the ever-
growing population of the world. If this overpopulating continues at this rapid rate, the world’s
population poor health will decline irreversibly. Write an essay where you explore the possible
solutions to combat this issue.

• Which of the Socratic questions do you think you should ask to help guide your reading of
both texts?

Task 2.2.2
Think about the following and answer the following questions.

• What do you think is the difference between a ‘fact’ and an ‘opinion’? Write a short definition
for each below.
• Consider the following statements and decide which is fact and which is opinion. Put (F) next
to facts and (O) next to opinions.

T/F STATEMENT

Everyone loves to watch TV.

Temperatures drop in winter.

Winter is cold.

Nobody likes doing the dishes.

Fire needs oxygen to burn.

My friend's favorite color is yellow.

July comes after June on the calendar.

Bunnies are the cutest pets.

• Now try it yourself! Write down one fact and opinion and pose it to the person sitting next to
you. They must try and figure out which is which.

• How do you think readers determine facts from opinions?

Let’s consider the definitions below. When reading a text, it is essential that students can
distinguish fact or opinion in order to develop critical reading skills. Look at the definitions below.

What is a fact? What is a personal opinion?

− Facts tell us what happened and be proven − Opinions are attitudes or judgements that
true or false. can’t be proven right or wrong.

− You can find facts in legal records, − An opinion is less concrete. It's a view
scientific findings, encyclopaedias, atlases, formed in the mind of a person about a
etc. In other words, facts are the truth and particular issue. In other words it is what
are accepted as such. someone believes or thinks, and is not
necessarily the truth.
− A fact is considered as measurable and
reliable evidence. − An opinion can be explained and supported.
It can be changed. You can try convince
− A fact can be changed when new evidence
someone of an opinion.
emerge.

− Whether or not you believe it doesn’t

change whether it’s true or not

Let’s distinguish between fact and opinion. The following statements below taken from both text
A and B. Firstly, read the statement and go back to the text to review the context of the
statement. Then, decide if the statement is a fact or opinion. Explain your decision by providing
a reason in the last column.

Statement Fact Opinion Reasoning

Text A
Other iodine deficiency disorders
include impaired growth and
development, decreased fertility,
and prenatal and infant death.

Text B
Many other parts of the world do
not have enough iodine available
through their diet and iodine
deficiency continues to be an
important public health problem
globally.

Text A
Marine fish and shrimp tend to
have high levels because they
concentrate iodine from
seawater.

Text A
The primary source of dietary
iodine in many countries is iodized
salt.

Text B
Before the 1920s, iodine
deficiency was common in most
parts of the world.

Text A
Many people in landlocked
regions lack access to seafood.

Text B
Prevention of iodine deficiency by
the introduction of iodized salt
has virtually eliminated iodine
deficiency and the so-called
“goiter belt” in these areas.

Text A
The accumulation of colloid
increases the overall size of the
thyroid gland.

Text B
It could be argued that
approximately 30% of the world’s
 population remains at risk for
iodine deficiency.

Text A
Iodine deficiency is the primary
cause of preventable mental
retardation worldwide.

Facts and opinions helps you to discover evidence that you can incorporate into your writing.
Different subjects will require you to draw on a variety of sources for evidence in your essay. For
example, if you are working on Chemistry you will draw much of your evidence from journal
articles and reports. In contrast, Biology courses may ask you to demonstrate your theoretical
understandings with examples from your textbook.
It is very important to read your unit guides and assessment tasks very carefully to determine the
type of evidence your essay / assignment work requires. Also, examining readings and textbook-
material in your discipline will help you to work out the ways that your discipline incorporates
evidence in writing.

Task 2.2.3
After reading both text A and B, recommend five important pieces of evidence (relevant facts
and opinions) that could be used in an academic assignment with the following assignment
instructions. Provide a reason for each recommendation.

According to medical researchers. Iodine is a very important mineral that all humans must need
to live a healthy life. Discuss this statement by elaborating on its importance for human life, as
well as the benefits thereof and the issues it could have if not sufficient quantities is absorbed in
the human body.

Text A or B? Paragraph; line Why do you think this can be used as

evidence?

1
 2

Task 2.2.4
Reflection

• Write a small reflection in terms of what you learned and how you could apply it in your
future studies.
 Lesson aims:
• Learning to read critically
• Comparing and contrasting ideas in texts

Think about the following questions and write down your thoughts in the spaces below.

• What does it mean to think critically about a text?

• What reading strategies can help you to read critically?

• Why is it important to read critically?

• What does it mean to evaluate?

• Why is it necessary to evaluate sources?

What does it take to be a critical reader?

Consider the title: The title provides clues to the writer's attitude, goals, personal viewpoint,
or approach.

Read slowly: When you read slowly or “closely” you will make more connections within the
text.

Read with an open mind: Critical readers seek knowledge. Your task as a critical reader is to
read what is on the page, giving the writer a fair chance to develop ideas and allowing yourself
to reflect thoughtfully and objectively on the text.

Understand the writer's audience: Authors design texts for specific audiences, and becoming
a member of the target audience makes it easier to understand the author's purpose. Learn
about the author, the history of the author and the text, and the author's anticipated audience.
 Make notes: Write down marginal notes, underline and highlight, write down ideas in a
notebook, do whatever works for your own personal taste. Note for yourself the main ideas,
the thesis, the author's main points to support the theory. Writing while reading aids your
memory in many ways, especially to make link between ideas.

Adapted from: Cleveland State University. 2020. The Writing Center: Critical reading: what is
critical reading, and why do I need to do it? [Online]. Available at:
https://www.csuohio.edu/writing-center/critical-reading-what-critical-reading-and-why-do-i-
need-do-it [Accessed 6 March 2020]

Task 2.2.5
Consider the following assignment brief/prompt that you a medical student could be given.

Since we are already well into the 21st century, Gen AI has already taken over much of
peoples every day lives. Please discuss the what and how Gen AI has influenced the lives
of learners in school?

What are the key concepts that this prompt is asking you to include in the assignment? In other
words, what type of information / research do you think he will need in order to answer this
question?

Task.2.2.6
Now let’s look at text A and text B. Critically read the each text. As you read independently and
silently, also remember to:

− circle important or difficult vocabulary;

− take note of (if any) pictures, graphics, figures

− look for and underline the main ideas in each paragraph;

 − take notes in the margin (questions, key ideas etc.);

− keep a brief record of the most important points from the text in note form.

TEXT A: What is Gen AI?

Generative AI (GenAI) is a type of artificial intelligence technology that can produce various types
of content, including text, imagery, audio and synthetic data. The recent buzz around generative
AI has been driven by the simplicity of new user interfaces for creating high-quality text, graphics
and videos in a matter of seconds.
The technology, it should be noted, is not brand-new. Generative AI was introduced in the 1960s
in chatbots. But it was not until 2014, with the introduction of generative adversarial networks,
or GANs -- a type of machine learning algorithm -- that generative AI could create convincingly
authentic images, videos and audio of real people.
The rapid advances in so-called large language models (LLMs) -- i.e., models with billions or even
trillions of parameters -- have opened a new era in which generative AI models can write
engaging text, paint photorealistic images and even create somewhat entertaining sitcoms on
the fly. Moreover, innovations in multimodal AI enable teams to generate content across
multiple types of media, including text, graphics and video. This is the basis for tools like Dall-E
that automatically create images from a text description or generate text captions from images.

TEXT B: What can generative AI create?

Generative AI can create many types of content across many different domains.

Text
Generative models. especially those based on transformers, can generate coherent,
contextually relevant text—everything from instructions and documentation to brochures,
emails, web site copy, blogs, articles, reports, papers, and even creative writing. They can also
perform repetitive or tedious writing tasks (e.g., such as drafting summaries of documents or
meta descriptions of web pages), freeing writers’ time for more creative, higher-value work.

Images and video

Image generation such as DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion can create realistic images or
original art, and can perform style transfer, image-to-image translation and other image editing
or image enhancement tasks. Emerging gen AI video tools can create animations from text
prompts, and can apply special effects to existing video more quickly and cost-effectively than
other methods.
Sound, speech and music
Generative models can synthesize natural-sounding speech and audio content for voice-enabled
AI chatbots and digital assistants, audiobook narration and other applications. The same
technology can generate original music that mimics the structure and sound of professional
compositions.

Software code
Gen AI can generate original code, autocomplete code snippets, translate between
programming languages and summarize code functionality. It enables developers to quickly
prototype, refactor, and debug applications while offering a natural language interface for
coding tasks.

Design and art

Generative AI models can generate unique works of art and design, or assist in graphic design.
Applications include dynamic generation of environments, characters or avatars, and special
effects for virtual simulations and video games.

Simulations and synthetic data

Generative AI models can be trained to generate synthetic data, or synthetic structures based
on real or synthetic data. For example, generative AI is applied in drug discovery to generate
molecular structures with desired properties, aiding in the design of new pharmaceutical
compounds.
Task 2.2.5
The perspective of the author(s) is an important part of the context of the ideas you are reading.
By considering what the writer is attempting to accomplish by the publication of the work in
question, you will gain more insight into the work itself.
Let’s unpack each of the texts by first looking at the similarities and differences in the texts. Work
in pairs and complete the table. Remember to make use of note-taking strategies.

TEXT A TEXT B
 What are the main
opinions or belief
statements in each of the
articles?

Why do you think the

authors have this
particular opinion or point
of view?

What is each author trying

to do? For example,
convince, argue, explain,
persuade, evaluate etc.

What evidence did the

author include to support
their opinions?

Task 2.2.6
What are the differences and similarities in the two texts? Complete the table below using your
notes from the table in task 3.

How is text A and text B different? How is text A and text B similar?
• Why do you think there is some differences in the opinions of the two authors? Share
your thought with the students sitting next to you.
Task 2.2.7
Reflect on your learning by writing a short reflection in terms of what you learned and how you
could apply it in your future studies.

Often, students feel overwhelmed when starting to look for information or sources as they are
not completely sure of what they are looking for. This week’s lessons will help you determine
what sources might have information that will be useful to you. Before you rush to find sources
of information, you need to understand that there are sources that are considered and
acceptable.
Credible and acceptable sources
Not all sources of information you will come across in your research are acceptable sources to
use in your academic work.

How to establish if a source is credible

Consider the following before you use a source in your academic work:

• Authority – is the author recognised as knowledgeable on the subject? Does the author
have the relevant credentials? Professional affiliation?

• Bias – bias is when perceived academic sources use their beliefs and opinions to shape
or influence their research. One way of guarding against bias is to determine if the
source is peer-reviewed or not.

• Content – is the content suitable? Is it written in an academic style? Is the tone

objective?

• Publisher – is the publisher reputable and well known?

• Currency – is the source current? How new is this information?

Task 2.2.8
What types of sources do you think is suitable for your academic tasks and which ones are not?
In each case, give a reason for your answer (you can use the block above to help you with the
reason).

Suitable Unsuitable Reason(s)

source source

Newspaper articles

Social media posts

Text books

Academic journal article

Wikipedia

Government documents (like

educational policies or the Bill
of Rights)

Websites
As you can see, the reason for looking for the information, greatly influence whether the
information is suitable or not. Think about gathering other types of information (other than
academic information) which types of sources would be suitable?
Task 2.2.9
What credible source(s) would you use to get information about the following?

Information Credible Source Justification

The 30-Day Low-

Carb Diet Solution

A news release
published by the
Reserve Bank of
South Africa

Student
accommodation for
rental in your area

The life cycle of a

butterfly

Assessment

I want you to find a (physical), academic article and an internet

source and explain why you feel these sources are considered
credible by referring to the different criteria discussed in this
lesson. You need to take a picture (or screenshot) of the sources
with the detailed explanation underneath. (30 marks)
UNIT 3: READING AND CATEGORISATION OF INFORMATION
LESSON 3.1: READING ACADEMIC SOURCES

Lesson aims:
• Activate background knowledge before you read a text.
• Apply reading strategies.
• Create a mind-map based on the reading.

Some further insights into academic reading and writing:

Often, successful academic reading, writing and listening depends on a three-part process.
There are things you do before reading, writing and listening. There are also useful things you
can do during and after reading, writing and listening. You will learn more about these
processes this year.
Before reading, writing and listening
Preparation
Prediction
Planning
During reading, writing and listening
Note-taking
Engagement
Thinking
Planning
Learning
After reading, writing and listening
Reviewing
Editing
Sharing
Task 3.1.1

• A KWL chart will assist you in understanding what you are about to read. Complete the first
two columns below based on your understanding of the text you skimmed in the previous
lesson. Refer back to your notes/mind map in the previous lesson to remind you.
K W L
What do I already know What do I want to know What have I learnt about
about ________? about ________? ________?

Share your work with a student sitting next to you. Does he/she have the same information? Add
information to your chart based on your partner’s work. Remember to come back to this table
after you have read to text.
 What do you whilst and after you have read a text?

Here are some strategies you can use to deepen your understanding of what you are reading.

 Connect what you read to what you already know (KWL)

 Relate the reading to your own life.
 Always try and visualise anything that you read; this will help you to remember it more
easily.
 Pay attention to graphics in the text - this often helps make abstract ideas more
understandable.
 Understand the text you are reading in context – who wrote the text, when it was written,
and what the subject is about.
 Talk and write about what you read – this will help you to verbalise your understanding of
the text and check misconceptions.

Task 3.1.2
Take time and critically read the text “Teaching and Learning with social media at the UW 3”. As
you read independently and silently, remember to:

− circle important or difficult vocabulary;

− take note of (if any) pictures, graphics, figures

− look for and underline the main ideas in each paragraph;

− take notes in the margin (questions, key ideas etc.);

− keep a brief record of the most important points from the text in note form. You can use
the space below, or add to your notes that predicted the content in the previous lesson.

3
This text is an information piece published on the website of the University of Washington (UW). The full
reference is:
Coffin, T. and Fournier, J. 2021. Social Media in the Classroom: Opportunities, Challenges &
Recommendations. University of Washington. Available at https://itconnect.uw.edu/learn/research/ecar-
social-media/ (Accessed: 11 March 2021)
Task 3.1.3
Connect the content to organisation structure. There are various ways to organise a text, each
one suited to different types of content. Each graphic below represent a way to organize text.
Consider each one below and then decide which one(s) best describes the reading text you have
just read.

Topic by topic
There are no fixed relationships amongst the topics discussed in the
text, therefore the ordering is not critical. This works well for
content that revolves around current or various types of
information.

Chronological
The content moves from past to present in the form of a timeline.
It is a very easy to follow information with this organisational
pattern.
Causal
The content presents a number of events, issues, or topics that
culminate in some final effect or solution.

Cumulative
Each concept builds on the previous one(s).

Problem-centred
Problems, questions, or cases represent the principal organising
features of the content.

Spiral
Key topics or concepts are revisited throughout the reading, with
new information or insight developing each time.

• Which graphic organiser and text structure(s) is best suited to the reading “Teaching and
Learning with social media at the UW. Explain your choice by way of an example. Compare
your answer with the person sitting next to you.
• Why is it useful to understand how a text is organised?

• How can graphic organisers (such as above) become a useful tool after reading a text?

Task 3.1.4
Create a graphic organiser based on the text and notes that you made while you read. You can
use different colour pens, highlighters, pictures or anything to make your graphic
organiser/mind-map visual.

Identifying the main ideas in a text is an important task when reading university texts.
Summarising can help you condense large texts into smaller more manageable sizes. Using a
graphic organiser can also help you sequence and display information visually.
Add ideas onto your own mind-map that you might have missed based on the class feedback.

Reflect on your learning

Please answer the following questions.

1. What was the most useful aspect you learned in this lesson?

2. What aspects of the lesson did you struggle with?

3. Name an aspect of this lesson that can be applied to your other content areas or subjects.
LESSON 3.2: NAVIGATE ACADEMIC TEXTS
Lesson aims:
• Understand different text features
• Understand the purpose behind navigating text
• Identify key points in an academic text.
• Learn how to take effective notes that will help you in your
reading to the writing process.
• Distinguish between good and bad notes.
• Create effective notes.

Prepare for class

Thorough preparation before class helps you understand the content

discussed in class, and enables you to contribute to the various
discussions and tasks given in class.

Complete this section on your own before class.

Watch the video on this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pPqGH6PMcE and take notes on
how to manage all your academic reading by having a purpose, reading
actively, and questioning what you read.
Notes:
For this week’s online lesson, you will need to be familiar with the
paragraph/essay topics and the needs analysis template you started to
complete in the past two week’s lessons. If you’ve missed any of the
lessons from the past week we suggest that you first catch up the work by
looking at the online materials and lesson recordings.
We will be focusing on navigating academic texts. This means that we will
try to help you realise that there are different texts/sources that you can use
and teach you the best ways to use them. As you have gathered by now,
you need to be proficient in both reading and writing in order to be
successful in your studies. However, you cannot be a good writer, if you
are not a good reader. Therefore, it is important to note that as a scholar
you will be required to read for different purposes. It is purpose that
determines how you will approach each reading task.
There are a number of ways to establish purpose such as, from the
assignment brief or the structure of the text you are reading.

What is a text

A text can be regarded as anything that conveys a set of meaning to the

person who examines it. In essence, it is something that has layers of
meaning which one can draw conclusions from. This is not limited to
written materials such as books, journals, magazines, newspapers etc.,
but also includes movies, songs, advertisements, etc.

Task 3.2.1
• Complete the activity below.
Read the explanation of the word ‘text’ in the grey block above. Reflect on
the texts you have encountered during your high school career and think
about the texts you might encounter during your university studies. Think
about what type of texts you anticipate to use during your university
studies. Tick the ones that you think you’ll encounter.

Blogs Novels
Journal articles Biographies
Newspaper article Textbook
Books Encyclopaedias
Web pages Study guide
Seminar papers Academic posters
Why do you think you will use these types of texts?

You will soon notice that as a Education student, you will be expected to
read a large number of texts. When you are reading for your course, you
need to make sure you are actively involved with the text. It is a waste of
time to passively read as you do for leisure.

Task 3.2.2
Reflect on the questions in the table to gauge your level of interaction with
text.
• Tick the boxes which apply to you, and be prepared to share your
thoughts with the class during your weekly in class lesson:
Tick
1 Do you know exactly what you are looking
for while reading academic texts?
2 Are you able to identify the purpose for
your reading before you start to read?
3 When you find relevant information from a
text, do you know what to do with it?
 4 Can you select important and/or relevant
information for your purpose?
5 Can you pick out key words and /or
information?
6 Do you vary your approach to reading a
text depending on the nature of the task?

Reading is an active engagement between you and the author through the
mode of a text. The author of the text is most often trying to persuade your
thinking. Thus, it is imperative for you to continually question and engage
the texts you read. One way to do that is to understand the features on the
text that is in front of you if you are to engage successfully. Read through
the table in the grey block and proceed to watch the two videos. Please
take notes of information that seem useful to you or that you think is
important in the space provided after the video or underline/highlight
information in the table that you also see in the video
Please note: We are not going to cover all text features in all texts. We will
discover certain features that you can use to identify trends in any text.
Task 3.2.3

Text features: navigation aids

Navigating texts may sometime seem tricky, however, knowing the

purpose of different text features will help you access the information in
the text, and aid your understanding of the text. There are a number of
things that an author will use to help you gather the information you need
to focus on the text and set goals for your reading, below are a few
features you can look at:
Text
Purpose
feature
Title Tells the reader what information they will learn about
Table of Shows the reader the different section titles and where
contents they are located
Directs the reader in the text to find specific
Index
information on a topic, or word
Provides important vocabulary and definitions for the
Glossary
reader to understand the text
Headings/ Help the reader to identify the main idea for that
subtitles section of the text

Sidebars/
Help elaborate or provide additional detail related to
grey the text
boxes
Pictures/ Help the reader visualize real events, steps or objects
Captions described in the text

Labelled Allow readers to see detailed depictions of an object

from the text with labels that teach the important
diagrams components
Charts
Represent and show data related to, or elaborated on,
and
something in the main body of text
graphs
Help a reader locate a place in the world that is related
Maps to the text, and quickly understand the relative location
of something in the text
Signals important vocabulary or phrases that are
Bold print
integral to understanding the content of the text
 Indicates proper nouns and important vocabulary that
Italics the reader should take note of when reading (similar to
bold print)
Bullets Summarises or lists information in a text
Helps the reader visualise something in the text in both
large and small scale, in combination with the large
Inset
picture. (e.g. a zoomed in picture of South Africa in the
corner of a picture of the map of Africa)
Allows the reader to see all the layers of whatever is
Cross
described in the text (e.g. an apple that has been cut
section
into two – so you can see what the inside looks like)
Allows the reader to understand when events in the
Timeline
main body of text occurred relative to other events

Note: Remember to keep your assignment brief/ questions in hand when

reading. You are ultimately looking for the answer to this brief and so it
will help you find the relevant information you need

How to question while reading:

Questions help your mind engage and concentrate on your reading task,
because you are actively looking for answers to the questions. The
following example questions will help you improve your comprehension as
you actively search for answers to your questions.
Title

Read the title to help prepare for the subject of discussion.

Questions you can ask while reading the title:

o What is the title?
o What do I already know about the topic?
o What do I think I will be reading about?

Headings
Notice the boldface headings to see the structure of the text.

Questions you can ask while reading the headings:

o What do I think I will be reading about?
o What questions do I have based on the heading that are likely
to be answered in the text?

Introduction
Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are
the key points.

Questions you can ask when reading the introduction:

o What does the introduction tell me I will be reading about?
 o Do I know anything about this topic already?

First and last sentence in the paragraph

Read the first and the last sentence in a paragraph to identify the
main idea of the paragraph.

Questions you can ask when reading the first and the last sentence of the
paragraph:
o What do I think the section will be about based on the first and
last sentence in each paragraph?

Visuals and vocabulary

Notice any maps, graphs or charts – they are there for a purpose.

Questions you can ask while looking at visuals and vocabulary

o What can I learn from the visual/s in the text?
o How do the visual/s help me to better understand the meaning
in the text?
o Is there a list of key vocabulary terms that I can use?
o Do I know what the boldfaced word/s mean?
o Why is this particular word bolded?
o Can I distinguish between the meaning of the boldface word/s
and the rest of the sentence?
It is important to ask yourself why you are reading a text, and what you
want to get out of the exercise so that you read with a specific focus in
mind.

Watch the two videos on how to actively engage with your reading. The first
one introduces you to the use of text features. The second one takes you
on a guided tour of a journal article.

Link 1: youtube.com/watch?v=6pPqGH6PMcE: Introduction to the use of

text features. Remember to take notes.
Link 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm0bbH45ie0 : Guided tour of a
journal article

Now, do the following activity. You can use your notes and the
information in the grey block to help you.

Task 3.2.4

Study the following insert taken from an academic writing textbook and
answer the questions.
(Bailey, S. 2011. Academic Writing A Handbook for International
Students. 3rd Ed. New York: Routledge)

• List all of the text features you can see on this page.
 • Based on the text features on this page, what do you think the
chapter will be about?

• Which text feature was most useful in helping you understand the
text? Why?

• Which text feature was least helpful to you in understanding the

text? Why?

Now that you can identify texts that might help you in your research. It is
time to consider how to take notes when reading.
LESSON 3.2: BASIC NOTETAKING AND INFORMATION
ORGANISATION
Lesson aims:

• Identify key points in an academic text

• Distinguish between good and bad notes

• Create effective notes on a basic level

Task 3.2.1

Think about the following questions and write your thoughts in the spaces provided:

• What is the purpose of taking notes?

• Try to mention a few note-taking strategies that you may have used at school.

• Do you ever take notes in your content courses? Why?

• Have you ever studied for a test using your notes? If so, to what extent did it help?
 Basic note-taking:
Note-taking can be defined as:

• the practice of recording information captured from another source. By taking notes,
the writer records the essence of the information, freeing their mind from having to
recall everything. Notes are commonly drawn from a transient source, such as an oral
discussion at a meeting, a lecture or from reading material.

This include:

• Linear notes: Notes are written on a page one line after the other
• Annotations : Notes that you can write next to a text or diagram.

In this lesson, we’re going to learn how to write notes based on the key information of an
academic text.

First, you are going to attempt to take notes of an extract from The Frequency of Motor Neuron
Stimulation.

After learning some note-taking strategies, you will write your own notes, based on the same
extract and then compare it with your first attempt.

Task 3.2.2

Study the following assignment brief/prompt and answer the following questions

Discuss the development of Gen AI and provide suitable and relevant examples to
support your discussion.

• What information does the question require you to find in order to provide an insightful
answer?

• How do you think you will find this information in a text? In other words, how will you
determine if the text is relevant for your assignment?
Article extract:

A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence

1 The birth of AI

Before heading to the discussion about generative AI, let’s take a moment and look at the
development of AI as a whole. Many scientists from different fields were involved in the
exploration of artificial intelligence at the beginning of the 20th century. Perhaps one of the
most famous was the highly acclaimed mathematician Alan Turing. He has been involved with
the challenge of artificial intelligence since at least 1941. Turing made one of his earliest
mentions of "intelligent machinery" in 1947. In an eponymous paper, Turing explored the
question of whether a machine could detect rational behaviour.

In his 1950 paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Alan Turing poses the question "Can
machines think?". This seminal work in the field of artificial intelligence proposed the idea of
the Turing Test. The test requires a person to interact with a computer and a human being. The
person must determine, based on their answers to certain questions, whether they are talking
to a human or a machine. The program's task is to trick the person into believing that they are
having a conversation with a human being.

AI was born in 1956 when a workshop called The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on
Artificial Intelligence was held. Researchers from different fields of science, including
linguistics, philosophy and computer science, came together. They debated the potential of
computing machines to simulate reasoning, intelligence, and creative processes. Among other
events at the workshop, John McCarthy, an American computer scientist, proposed a name for
a new academic discipline: artificial intelligence.

Considerable progress was made over the next decades. Machines were becoming more
affordable, cheaper, faster, and capable of storing more information. Machine learning (ML)
algorithms were also improving. Arthur Samuel introduced the machine learning term in 1959
with the first self-learning program created to play checkers, which could independently play
on its own.

In the late 1950s, Frank Rosenblatt introduced the perceptron. It could be described as the first
ever operational realization of a neural network. A perceptron represents a basic ML model
that was designed to aid computers in learning from a diverse range of data.

In the 1960s, John McCarthy developed the LISP programming language for artificial
intelligence tasks. In the same decade, the first expert systems were developed to model a
human's knowledge in a certain field. For example, Dendral is the first AI expert system for the
purpose of identifying the molecular structure of an unknown organic compound.

Among the first functioning examples of generative AI, the ELIZA chatbot was created in 1961
by British scientist Joseph Weizenbaum. It was the first talking computer program that
simulated the work of a psychotherapist and could communicate with a human in a natural
language.

In the 1960s and 70s, research on the application of computer vision and the utilization of
some basic recognition patterns was carried out. More advanced expert systems were
developed during this period. For example, the MYCIN software for diagnosing bacteria that
cause serious diseases. By the late 1970s and during the 1980s, the invention of AI was on the
decline due to reduced funding.

2 The rise of AI: deep learning and generative AI

In the 1990s and 2000s, computer processing capacity has substantially grown. The DeepBlue
chess computer system defeated the world chess champion in 1997, and Dragon Systems
created NaturallySpeaking, the first publicly available voice recognition system.

The rise of the Internet led to what has become an explosion in the amount of data being
collected and processed. In the 2000s, the processing power of computing machines has
reached the level essential for dealing with enormous data flows. New technologies and
concepts have emerged that support the development of artificial intelligence.

Machine learning, neural networks, and deep learning have become more widely accessible
and have given new opportunities to develop smarter and responsive systems. Deep learning
has been growing particularly fast in the 2010s. It is a type of machine learning that employs
multi-layered neural networks that self-train on a large dataset.

Despite the fact that the first mentions of deep learning date back to the 1940s and 1950s,
powerful computers were not available in those times and the amount of available data was
too limited for a full-scale development of deep learning systems. Such rapid progress in the
2010s was facilitated by the growing GPU computing power and the emergence of
convolutional neural networks.

Modern generative AI is based mainly on deep learning technique, therefore generative AI also
started rapidly developing in the 2010s.

3 First generative AI

As was already mentioned, one of the first primitive generative AI was ELIZA. It was a text chat
bot created in the 1960s by Joseph Weizenbaum. ELIZA was one of the first examples of Natural
Language Processing (NLP) and mimicked the work of a psychotherapist and could
communicate with humans in natural language.

ELIZA followed a simple pattern of recognizing keywords in text to later generate programmed
generic responses. The chatbot's ability to communicate created an impression that the
machine could understand human speech. However, the machine interpreted all words as
character data, without giving them meaning as a human does. According to the developer
ELIZA was just a parody of a psychotherapist and was completely non-intelligent.

Although it was quite primitive and relatively simple to implement compared to the chatbots
of future generations, ELIZA opened the path for subsequent advances in the Natural Language
Processing domain over the following decades.

4 Development of generative AI

Generative AI is a type of AI that can create realistic images and videos, generate text or music.
To achieve this, generative AI models are applied. The purpose of such models is to generate
new samples from what was already in the training data.

Some of the first generative models were Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and Gaussian
Mixture Models (GMMs) that were devised in the 1950s. They produced successive pieces of
data, such as speech. For instance, for HMMs, one of the first applications was speech
recognition. The productivity of generative models, though, significantly boosted only after the
rise of deep learning.

In the field of natural language processing, recurrent neural networks (RNNs), which were
introduced in the late 1980s, are used for language modeling tasks. RNNs can model relatively
long dependencies and allow generating longer sentences. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM),
a kind of recurrent neural network, was later developed.

One of the fundamental breakthroughs in generative AI is the creation of Generative

Adversarial Networks (GANs) in 2014 by an American computer scientist Ian Goodfellow. It is
an unsupervised machine learning algorithm that engages two neural networks that are in
competition with each other. One network is a generative model that generates content and
the other is discriminative that tries to figure out whether it is an authentic sample or not.

The success of one network invariably implies the defeat of the other and vice versa. The
generator learns to maximize the discriminator's probability of error. On the other hand, the
discriminator tries to minimize the probability of its error. The generator will eventually
generate high resolution images that cannot be distinguished by the discriminator from the
real images after several thousand attempts.
This method and other methods, such as variational autoencoders (VAE) and diffusion models,
developed around the same time have greatly contributed to the improvement of the image
generation process.

Another type of model that has played a significant role in the development of generative AI is
the transformer architecture model. It's a deep neural network algorithm presented only
recently back in 2017. Transformers have powered many generative models in various
domains. Similar to recurrent neural networks (RNNs), transformers are intended to process
sequences such as natural language text.

The transformer architecture is applied in NLP, which has led to the creation of large language
models such as BERT and GPT. Vision transformer is a combination of visual features and
transformer architecture to complete computer vision (CV) tasks.

5 Recent breakthroughs

Natural language processing

A major breakthrough in generative AI and, in particular, in the development of NPL was the
introduction of GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) models. In 2018, the first version of
GPT was created by OpenAI.

It is a neural network that employs deep learning architecture to generate text, engage in
conversations with a user and fulfill various language tasks. Its creation marked a turning point
in the widespread use of machine learning. We can now apply this technology to automate
and refine a diverse variety of tasks, from text translation and writing promotional materials
to coding and researching complex topics. The value of such models resides in its processing
speed and scale that it can operate at.

GPT is a large language model built using a transformer algorithm that is trained in a self-
supervised mode on a heap of textual data from the Internet. The model performs a language
modeling task, i.e. predicts the next word (or part of a word) given the previous context. In
2023, GPT 4 was released, capable of generating up to 25,000 words of text, which is a
significant improvement over previous versions.

Deep learning text-to-image models

At the beginning of the current decade, several AI engines have come to light and become
breakthroughs in photorealism.

DALL-E is a machine learning model created in 2021 by OpenAI that generates photorealistic
images from textual descriptions. GPT-3 has become the foundation for the creation of DALL-
E in 2021. It is capable of generating high-quality and realistic images, as well as being able to
 perform some additional functions, such as adding, replacing, or removing certain objects, or
generating alternative variants of a given image according to a textual description. The
important aspect is that the model is continuously trained on new data.

The DALL-E algorithm incorporates three neural networks:

1. CLIP (Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training) is responsible for recognizing text and

creating a sketch of the future image;

2. GLIDE is responsible for converting the sketch into a final low-resolution image;

3. The third neural network is responsible for increasing the resolution of the AI-
generated art and adding additional details.

Stable Diffusion, released in 2022, is an open-source neural network by Stability.ai that allows
you to generate images based on text prompts. It allows people to create stunning AI art in a
short amount of time. It also assists in completing sketches and editing the original images.
Stable Diffusion relies on a diffusion model that generates images from random noise. It is
trained to remove unnecessary parts from a sample image step by step, producing a result
after a few stages of processing. This algorithm works by successively adding noise to the
original image and gradually transforming it into photorealistic images or art.

Another generative AI tool for image creation is the Midjourney neural network, created in
2022. Midjourney is powered by speech recognition algorithms and image-generating
algorithms. Simply put, it can recognize printed text and convert it into images. Midjourney is
a diffusion neural network that, like Stable Diffusion, creates images from noise. It is renowned
for being amazingly easy to use to generate artistic images with lots of finely detailed features.

Toloko, 2023. History of generative AI [Online]/ Available at: https://toloka.ai/blog/history-of-

generative-ai/ Accessed on: 12 Nov, 2024.

Keeping the question in mind, try to skim for the information you need from the extract, then jot
down notes in your own style of the extract in the space below.
 • Did you write in full sentences? If so, do you think this is a good strategy?

• Do you think your notes will be useful in a month’s time? Support your answer.

• How do you think you can improve on your notes?

Task 3.2.3

Abbreviations

When a person has to take notes, it is important to realise that there is rarely enough time to
copy every single word that is said. Therefore, a person should concentrate only on the main
ideas of what is being said or read and write them down. It is, thus, more effective to make use
of abbreviated words and symbols when taking notes

.
 1. Study the following commonly used words and phrases and create abbreviations or
symbols for each of them.
a. Approximately ________________________________
b. Increase and decrease ________________________________
c. Introduction ________________________________
d. And ________________________________
e. Because ________________________________
f. At ________________________________
g. Example ________________________________
h. Therefore ________________________________
i. As a result of ________________________________
j. For example ________________________________

Now compare your abbreviations with the student that sits next to you.

• Do their abbreviations make sense to? Support your answer.

Task 3.2.4

Keep the above example in mind, and try to rewrite your notes again on in the space provided
on the next page.

4.1 How do your new notes compare to your previous notes? How did they improve?.

Task 3.2.5

Reflection
• Write a small reflection in terms of what you learned and how you could apply it in your
future studies.

• Notes on “The Frequency of Motor Neuron Stimulation”

 Lesson aims:

• Identify various forms of graphic organisers

• Organise your linear notes
• Use notes to write meaning in your own words
• Understand how to apply in-text referencing to your writing

Task 3.2.6

Think about the following questions and answer the questions below:

• What do you know about a graphic organiser?

• Why do you think it is important to have the ability to make use of graphic organisers in
a Higher education environment?

Graphic organisers:

• A graphic organiser helps to put your notes in a structured and visual format, so that
you can clearly see the relationships between certain concepts within a learning task.
• Examples of graphic organisers include tree diagrams, venn diagrams, timelines
amongst others.
In this lesson, we’re going to learn about the different forms of graphic organisers, as well as
various forms of information associated with these various graphic organisers. In addition, you
will also learn how to select the best-suited note-taking strategy according to the information
provide by a specific text.

Task 3.2.7

There is a variety of graphic organisers that can be used to organise your notes, each serving a
different function.

• Try to match the type of graphic organiser with the correct name.

Name of graphic organiser Number of diagram

A) Headings and notes

B) Time line

C) Tree diagram

D) Sequence of events

E) Venn diagram

F) Two column

G) Cause and Effect

Number 1

DATE

DATE

DATE
Number 2

Pros Cons

Number 3

Number 4

A
•a

B
•b
Number 5

Number 6

Number 7
Task 3.3.8

We are now going to practice this specific skill. Read the following text and then decide which
the most appropriate graphic organiser for this particular information would be. Draw and
complete your choice of graphic organiser in the space provided. This should be submitted for
assessment at the end of the class.

The Frequency of Motor Neuron Stimulation

A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence

1 The birth of AI

Before heading to the discussion about generative AI, let’s take a moment and look at the
development of AI as a whole. Many scientists from different fields were involved in the exploration
of artificial intelligence at the beginning of the 20th century. Perhaps one of the most famous was
the highly acclaimed mathematician Alan Turing. He has been involved with the challenge of
artificial intelligence since at least 1941. Turing made one of his earliest mentions of "intelligent
machinery" in 1947. In an eponymous paper, Turing explored the question of whether a machine
could detect rational behaviour.

In his 1950 paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Alan Turing poses the question "Can
machines think?". This seminal work in the field of artificial intelligence proposed the idea of the
Turing Test. The test requires a person to interact with a computer and a human being. The person
must determine, based on their answers to certain questions, whether they are talking to a human
or a machine. The program's task is to trick the person into believing that they are having a
conversation with a human being.

AI was born in 1956 when a workshop called The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial
Intelligence was held. Researchers from different fields of science, including linguistics, philosophy
and computer science, came together. They debated the potential of computing machines to
simulate reasoning, intelligence, and creative processes. Among other events at the workshop,
John McCarthy, an American computer scientist, proposed a name for a new academic discipline:
artificial intelligence.

Considerable progress was made over the next decades. Machines were becoming more
affordable, cheaper, faster, and capable of storing more information. Machine learning (ML)
algorithms were also improving. Arthur Samuel introduced the machine learning term in 1959 with
the first self-learning program created to play checkers, which could independently play on its own.
In the late 1950s, Frank Rosenblatt introduced the perceptron. It could be described as the first
ever operational realization of a neural network. A perceptron represents a basic ML model that
was designed to aid computers in learning from a diverse range of data.

In the 1960s, John McCarthy developed the LISP programming language for artificial intelligence
tasks. In the same decade, the first expert systems were developed to model a human's knowledge
in a certain field. For example, Dendral is the first AI expert system for the purpose of identifying
the molecular structure of an unknown organic compound.

Among the first functioning examples of generative AI, the ELIZA chatbot was created in 1961 by
British scientist Joseph Weizenbaum. It was the first talking computer program that simulated the
work of a psychotherapist and could communicate with a human in a natural language.

In the 1960s and 70s, research on the application of computer vision and the utilization of some
basic recognition patterns was carried out. More advanced expert systems were developed during
this period. For example, the MYCIN software for diagnosing bacteria that cause serious diseases.
By the late 1970s and during the 1980s, the invention of AI was on the decline due to reduced
funding.

2 The rise of AI: deep learning and generative AI

In the 1990s and 2000s, computer processing capacity has substantially grown. The DeepBlue chess
computer system defeated the world chess champion in 1997, and Dragon Systems created
NaturallySpeaking, the first publicly available voice recognition system.

The rise of the Internet led to what has become an explosion in the amount of data being collected
and processed. In the 2000s, the processing power of computing machines has reached the level
essential for dealing with enormous data flows. New technologies and concepts have emerged that
support the development of artificial intelligence.

Machine learning, neural networks, and deep learning have become more widely accessible and
have given new opportunities to develop smarter and responsive systems. Deep learning has been
growing particularly fast in the 2010s. It is a type of machine learning that employs multi-layered
neural networks that self-train on a large dataset.

Despite the fact that the first mentions of deep learning date back to the 1940s and 1950s, powerful
computers were not available in those times and the amount of available data was too limited for
a full-scale development of deep learning systems. Such rapid progress in the 2010s was facilitated
by the growing GPU computing power and the emergence of convolutional neural networks.
Modern generative AI is based mainly on deep learning technique, therefore generative AI also
started rapidly developing in the 2010s.

3 First generative AI

As was already mentioned, one of the first primitive generative AI was ELIZA. It was a text chat bot
created in the 1960s by Joseph Weizenbaum. ELIZA was one of the first examples of Natural
Language Processing (NLP) and mimicked the work of a psychotherapist and could communicate
with humans in natural language.

ELIZA followed a simple pattern of recognizing keywords in text to later generate programmed
generic responses. The chatbot's ability to communicate created an impression that the machine
could understand human speech. However, the machine interpreted all words as character data,
without giving them meaning as a human does. According to the developer ELIZA was just a parody
of a psychotherapist and was completely non-intelligent.

Although it was quite primitive and relatively simple to implement compared to the chatbots of
future generations, ELIZA opened the path for subsequent advances in the Natural Language
Processing domain over the following decades.

4 Development of generative AI

Generative AI is a type of AI that can create realistic images and videos, generate text or music. To
achieve this, generative AI models are applied. The purpose of such models is to generate new
samples from what was already in the training data.

Some of the first generative models were Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and Gaussian Mixture
Models (GMMs) that were devised in the 1950s. They produced successive pieces of data, such as
speech. For instance, for HMMs, one of the first applications was speech recognition. The
productivity of generative models, though, significantly boosted only after the rise of deep learning.

In the field of natural language processing, recurrent neural networks (RNNs), which were
introduced in the late 1980s, are used for language modeling tasks. RNNs can model relatively long
dependencies and allow generating longer sentences. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), a kind of
recurrent neural network, was later developed.

One of the fundamental breakthroughs in generative AI is the creation of Generative Adversarial

Networks (GANs) in 2014 by an American computer scientist Ian Goodfellow. It is an unsupervised
machine learning algorithm that engages two neural networks that are in competition with each
other. One network is a generative model that generates content and the other is discriminative
that tries to figure out whether it is an authentic sample or not.

The success of one network invariably implies the defeat of the other and vice versa. The generator
learns to maximize the discriminator's probability of error. On the other hand, the discriminator
tries to minimize the probability of its error. The generator will eventually generate high resolution
images that cannot be distinguished by the discriminator from the real images after several
thousand attempts.

This method and other methods, such as variational autoencoders (VAE) and diffusion models,
developed around the same time have greatly contributed to the improvement of the image
generation process.

Another type of model that has played a significant role in the development of generative AI is the
transformer architecture model. It's a deep neural network algorithm presented only recently back
in 2017. Transformers have powered many generative models in various domains. Similar to
recurrent neural networks (RNNs), transformers are intended to process sequences such as natural
language text.

The transformer architecture is applied in NLP, which has led to the creation of large language
models such as BERT and GPT. Vision transformer is a combination of visual features and
transformer architecture to complete computer vision (CV) tasks.

5 Recent breakthroughs

Natural language processing

A major breakthrough in generative AI and, in particular, in the development of NPL was the
introduction of GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) models. In 2018, the first version of GPT
was created by OpenAI.

It is a neural network that employs deep learning architecture to generate text, engage in
conversations with a user and fulfill various language tasks. Its creation marked a turning point in
the widespread use of machine learning. We can now apply this technology to automate and refine
a diverse variety of tasks, from text translation and writing promotional materials to coding and
researching complex topics. The value of such models resides in its processing speed and scale that
it can operate at.

GPT is a large language model built using a transformer algorithm that is trained in a self-supervised
mode on a heap of textual data from the Internet. The model performs a language modeling task,
i.e. predicts the next word (or part of a word) given the previous context. In 2023, GPT 4 was
released, capable of generating up to 25,000 words of text, which is a significant improvement over
previous versions.

Deep learning text-to-image models

At the beginning of the current decade, several AI engines have come to light and become
breakthroughs in photorealism.

DALL-E is a machine learning model created in 2021 by OpenAI that generates photorealistic images
from textual descriptions. GPT-3 has become the foundation for the creation of DALL-E in 2021. It
is capable of generating high-quality and realistic images, as well as being able to perform some
additional functions, such as adding, replacing, or removing certain objects, or generating
alternative variants of a given image according to a textual description. The important aspect is that
the model is continuously trained on new data.

The DALL-E algorithm incorporates three neural networks:

1. CLIP (Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training) is responsible for recognizing text and

creating a sketch of the future image;

2. GLIDE is responsible for converting the sketch into a final low-resolution image;

3. The third neural network is responsible for increasing the resolution of the AI-generated art
and adding additional details.

Stable Diffusion, released in 2022, is an open-source neural network by Stability.ai that allows you
to generate images based on text prompts. It allows people to create stunning AI art in a short
amount of time. It also assists in completing sketches and editing the original images. Stable
Diffusion relies on a diffusion model that generates images from random noise. It is trained to
remove unnecessary parts from a sample image step by step, producing a result after a few stages
of processing. This algorithm works by successively adding noise to the original image and gradually
transforming it into photorealistic images or art.

Another generative AI tool for image creation is the Midjourney neural network, created in 2022.
Midjourney is powered by speech recognition algorithms and image-generating algorithms. Simply
put, it can recognize printed text and convert it into images. Midjourney is a diffusion neural
network that, like Stable Diffusion, creates images from noise. It is renowned for being amazingly
easy to use to generate artistic images with lots of finely detailed features.
 Graphic organiser:

Task 4

Reflection

• Write a short reflection in terms of what you learned and how you could apply it in your
future studies.
LESSON 3.3: SUMMARISING AND PARAPHRASING
Lesson aims:

• Understand the purpose of summarising and paraphrasing a text

• Identify key information in a complex reading

• Write a summary of an academic text

• Learn why and how to paraphrase

• Learn strategies to paraphrase successfully

• Practice paraphrasing

Task 3.3.1

Answer the following question:

• Do you remember some strategies that helped you identify important information in a
reading?

• Write a short description of notetaking and also mention the importance thereof at
university.

• Try and formulate a definition for the term paraphrasing

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________
 • Try to formulate a definition of the term summarising.

Task 3.3.2

Before we discuss the concept of summarising in more detail, I would like you to try and write a
summary on your own. Read the following text, Development and Regeneration of Muscle
Tissue, summarise the most important and relevant information in the space provided.

The Frequency of Motor Neuron Stimulation

A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence

1 The birth of AI

Before heading to the discussion about generative AI, let’s take a moment and look at the
development of AI as a whole. Many scientists from different fields were involved in the
exploration of artificial intelligence at the beginning of the 20th century. Perhaps one of the
most famous was the highly acclaimed mathematician Alan Turing. He has been involved with
the challenge of artificial intelligence since at least 1941. Turing made one of his earliest
mentions of "intelligent machinery" in 1947. In an eponymous paper, Turing explored the
question of whether a machine could detect rational behaviour.

In his 1950 paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Alan Turing poses the question "Can
machines think?". This seminal work in the field of artificial intelligence proposed the idea of
the Turing Test. The test requires a person to interact with a computer and a human being. The
person must determine, based on their answers to certain questions, whether they are talking
to a human or a machine. The program's task is to trick the person into believing that they are
having a conversation with a human being.

AI was born in 1956 when a workshop called The Dartmouth Summer Research Project on
Artificial Intelligence was held. Researchers from different fields of science, including
linguistics, philosophy and computer science, came together. They debated the potential of
computing machines to simulate reasoning, intelligence, and creative processes. Among other
events at the workshop, John McCarthy, an American computer scientist, proposed a name for
a new academic discipline: artificial intelligence.

Considerable progress was made over the next decades. Machines were becoming more
affordable, cheaper, faster, and capable of storing more information. Machine learning (ML)
algorithms were also improving. Arthur Samuel introduced the machine learning term in 1959
with the first self-learning program created to play checkers, which could independently play
on its own.

In the late 1950s, Frank Rosenblatt introduced the perceptron. It could be described as the first
ever operational realization of a neural network. A perceptron represents a basic ML model
that was designed to aid computers in learning from a diverse range of data.

In the 1960s, John McCarthy developed the LISP programming language for artificial
intelligence tasks. In the same decade, the first expert systems were developed to model a
human's knowledge in a certain field. For example, Dendral is the first AI expert system for the
purpose of identifying the molecular structure of an unknown organic compound.

Among the first functioning examples of generative AI, the ELIZA chatbot was created in 1961
by British scientist Joseph Weizenbaum. It was the first talking computer program that
simulated the work of a psychotherapist and could communicate with a human in a natural
language.

In the 1960s and 70s, research on the application of computer vision and the utilization of
some basic recognition patterns was carried out. More advanced expert systems were
developed during this period. For example, the MYCIN software for diagnosing bacteria that
cause serious diseases. By the late 1970s and during the 1980s, the invention of AI was on the
decline due to reduced funding.

2 The rise of AI: deep learning and generative AI

In the 1990s and 2000s, computer processing capacity has substantially grown. The DeepBlue
chess computer system defeated the world chess champion in 1997, and Dragon Systems
created NaturallySpeaking, the first publicly available voice recognition system.

The rise of the Internet led to what has become an explosion in the amount of data being
collected and processed. In the 2000s, the processing power of computing machines has
reached the level essential for dealing with enormous data flows. New technologies and
concepts have emerged that support the development of artificial intelligence.

Machine learning, neural networks, and deep learning have become more widely accessible
and have given new opportunities to develop smarter and responsive systems. Deep learning
has been growing particularly fast in the 2010s. It is a type of machine learning that employs
multi-layered neural networks that self-train on a large dataset.

Despite the fact that the first mentions of deep learning date back to the 1940s and 1950s,
powerful computers were not available in those times and the amount of available data was
too limited for a full-scale development of deep learning systems. Such rapid progress in the
2010s was facilitated by the growing GPU computing power and the emergence of
convolutional neural networks.

Modern generative AI is based mainly on deep learning technique, therefore generative AI also
started rapidly developing in the 2010s.

3 First generative AI

As was already mentioned, one of the first primitive generative AI was ELIZA. It was a text chat
bot created in the 1960s by Joseph Weizenbaum. ELIZA was one of the first examples of Natural
Language Processing (NLP) and mimicked the work of a psychotherapist and could
communicate with humans in natural language.

ELIZA followed a simple pattern of recognizing keywords in text to later generate programmed
generic responses. The chatbot's ability to communicate created an impression that the
machine could understand human speech. However, the machine interpreted all words as
character data, without giving them meaning as a human does. According to the developer
ELIZA was just a parody of a psychotherapist and was completely non-intelligent.

Although it was quite primitive and relatively simple to implement compared to the chatbots
of future generations, ELIZA opened the path for subsequent advances in the Natural Language
Processing domain over the following decades.

4 Development of generative AI

Generative AI is a type of AI that can create realistic images and videos, generate text or music.
To achieve this, generative AI models are applied. The purpose of such models is to generate
new samples from what was already in the training data.

Some of the first generative models were Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and Gaussian
Mixture Models (GMMs) that were devised in the 1950s. They produced successive pieces of
data, such as speech. For instance, for HMMs, one of the first applications was speech
recognition. The productivity of generative models, though, significantly boosted only after the
rise of deep learning.

In the field of natural language processing, recurrent neural networks (RNNs), which were
introduced in the late 1980s, are used for language modeling tasks. RNNs can model relatively
long dependencies and allow generating longer sentences. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM),
a kind of recurrent neural network, was later developed.

One of the fundamental breakthroughs in generative AI is the creation of Generative

Adversarial Networks (GANs) in 2014 by an American computer scientist Ian Goodfellow. It is
an unsupervised machine learning algorithm that engages two neural networks that are in
competition with each other. One network is a generative model that generates content and
the other is discriminative that tries to figure out whether it is an authentic sample or not.

The success of one network invariably implies the defeat of the other and vice versa. The
generator learns to maximize the discriminator's probability of error. On the other hand, the
discriminator tries to minimize the probability of its error. The generator will eventually
generate high resolution images that cannot be distinguished by the discriminator from the
real images after several thousand attempts.

This method and other methods, such as variational autoencoders (VAE) and diffusion models,
developed around the same time have greatly contributed to the improvement of the image
generation process.

Another type of model that has played a significant role in the development of generative AI is
the transformer architecture model. It's a deep neural network algorithm presented only
recently back in 2017. Transformers have powered many generative models in various
domains. Similar to recurrent neural networks (RNNs), transformers are intended to process
sequences such as natural language text.

The transformer architecture is applied in NLP, which has led to the creation of large language
models such as BERT and GPT. Vision transformer is a combination of visual features and
transformer architecture to complete computer vision (CV) tasks.

5 Recent breakthroughs

Natural language processing

A major breakthrough in generative AI and, in particular, in the development of NPL was the
introduction of GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) models. In 2018, the first version of
GPT was created by OpenAI.

It is a neural network that employs deep learning architecture to generate text, engage in
conversations with a user and fulfill various language tasks. Its creation marked a turning point
in the widespread use of machine learning. We can now apply this technology to automate
and refine a diverse variety of tasks, from text translation and writing promotional materials
to coding and researching complex topics. The value of such models resides in its processing
speed and scale that it can operate at.

GPT is a large language model built using a transformer algorithm that is trained in a self-
supervised mode on a heap of textual data from the Internet. The model performs a language
modeling task, i.e. predicts the next word (or part of a word) given the previous context. In
2023, GPT 4 was released, capable of generating up to 25,000 words of text, which is a
significant improvement over previous versions.

Deep learning text-to-image models

At the beginning of the current decade, several AI engines have come to light and become
breakthroughs in photorealism.

DALL-E is a machine learning model created in 2021 by OpenAI that generates photorealistic
images from textual descriptions. GPT-3 has become the foundation for the creation of DALL-
E in 2021. It is capable of generating high-quality and realistic images, as well as being able to
perform some additional functions, such as adding, replacing, or removing certain objects, or
generating alternative variants of a given image according to a textual description. The
important aspect is that the model is continuously trained on new data.

The DALL-E algorithm incorporates three neural networks:

1. CLIP (Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training) is responsible for recognizing text and

creating a sketch of the future image;

2. GLIDE is responsible for converting the sketch into a final low-resolution image;

3. The third neural network is responsible for increasing the resolution of the AI-
generated art and adding additional details.

Stable Diffusion, released in 2022, is an open-source neural network by Stability.ai that allows
you to generate images based on text prompts. It allows people to create stunning AI art in a
short amount of time. It also assists in completing sketches and editing the original images.
Stable Diffusion relies on a diffusion model that generates images from random noise. It is
trained to remove unnecessary parts from a sample image step by step, producing a result
after a few stages of processing. This algorithm works by successively adding noise to the
original image and gradually transforming it into photorealistic images or art.

Another generative AI tool for image creation is the Midjourney neural network, created in
2022. Midjourney is powered by speech recognition algorithms and image-generating
algorithms. Simply put, it can recognize printed text and convert it into images. Midjourney is
a diffusion neural network that, like Stable Diffusion, creates images from noise. It is renowned
for being amazingly easy to use to generate artistic images with lots of finely detailed features.
Task 3.3.3

Before we get started let us first discuss what a summary and a paraphrase is.

Paraphrasing:

Paraphrasing involves writing a passage of an original text in your own words without
changing its meaning. In other words, you are expressing someone else’s idea in your own
words. In this way, you are showing that you understand what the author is saying, and also
clarifying what was mentioned by a certain text or spoken word. Always remember, if you
paraphrase someone else’s’ idea, you can still be guilty of plagiarism, so it will still be
necessary to cite the author.

Strategies for paraphrasing

■ When you paraphrase, you take someone else’s ideas and put it in your own words.
When paraphrasing, focus on the meaning of the text rather than the words. A
strategy you can use is the SASOOFA techniqye:

■ Synonyms
■ Active to passive voice (change)
■ Start at a new place
■ One word for a phrase / a phrase for one word
■ Omitting unnecessary details
■ Order / structure (change)
■ Form of certain words (change)
■ Author (reference)

.
Do not change concept words, special terms or proper nouns, and use the above strategies
together. If you just make use of synonyms, it still constitutes plagiarism.

• Paraphrasing NB: Take your audience into account –– accurate simplifying information
Please explain the following definition to a person that is not completely proficient in English:

Generative artificial intelligence (generative AI, GenAI, or GAI) is a subset of artificial intelligence
that uses generative models to produce text, images, videos, or other forms of data. These
models often generate output in response to specific prompts. Generative AI systems learn the
underlying patterns and structures of their training data, enabling them to create new data

What is a summary:
Summarising is an important study skill that students should acquire to enhance their success
at university, especially with the vast amounts of study material that they need to read. The
main idea behind a summary is to reduce an entire text to only a couple of sentences that
contain the main ideas of a text. It is important to remember that when you summarise to
write the ideas down in your own words. Try to use every day, spoken vocabulary, because the
familiar language will help you study.
A summary is characterised by the following:

• It provides an overview of the text.

• It only contains the main ideas and important information from the text.
• The author of the text’s ideas are expressed in your own words.
• Only technical terms are kept as is, otherwise all the other ideas should be summarised
by using different sentence structures and vocabulary.
Since we only present the author’s main ideas in our summaries, a summary will be
shorter than the original text. It is important to know that a good summary:

 Indicates what the text is called and by whom it was written.

 States the main purpose of the text in the first sentence.
 Synthesizes the writer’s key ideas in the form of a paragraph.
 Presents the information neutrally. Therefore, it does not include the reader’s
opinions, feelings, beliefs, counterarguments, etc.
 Is short. The idea of a summary is to present a condensed version of a text.
Adapted for educational purposes from: Burnell,C., Wood, J., Babin, M., Pesznecker, S.,
and Rosevear, N. (2022). Summarizing a Text. The Word on College Reading and
Writing.[Online], Available:
https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/wrd/chapter/summarizing-a-text/ [15 February
2023]

When you have to write a summary, keep the PILLAR strategy in mind:

Peruse the text Read the text in order to understand the author’s
argument. Ask yourself what the text is about.

Identify the key words Look for words that define what the text’s content is
about. This will help to determine what the topic of
the text is.

Locate the topic sentence Look for and highlight the sentence that contains
the main idea of the paragraph.

Leave unnecessary information Do not include elaborations, expansions, or

supporting ideas.

Articulate the idea in one Write the main idea in your own words.
sentence

Repeat Do this until you have summarised the whole text

• What is the difference between a paraphrase and a summary?

• What is the link between a summary and a paraphrase?

• As can be seen from the description of a summary, it is important to first identify the main
ideas of the text. How you would go about to identify this information.

• Go back to the text and highlight all the main ideas in the text. After you have done this,
swop books with the person sitting next to you and compare your texts.
• Is there any differences? If so, why?
 • Now that you have decided on your main ideas, compare the information that you have
just identified with the summary you wrote at the beginning of the lesson. Did you include
all the main ideas? Complete the table below.

I included about: Less than Between Between All

50% 50-75% 75-95%

Task 3.3.4

• Watch the video about paraphrasing below. Make notes of the information in the video
by completing the questions below.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SObGEcok06U

• Circle or highlight the relevant response

When you paraphrase, do you:

- use someone else’s ideas? Yes! / No

- use your own ideas? Yes! / No

- use someone else’s words? Yes! / No

- use your own word? Yes! / No

- use a source? Yes! / No

- insert references/citations? Yes! / No

• What is the danger of using a thesaurus when paraphrasing?

 • What do students sometimes do to paraphrase, that results in a bad paraphrase?

• What do students sometimes do to paraphrase that results in an okay paraphrase?

• What steps can you take to ensure you write a good paraphrase?

• May you keep the following words the same in your paraphrase?

- Technical terms Yes! / No

- Job titles Yes! / No

- Common vocabulary Yes! / No

- Unique phrases Yes! / No

- Special terms Yes! / No

 • What two methods to help you paraphrase effectively do the lady on the video suggest
at the end?

1.

2.

Task 3.3.5

Consider the following questions and write down your thoughts. Be prepared to share the answer
with your class.

• What is paraphrasing, and why is it important?

• Have you had to paraphrase before? When? Why?

In this lesson, we’re going to learn how to paraphrase academic texts making use of a set of
techniques.

First, you will learn various techniques to assist you with paraphrasing.

You will then be required to paraphrase a given text using the techniques you learnt throughout
the lesson.

Task 3.3.6

Look at part of the extract about transformational leadership included at the end of this lesson
and follow the prompts to attempt to paraphrase it. Remember that you are not trying to
summarise it (i.e. make it shorter), you are trying to put everything in the extract into your own
words (i.e. the length will roughly be the same).

According to Burns (1978) transformational leaders bear particular qualities and attributes that
could be used to bring about desired changes within an organisation. These visionary leaders
continuously engage themselves in lifelong learning and development and are able to deal with
challenging and complex situations even during times of uncertainty (Burns, 1978).

• Make some notes about the paragraph above. Write down some of the key words or your
understanding of the content. If you want to, make a drawing or illustrate the content in
a way that makes sense to you.
 • Now, use your notes and comments to write a paraphrase for the original paragraph.

Your paraphrase:

While a successful paraphrase hinges on a clear understanding of the original text (thus, the
meaning of the text and not so much the exact words), there are some grammatical
strategies that you can use to make the process easier. These include the following:

1. Replace words with synonyms

2. Switch around clauses

3. Make an active voice sentence into the passive voice (and vice versa)
 4. Break a long sentence into two sentences

5. Combine short sentences into one sentence

6. Try find different ways of expressing information (e.g. ‘people from all over the world’ can
become ‘international’ or ‘people from a variety of countries’).

Please note: You CANNOT just use one of these strategies to paraphrase. You should be
COMBINING a number of these strategies! You should always go back to considering the
original meaning of the text and what you intend to say with the paraphrase.

Today, we will focus on strategies 1 – 3, but will briefly look at 4 – 6.

Different methods for paraphrasing

1. Using synonyms and different word forms

Task 3.3.7

Study some of nouns taken from the extract (included in the block below) and complete the table
below by answering the following questions.

• What is the verb form of each word?

• What is the adjective form of each word?

• What is the business meaning of each word?

• What synonym can you give for each word?

According to Burns (1978) transformational leaders bear particular qualities and attributes that
could be used to bring about desired changes within an organisation. These visionary leaders
continuously engage themselves in lifelong learning and development and are able to deal with
challenging and complex situations even during times of uncertainty (Burns, 1978).
 Nouns Verb Adjective Marking/business Synonym
meaning

leaders

qualities

attributes

changes

organisation

development

Content word

Student A has paraphrased a part of the extract by changing the form of certain words. Student
B has paraphrased part of the extract by using synonyms.

Student A’s paraphrase

Leaders with this vision continue to learn and develop throughout their life and are
good at dealing with challenges and complex situations even during uncertain times.
(Burns, 1978).

Student B’s paraphrase

These idealistic leaders continuously employ themselves in permanent learning and

increase and are able to agreement with challenging and multifaceted situations
even during spells of improbability (Burns, 1978).

• Consider which you think is better, then report back to the class.
 • Do you think that using only synonyms is classified as paraphrasing? Why?

2. Switching clauses around

Task 3.3.8

We can paraphrase a sentence by switching around the clauses in a sentence. Before we see
examples of this, let’s first recap some key grammar structures.

Quick review: Components of a sentence

• Main subject: refers to the main idea, which is usually at the beginning of a sentence.

• Main verb: refers to the action or state of being of the main subject. It is usually located
straight after the main subject.

• Main object/compliment: is an object/idea to which the action is happening. Usually

located after the verb.

Example of basic sentence structure:

All the people at the gathering + discussed + politics throughout the night.

S V O

• Embedded clause: refers to an incomplete sentence that is located either in the

beginning of a sentence (participle clause) or within a sentence (relative clause).
 o Example of a sentence with a participle clause: As well as eating all the food,
all the people at the gathering discussed politics throughout the night.

o Example of a sentence with a relative clause: All the people at the gathering,
who were from all over the world, discussed politics throughout the night.

Please note: Clauses are incomplete sentences that are embedded in complete sentences. In
other words, if you remove a clause from a sentence, the sentence will still make grammatical
sense.

• Adverbial phrase: shows when, where, how, or why something happens

Example of a sentence with an adverbial phrase:

At the parliamentary building, all the people at the gathering discussed politics throughout the
night.

Look at the sentences below and find the subject, verb and object/compliment for each one.
Also, underline the embedded clauses and adverbial phrases that you may see.

• Strategic leaders re-design the organisation by re-allocating responsibilities where certain

people are moved from one section to another based on expertise.

• These leaders can identify school environmental issues that need to be changed,
redirected or strengthened to allow the vision to be rooted and realised.

• They can create tight fits to particular roles to develop, encourage and maintain
stakeholder relationships.
 Main Subject Main verb Main Embedded Adverbial
object/compliment clauses phrases

Student A and B have attempted to paraphrase a part of the by rearranging the above sentences.

Try to rewrite the sentences above by rearranging the order of the parts of the sentence.

• Strategic leaders re-design the organisation by re-allocating responsibilities where certain

people are moved from one section to another based on expertise.

• These leaders can identify school environmental issues that need to be changed,
redirected or strengthened to allow the vision to be rooted and realised.

• They can create tight fits to particular roles to develop, encourage and maintain
stakeholder relationships.
 • Do you think that only rearranging the sentence is classified as paraphrasing? Why?

3. Active and passive voice

• Active voice: In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs
the action.

Example of active voice:

All the people at the gathering discussed politics throughout the night.

S V O

• Passive voice: In a sentence written in the passive voice the subject receives the action.

Example of passive voice:

Politics was discussed by all the people at the gathering.

O V S

Task 3.3.9

Look at the following extract taken from Task 8.2

Look at how Student A paraphrased each sentence:

Extract:

Darbi (2012) considers the vision and mission statements as chief corner stones in every
organisational structure. When engaging in strategic planning processes, schools should involve
all stakeholders and properly identify and formulate the vision and mission statements. They
 should bear in mind that these contribute to the school’s image and “identity” (Ozdem, 2011).
It should guide the school’s strategic planning processes, future prospects and identification of
their customers.

Paraphrase:

The vision and mission statements are considered chief corner stones in every organisational
structure. When engaging in strategic planning processes, all stakeholders should be involved
and the vision and mission statements should be identified properly. Their contribution to the
school’s image and “identity” should be borne in mind. The school’s strategy planning processes,
future prospects and identification of their customers should also be guided by the vision and
mission statements.

• What do you notice about Student A’s paraphrase?

Now, look at the following sentences and convert them either from the passive voice to the active
voice or vice versa:

• The School Governing Bodies has been afforded power and authority to assist their
schools to deliver quality education

• Transformational leadership might tap in and empower followers psychologically by

utilising individualised consideration to boost self-worth and increase self-development.
 • These leaders can identify school environmental issues that need to be changed,
redirected or strengthened to allow the vision to be rooted and realised.

Task 9.7

Look at the following example of a good paraphrase. Why is this a good example?

Original text:

Transformational leadership has important effects at both individual and organizational levels.
At the individual level, transformational leadership positively relates to followers' individual
creativity. Psychological empowerment has been seen as a crucial psychological mechanism
through which transformational leadership influences employees' creativity.

Sample paraphrase:

Individuals and organisations are affected by transformational leadership. In terms of the

individual, employees’ individual creative processes are positively influenced by a
transformational leader. Workers’ creativity is mainly influenced by psychological empowerment
which is considered to be an important psychological mechanism to achieve this.

Write your notes about the paraphrase here:

Task 3.3.10

Look at the paraphrase you wrote at the start of the lesson. Now, go back and rewrite it based
on what you’ve learnt today.

Remember the following strategies:

1. Replace words with synonyms

2. Switch around clauses

3. Make an active voice sentence into the passive voice (and vice versa)

4. Break a long sentence into two sentences

5. Combine shorts sentences into one sentence

6. Try find different ways of expressing information (e.g. ‘people from all over the world’ can
become ‘international’ or ‘people from a variety of countries’).

Reflection

• Do you think the strategies you learned today will be useful in your other subjects? Why?

• What aspects of paraphrasing do you think you will struggle with and which ones do you
think will be easy master? Why?
LESSON 3.4 MAKING MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN
SOURCES
Lesson aims:

• Use a grid to take notes from academic texts

• Analyse the usefulness your own notes

• Extract key information from academic texts

• Use a synthesis matrix to begin synthesising key information from the texts

• Write a synthesised paragraph that directly responds to an assessment question

Task 8.1
Consider the following essay topic:
Describe some problems and solutions related to using social media as an educational tool in
tertiary education.
You have been given the three texts below to write your essay. You decide that you must read
the texts and TAKE NOTES while reading.

• Read Text 1 and take notes in the right-hand column.

Text 1: Challenges and Opportunities for use of Social Media in Higher Education
Anderson, T. 2019. Challenges and opportunities for use of social media in higher education.
Journal of Learning for Development, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 6-19.

Just as variation in tools and their application makes it Your notes

challenging to assess the general effectiveness and value of
social media, so, too, is identifying and assessing the
problems that use brings. There are many types of social
media and many ways in which they are used.
Notwithstanding this variance, researchers find much to be
concerned about (Regan, Jesse, & TalatKhwaja, 2018).
Critical thinkers have long suspected that the inherent
commercial bias of social media, with a business model
based upon promoting the consumption of advertised goods
and services, is anathema to educational use. This claim is
perhaps unfairly attributed to social media, given the
predominance of advertising revenue in all mass media used
in education — from many academic journals to newspapers
and television. However, no one wants to see the data trails
created by ourselves and our students exploited in ways that
lack informed consent and in addition are little understood
by teachers or students. On the other hand, we may find the
exchange of our time and our data is a small cost for an
obvious educational benefit.
Users consciously or unconsciously engage in an exchange
when consuming commercial media. We give our attention
to promoted goods or services and in return we receive
some value – perhaps a social or educational connection or
access to desired entertainment, news or learning
opportunity. As researcher Yuwei Lin summarizes, the
terabytes of data we generate in our interactions on these
platforms allows companies to “datafy”, quantify, track,
monitor, profile us and sell target adverts to haunt us. “(Lin,
2018).
As a personal example, I am tempted to eliminate my use of
both Facebook and Twitter. However, I value the insights
from others that are shared on particular Facebook groups
and the resources and ideas shared by those I follow on
Twitter. As a student, I appreciate the notifications that
prompt my participation and engagement in learning. Thus,
value is created at the cost of my attention. What value can
be extracted from the resulting data in the future is currently
unknown and of concern both for civil discourse and
personal and institutional privacy.
Despite these justifiable concerns, is the benefit to the
higher education institution of such value that they are
willing to give away the control over their data as well as that
generated by their staff and students? Are there any
alternatives? I conclude this article with a brief discussion of
two possible solutions. The first being the operation of social
media services owned by the institution itself, thus retaining
control and ensuring educational (and not commercial or
political) use of data. The second, looks more to the future
and the development of tools that allow a user to retain
 control over the data that they generate as they use select,
modify and enhance their learning experiences.

Summary

Look at your notes:

• Is it easy to tell what the key points of Text 1 were?

• Is it easy to tell what the overall message of the text was?

• Are these notes going to be useful to you in a month from now?

Task 8.2
Now, read Text 2 and 3.

• Underline the important information in each paragraph,

• Make notes along the side of the text (don’t use full sentences!),
 • Write a brief summary at the end.

Text 2: Teaching & Learning with Social Media at the UW

Coffin, T. and Fournier, J. 2021. Social Media in the Classroom: Opportunities, Challenges &
Recommendations. University of Washington. Available at
https://itconnect.uw.edu/learn/research/ecar-social-media/ (Accessed: 11 March 2021)
Summary:

Text reference:
Text 3: Social Medial Tools as a Learning Resource
Liu, Y. 2010. Social Medial Tools as a Learning Resource. Journal of Educational Technology
Development and Exchange, 3(1), 101-114.

With the fast advancement of technology, there will be more

cutting-edge technologies appearing in that market on a
daily basis. As educators, should we ignore them or chase
after them? It is always a huge challenge to keep up with
new technology trend. It is much more important to
understand the nature of technology in the process of
education than technology integration itself. No matter how
fascinating a new technology can become, it is still a tool.
Technology should not and will never replace education, but
assist educational practice, improve teaching efficiency, and
enhance student learning experiences.

The emerging social media tools that we investigated and

discussed in the paper are existing resources among
students. We should take advantage of this resource to make
learning more accessible. Students feel comfortable to use
the tools that they already know. Social media tools are an
open resource, which also means they are open to
uncensored public. It is educators’ responsibility to make
sure this learning environment is protected for the best
interest of student learning. It is also the responsibility of
educators to train students and equip them with analytical
and deep thinking skills during the process of using social
 media resources. Intelligent adoption of social media tools
can engage students in interactive learning, which is the key
to a successful education.

Using social media tools in teaching sometimes can be very

challenging to instructors. Students can be a very good
consulting source because they are the experts and they
have a better understanding of the
tools. The future technology integration in education should
focus on what students use instead of what the school wants
them to use to guarantee maximum efficiency. When
students become the stakeholders of their own learning,
education will be truly revolutionized through the effective
collaboration between educators and students.

Summary

Task 8.3
Look at your notes:

• Is it easy to tell what the key points of the texts are?

• Is it easy to tell what the overall message of the texts is?

• Are these notes going to be useful to you in a month from now?

Task 8.4
Now, we are going to synthesise the key information from all 4 texts.

Creating synthesis in writing:

To synthesise information in writing means that you need to combine several pieces of
information from different sources to help you make a point.
The key features of synthesis:

• Accurately reports information from the sources using a variety of phrases and
sentences.

• Organized in such a way that readers can immediately see where the information from
the sources overlap.

• Makes sense of the sources and helps the reader understand them in greater depth.

Fill in the note-taking grid below. Thabo has used his notes to complete Text 1 for you.
 Question: Describe some challenges and solutions of using social media as learning tool in higher education

Challenges Solutions

Text 1
(Anderson,
2019))

Text 2
(Coffin and
Fournier, 2021)
Text 3
(Liu, 2010)
Task 8.5
Look at your synthesis matrix table and answer the following questions:
• Do any authors disagree with another author?
• Does one author extend the research of another author?
• Are the authors all in agreement?
• Does any author raise new questions or ideas about the topic?
Write down your thoughts on these questions below and be prepared to share them
with your class.

Task 8.6

Using the grid you have created, write a paragraph which had the brief:
Challenges and solutions in the use of social media in higher education.
And the following response:
There are solutions for many challenges related to social media use in higher
education.
Synthesise the information from all 3 texts. In other words, use relevant evidence
from all four texts to support this thesis. Also, remember to reference the relevant
text when you use the information.
There are solutions for many challenges related to social media use in higher
education.
 Concluding sentence:

Reflection

• What did you learn about synthesising texts?

• What did you find most difficult?

• What can you do to practice synthesising texts?

WRITING WEEK

Lesson Aim:

Create a synthesis of the 3 provided academic sources

Taking into consideration the lesson about Notetaking,

summarising, paraphrasing and synthesis, please write a synthesis
of the following provided articles.
You, first, have to make notes of the 3 articles, before you have to
write a complete synthesis of the viewpoints of these authors.

The prompt that you have to reply to is:

Discuss the positive and negative influence of
Generative AI on Higher Education, with special
reference to Education students.

AI: new source of competitiveness in higher education – Hanna &

Lui, 2021
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/cr-03-2021-
0045/full/html
Factors Affecting the Adoption of AI-based Applications in Higher
Education: An Analysis of Teachers’ Perspectives using Structural
Equation Modeling – Youmei, Lui, & Tu, 2021
https://www.proquest.com/docview/3070112871?accountid=17207
&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals
Challenges and Opportunities of Generative AI for Higher
Education as Explained by ChatGPT
https://www.proquest.com/docview/2869309942?accountid=17207
&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals
Task 1
Make notes on:
AI: new source of competitiveness in higher education – Hanna &
Lui, 2021
Negative Influence

Positive Influence
 Make notes on:
Factors Affecting the Adoption of AI-based Applications in Higher
Education: An Analysis of Teachers’ Perspectives using Structural
Equation Modeling – Youmei, Lui, & Tu, 2021
Negative Influence

Positive Influence
 Make Notes on:
Challenges and Opportunities of Generative AI for Higher
Education as Explained by ChatGPT
Negative Influence

Positive Influence
Task 2
Look at your synthesis matrix table and answer the following
questions:
• Do any authors disagree with another author?
• Does one author extend the research of another author?
• Are the authors all in agreement?
• Does any author raise new questions or ideas about the
topic?
Write down your thoughts on these questions below and be
prepared to share them with your class.

Task 3

Using the grid you have created, write two paragraphs, one
for the negative aspects and one for the positive aspects,
which had the brief:
Discuss the positive and negative influence of
Generative AI on Higher Education, with special
reference to Education students.
Synthesise the information from all 3 texts. In other words,
use relevant evidence from all four texts to support this
thesis. Also, remember to reference the relevant text when
you use the information.
Negative Aspects

Concluding sentence:
Positive Aspects

Concluding sentence:
BONUS LESSON: VOCABULARY BUILDING

Lesson aims:

• The use of academic vocabulary in reading

• Strategies to build vocabulary
• Formulating meaning beyond the surface level

Task 1

Answer the following question:

• Do you think there is a difference between ‘everyday English’ and

‘Academic English’? If so, what is the difference?

The Academic Word list

Below is a list of words, majority of which can be found in The Academic Word
list (AWL) which was developed by Averil Coxhead (2000) from an analysis of
college texts. The AWL was primarily made to be used by teachers as part of
a preparation programme for learners entering tertiary level study, or to be used by
students working alone to learn the words most needed to study at tertiary
institutions. Thus, you are also encouraged to further build your own vocabulary at
your own pace this
website; https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist could help you
with this process

.
Academic Word List (selected words)

Accurate Achieve Acquire

Adapt Adequate Adjust

Administration Adult Affect

Aid Alternative Amend

Analyse Annual Apparent

Apparent Appreciate Approach

Approach Appropriate Approximate

Assist Assume Assure

Attach Attitude Author

Authority Available Aware

Benefit Bond Brief

Capable Capacity Category

Cease Challenge Channel

Circumstance Civil Clause

Communicate Community Complex

Component Concept Conclude

Conduct Confine Conflict

Consent Consequent Considerable

Consist Constant Consequent

Considerable Consist Constant

Consequent Considerable Consist

Constant Construct Consume

Contract Contrary Contrast

Contribute Convert Convince

Core Couple Create

Data Debate Decade

Decline Define Definite

Demonstrate Depress Derive

Design Despite Detect

Device Devote Display

Distinct Distribute Domestic

Element Eliminate Emerge

Emphasis Enable Encounter

Energy Enormous Environment

Equip Equivalent Error

Establish Estate Estimate

Evaluate Eventual Evident

Evolve Exhibit Expand

Expert Expose External

Factor Feature Federal

Framework Function Fund

Fundamental Furthermore Generation

Globe Goal Grade

Grant Hence Identical

Identify Illustrate Image

Immigrate Impact Income

Initial Injure Input

Intense Internal Interpret

Interval Investigate Involve

Isolate Issue Item

Job Journal Label

Layer Legal Legislate

Liberal License Likewise

Link Locate Maintain

Major Manual Margin

Mature Maximize Mechanism

Media Medical Medium

Mental Method Military

Nevertheless Normal Notion

Nuclear Objective Obtain

Obvious Occupy Occur

Odd Output Overall

Paragraph Parallel Participate

Partner Percent Period

Phase Phenomenon Philosophy

Precede Precise Predict

Previous Primary Prime

Principal Principle Prior

Proceed Process Professional

Project Promote Proportion

Psychology Publish Purchase

Radical Range Ratio

React Recover Region

Register Regulate Relax

Require Research Resolve

Resource Respond Restrict

Reveal Revenue Reverse

Revolution Rigid Role

Route Schedule Section

Secure Seek Select

Sequence Series Sex

Site So-Called Somewhat

Source Specific Specify

Sphere Stable Statistic

Status Stress Structure

Style Substitute Sufficient

Sum Survey Survive

Suspend Symbol Tape

Technical Technique Technology

Temporary Tense Text

Theme Theory Thereby

Topic Trace Tradition

Transfer Transmit Transport

Trend Ultimate Uniform

Unique Vary Vehicle

Version Virtual Visible

Vision Visual Volume

Welfare Whereas Widespread

 Vocabulary building strategies

Vocabulary building is an important skill for both your university career and future
working life. It is also vital to remember that this is a process which you are
responsible to develop for yourself. Thus, as a student it is important that you have
a number of strategies to help you build your vocabulary and knowledge of words. In
this lesson we will look at a number of strategies to help you in this process.

Note: Keep looking for new ways to build your vocabulary.

The Frayer model uses graphic organisers to help you learn different aspects of
a word and improve your vocabulary. This model has been adapted for the
purpose of this course to include the following aspects; meaning, part of

Task 2

On your own, choose two words, which are new to you, from the AWL list above. Use
the words to complete the graphic organiser. The first one has been done for you. This
activity should be submitted at the end of the class to be assessed

Meaning
Part of speech
Adj: Following as a result or
effect
N: something that follows Adjective/Noun
something else

Word
Consequent

Sentence
Synonyms

He was imprisoned as a
Following, resulting, consequent of the robbery that
subsequent took place last year
A) First chosen AWL word:

Meaning Part of speech

Adj:
N:

Word

Synonyms Sentence

B) Second chosen AWL word:

Meaning Part of speech

Adj:
N:

Word

Synonyms Sentence
Task 3

Word families

Word families are a great ways to learn new words. You can use word families to
compare and contrast words that are known to you, too those that are unknown in
order to decode meaning from a word. These words are usually formed by adding
affixes to the root word.

Root word: the most basic meaning of a word.

Affix: a group of letters that are added to the beginning or the end of the root word
that can change the word’s meaning.

Look at the following examples of suffixes you can use to form word families:

• Nouns can be formed by adding: -ment, -ness, -tion, -sion, -lty, -ance, -
ship, or –hood as a suffix.
• Verbs are usually formed by adding: ing as a suffix.
• Adjectives are usualy formed by adding: -al. -ary, -ful, -ic, -cal, -less, -like,
-ly, -ous, or -y as a suffix to a noun or verb.
• Adverbs are formed by adding –(i)ly or –y as a suffix to an adjective.

Study the following academic vocabulary. Use an online dictionary or app to look up
the meaning of each word. Compete the table below by filling in the missing parts of
the word family. The first one has been done as an example.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

To transform Transformation Transformative transformatively

To operate

To examine

To diagnose

To prescribe

Words in context

You would have noticed that some of the words from the Coxhead Academic
wordlist are familiar to you. This is because you tend to use these words daily as
part of your general vocabulary. However, these words may not hold the same
meaning within academic vocabulary or legal vocabulary. It is important that you
have both meanings in mind when you are reading as this helps you to better
understand the correct meaning within context of what the author meant.
 Note: You can understand any new vocabulary term using the context around it.
Consider the main idea, and the author’s purpose for the text.

Read the following text. The bold words are probably familiar to you in general English.
However, can you think of a different meaning for each word in academic English,
more specifically in your field of study? Discuss these words with a friend and complete
the table below by explaining the meaning of the word in your field of study.

Hi Beth,

Hope you are having a good time on holiday.

I am stuck in front of my computer again, trying to finish my history assignment. It’s

11:30 a.m. and I am not even dressed yet. Actually, we’ve got a leak in the bathroom
and I’m waiting for the plumber to come over and fix the valves, or whatever’s wrong
with it. He’s waiting for a delivery of the parts, apparently. I’m trying to be patient,
but every ten seconds I hear a drip from the bathroom and it’s starting to drive me
crazy!

Some of the girls invited me to see a play in the theatre last night. It’s not my kind
of thing normally, but I have to admit the cast were excellent, even if the storyline
was not that great. I tried to take a photo of them for you, but my finger was covering
the lens, so it hasn’t come out very well.

Anyway, back to my assignment.

See you next week.

Sophie

General English Academic English in your field of study

History

Dressed

Valves

Delivery
 Patient

Drip

Theatre

Admit

Cast

Lens

You would have noticed from this exercise that there is a difference in meaning
between the general English use of the word, and the academic use of the word. This
is because words exist within a context. The meaning of a word is usually embedded
in the context in which you find it. Thus, it is important that as a student you are aware
of the contexts that exist when you are reading or writing.

Task 4
Answer the following questions:
• What does it mean for you to know a word?

• How will knowing words help you, especially in the university setting?
 Academic Word List

• Academic vocabulary is defined as words that are traditionally used in

academic dialogue and text.
• Specifically, it refers to words that are not necessarily common or
frequently encountered in informal conversation.

Academic words: Please refer to the AWL that were included in Week 6’s lesson
.
There are many vocabulary learning strategies. In this lesson, we are going to
focus on identify different vocabulary through learning strategies such as using
dictionaries, learning collocations (words that frequently occur together),
learning parts of speech, morphology (affixes),guessing meaning from context,
Flash cards (with definitions and pictures), playing vocabulary games – even
using smart phone apps, definition maps, vocabulary quiz, speaking in English
and using the words.

Task 5

Dealing with unknown words

As a student at a university, you will read texts with unknown words. You have
several strategies that you can use:
• Use a dictionary. Looking up a word in a dictionary happens when there
is a need to understand the main ideas of the text.
• Guess the meaning. Guess the approximate meaning of a text from the
text.
• Parts of the word. Look at parts of the word to work out the meaning
from its parts
• Ignore the word. You can understand most of the text without knowing
the word.

Consider the table below. The activity focuses on guessing meaning from
context. List words in the left hand column that you found difficult to understand
(or was not completely sure about) and provide a possible meaning for these
words in the right hand column.
Reading extract for this activity.
Audio deepfakes

Instances of users abusing software to generate controversial statements in the vocal

style of celebrities, public officials, and other famous individuals have raised ethical
concerns over voice generation AI. In response, companies such as ElevenLabs have
stated that they would work on mitigating potential abuse through safeguards and
identity verification.

Concerns and fandom have spawned from AI-generated music. The same software
used to clone voices has been used on famous musicians' voices to create songs that
mimic their voices, gaining both tremendous popularity and criticism.Similar
techniques have also been used to create improved quality or full-length versions of
songs that have been leaked or have yet to be released.

Generative AI has also been used to create new digital artist personalities, with some of
these receiving enough attention to receive record deals at major labels.[138] The
developers of these virtual artists have also faced their fair share of criticism for their
personified programs, including backlash for "dehumanizing" an artform, and also
creating artists which create unrealistic or immoral appeals to their audiences.

"People Are Still Terrible: AI Voice-Cloning Tool Misused for Deepfake Celeb Clips". PCMag
Middle East. January 31, 2023. Archived from the original on December 25, 2023. Retrieved
July 25, 2023.
Unfamiliar words Possible meaning
a) a)
b) b)
c) c)
d) d)
e) e)
f) f)

Have a quick chat with the person sitting next to you and discuss the words that you
listed. For now, keep the answers on ice, we will come back to them in a bit.

Task 6
For this task, reflect on your usage of an English dictionary to learn vocabulary words.
In the space provided, answer the following questions.
• Do you have access to a dictionary? If you do, what kind of dictionary is it?
 • How often and effectively do you use it?

Task 7
Using dictionaries

Dictionaries do not only provide definitions of words, but they can also
•
provide useful grammar, such as parts of
speech, syllables and word stress, as well as indispensable pronunciation
information to learn words accurately.
• Certain dictionaries even do provide synonyms and antonym examples
of words.
• Dictionaries also indicate the register of the word, that is, whether the
word is an informal or a formal word.
(Word stress: the idea that in a word, one or more syllables will be stressed
or accented and other syllables will have no stress or accent)

Example of general dictionary in an online version and a book version.

Cambridge online dictionary word entry
Cambridge Dictionary (book) word entry

• Select the 4th word that you included in the activity you complete in Task 2.
Dictionary skills and complete the diagram below. You may use any online
dictionary app or google to complete this activity. Be prepared to provide
feedback to the rest of the class
 Entry word:

Synonym: Word class:

Antonym: Word: Definition:

Example sentence:

• Now that you have the hang of this, complete another diagram that would
count towards your final mark. The word that should be used is:
Physiological.
 Entry
word:
Synonym: Word class:

Antonym:
Word:
Definition:

Example sentence:

Task 7

Reflection

• Write a short reflection in terms of what you learned and how you could
apply it in your future studies.
UNIT 4: ARGUMENT CONSTRUCTION AND IDEA
ORGANISATION
LESSON 4.1: FINAL ASSESSMENT TOPIC INTRODUCTION
Lesson aims:
• Familiarise yourself with the topic for the final assessment
• Unpack the assessment question

• Know which sources you would have to look for to be able to answer the
assignment question

Assignment question:
There is currently a debate going on regarding the benefits, as well as the
challenges, regarding Gen AI in higher education. In a well-structured academic
essay, discuss in what manner a 1st year student in Higher education can use
Gen AI in a responsible and ethical manner in their studies.
- The essay should be approximately 1000-1200 words in length.
- Use at least 5 relevant and appropriate sources to write your essay.
- Make sure that you use standard referencing practices and include a reference list.
- Do not plagiarise or use Gen AI in your submitted work
- Give your essay an appropriate title.
- The essay will be marked according to the analytic scoring rubric included at the
end of this study guide.

Task 4.1.1
As discussed several times this year, you need to first analyse your question to
ensure your response to the assignment instruction is relevant. (Lesson 1.3)
a) Identify part 1: What is the instruction word and what does it mean?
b) Identify part 2: What are the content words?

c) Identify part 3: What are the restricting words?

d) Is there any other important information?

e) What is the main topic and what is the specific focus of this instruction?

f) Using all of the information you have gathered, write down (in your own
words) what you should do in this task.
Task 4.1.2
Taking into consideration the information to got from the previous
task:
• What type of sources are you going to need to respond to the
assignment question and why?

• Where will you find these sources?

LESSON 4.2: INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS
Lesson aims:

• Recognise the different components of an introduction

• Identify and understand the purpose of the different components of an
introduction
• Apply the knowledge gained regarding the writing of an introduction

Task 4.2.1

Answer the following questions:

• What do you think is the purpose of an introduction paragraph of an essay?

• Do you think there is a difference between a body paragraph (as discussed in

the first semester and earlier this semester) and an introductory paragraph of
an academic essay?
• What do you think is the difference?

Task 3.2

Let’s reflect on a topic that you are already familiar with. With the knowledge you
have at this moment about writing introductory paragraphs, attempt to write an
introduction for the following topic.
In a well constructed academic essay, outline and illustrate two challenges
faced by Higher Education institutions when using social media as a tool to
promote learning.
Task 4.2.2

Look at your introduction, and provide yourself with feedback on the following
questions:

• How clearly written is my introduction?

• Is it clear to you what my essay will be about?
• Is my answer to the assignment brief or the aim of my essay clear to you?
• Have I given you some background information?
• Is my introduction cohesive (i.e. have I used transitions/discourse
markers/linking words?)

What is an introductory paragraph in an academic essay:

• The introduction to an essay is very important.

• It is the FIRST paragraph that the reader reads and should ‘grab’ the
attention of the reader.
• It is clearly written and provides some background on the main topic,
highlights the purpose of the essay and indicates to the reader what to
expect in the rest of the essay.
Thus,

• An essay introduction is your roadmap for the entire essay, which states
your answer/goal for the essay, sets the tone, and outlines the structure of
the entire essay you are going to present to your reader.
 An introductory paragraph of an academic essay consists of the following
components:

• Background information (BG info) regarding the topic: To provide the

reader with some relevant information about the main idea of the essay.
This could be a definition of one of the main concepts discussed in the essay,
some historical facts or contemporary ideas that relates to the topic.

• Thesis statement (THS): A THS indicates the topic that is going to be

discusses as well as your answer to the assignment brief. The thesis is the
most important component of an academic essay, since it drives the entire
essay and all supporting information you include in your essay relates to
your thesis. A THS statement should be constructed in such a manner that it
could be debated in an academic context.

• Roadmap/Direction: This is the final component of the introduction and

informs the reader how you will prove and support your THS throughout
your academic essay.

One way to think about an introduction is like an upside down triangle. The
information you provide your reader with goes from more general information, to
more specific information.

Background Information

Thesis statement

Roadmap
Task 4.2.3

During the rest of the lesson, we are going to individually look at the different
components of an introduction and apply them to the introduction you just wrote in
order to improve it.

The next section of the lesson will look at BG information. This is the first part of an
introduction and is usually only one or two sentences.

As mentioned, it could consist of a definition of the main idea of the essay, some
historical facts of the topic or even some contemporary ideas.

First, let us have a look at a sample essay introduction:

Should corporal punishment be reintroduced in schools?

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that corporal
punishment was generally favoured by authority figures as being the best way to
punish even the mildest form of misbehaviour. Although few teachers today would
regard physical punishment as the answer to all discipline problems, many do feel
that there are times when no other form of punishment works. However, corporal
punishment should not be reintroduced to schools on the grounds that it
undermines human dignity and that educators require protection, even if it is from
themselves.

• Try to identify the BG info in the above essay introduction and underline it.
• What type of BG info did the student provide? Highlight the applicable choice
below and support your choice.
Type of Background information used in the student's essay

Historical information Definition Contemporary idea

Provide support for your choice:

1)

• Revisit your introduction that you wrote at the beginning of the lesson and
answer the following questions in the table below.
Did you include relevant BG information in YES NO
your introduction?

If so, which type of BG information did you

include

If not, write down some relevant BG information regarding the assignment topic
below.

(As discussed earlier, BG information could either indicate historical information, a

definition or a contemporary idea. The information box (grey box) below includes
phrases that could make it easier for you to start off your BG information. Try and
make use of these during your academic writing).

1)

2)

Use Background Information Language

Definition:

• Throughout this essay the term X will refer to…

• It is necessary here to clarify what is meant by….
• In this essay the term x will be used to refer to…
• While a variety of definitions of the term X have been suggested, this essay
will use the definition suggested by Jones (2004) who saw it as…
• The term X will be used in this essay to describe the….

Historical or contemporary ideas:

• The issue of X has received considerable attention

• Studies on X represent a growing field
• X is a major area of interest
• One of the most significant current discussions in the field of X is…
• X has received considerable scholarly attention in recent years
• There has been increasing interest in the topic of X
• X has been studied widely
Task 4.2.4

The next component of an introduction is the thesis statement (THS). This is the most
important part of the introduction, as well as the entire essay, since it expresses the
view/opinion of the essay. However, in today’s lesson, we are only going to briefly
touch on this concept, as we will be spending the entire next lesson on formulating
and writing a THS.

• Review the definition of a THS (in the grey box in Task 3.3). In your own words
write the definition of what a THS is.

Consider the student’s THS in bold:

Should corporal punishment be reintroduced in schools?

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that corporal
punishment was generally favoured by authority figures as being the best way to
punish even the mildest form of misbehaviour. Although few teachers today would
regard physical punishment as the answer to all discipline problems, many do feel
that there are times when no other form of punishment works. However, corporal
punishment should not be reintroduced to schools on the grounds that it
undermines human dignity and that educators require protection, even if it is from
themselves.

• How do you know it is his thesis statement? What do you notice about the title
of the essay and the THS?

• Have another look at the introduction that you wrote at the beginning of the
lesson. Did you include a THS?
 • If you did, do you think that your THS fulfils the function of a THS (i.e. is it in
line with the definition of a THS statement)?

• How do you think you can improve on your THS?

Here is some additional information about a thesis statement:

A thesis statement is a statement that informs the reader of your central

idea/argument for your essay or assignment. It serves a similar purpose as a topic
sentence and often looks similar in terms of components but is applicable to the
whole essay and not just a paragraph (like the topic sentence). Most of the time, a
thesis statement contains some kind of point of view or argument to be made. This
format is similar to a topic sentence where there should be both a topic and some
kind of commentary about the topic. Here are some examples:

• Parents should also be involved in fighting bullying at schools.

This essay will likely argue how and why parents should be involved in fighting
bullying at schools.

• A school headmaster plays a central role in creating a healthy teaching and

learning culture at a school.
 This essay will likely show how and why a school headmaster plays a central role in
creating a healthy teaching and learning culture at a school.

Watch out for the following when writing your thesis statement:

A good thesis statement can go a long way in helping you produce a good quality
academic text. Here are some of the things you should avoid when writing your
thesis statement:

• A thesis statement should present a viewpoint that you can defend or

support with credible sources. It shouldn’t be a subjective statement.
• A thesis statement should not be a question.
• A thesis statement should not be a fact.
• Avoid sweeping statements when writing your thesis statement. A sweeping
statement is a statement that oversimplifies complex ideas or make
generalisations that are not factually correct.

Task 4.2.5

The last component of an introduction of an academic essay is the roadmap, or also

known as the direction.

The purpose of the roadmap is to allow the reader to predict what is to follow in the
rest of your essay, as well as how you will go about to support your THS.

A roadmap functions in a similar way to skimming a text. It’s useful for readers and
makes reading easier.

Study the student’s introduction again:

Should corporal punishment be reintroduced in schools?

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that corporal
punishment was generally favoured by authority figures as being the best way to
punish even the mildest form of misbehaviour. Although few teachers today would
regard physical punishment as the answer to all discipline problems, many do feel
that there are times when no other form of punishment works. However, corporal
punishment should not be reintroduced to schools on the grounds that it
undermines human dignity and that educators require protection, even if it is from
themselves.

• Try to identify the roadmap in the student’s essay and underline it.

• Take into consideration the roadmap that you underlined; what are the main
ideas that the student’s essay is going to discuss in the rest of his assignment?

• Did you include a roadmap in your introduction?

• If you did, does it clearly indicate the main points that you are planning to
discuss in your assignment?

• Rewrite your roadmap here to meet the criteria of a good roadmap. Consider
the commonly used phrases for roadmaps (in the grey box below). Try and
make use of some of these in your own roadmap.

Phrases associated with the formulation of a roadmap sentence:

• The essay begins by…It will then go on to..

• The first section of the essay will examine..
• The essay has been organised in the following way
• The essay has been organised into X parts. The first part deals with….
 • The main issues addressed in this essay are…
• The essay first gives a …. It then goes on to…

• Now, explain how this roadmap will enable you to write your essay. In other
words, why did you choose the main ideas that you included in your roadmap?

Task 4.2.6

• The final step is to put everything together. Rewrite the introduction you wrote
at the beginning of this lesson and make sure that all of the components
discussed are included and the introductory paragraph forms a coherent
whole.

Reflection

• What are the three main components of an academic introduction?

• Which part of an academic introduction do you think you might struggle with?
Please provide a reason why you think you might struggle with this
component.
 • How do you think you might overcome this issue?

The example essay was written by Bernice Strydom from Sasolburg.

LESSON 4.3: ACADEMIC PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
Lesson aims:

• Recognise the structure of an academic body paragraph

• Identify the three main parts of an academic paragraph
• Understand the purpose of each of these main parts an academic paragraph
• Practice knowledge gained regarding paragraph structure

Task 4.3.1

Think about the following questions and write your answers in the space provided:

• What is a body paragraph?

• Why is it necessary to be able to write a well-structured academic paragraph

at university?

What is an academic paragraph:

• Academic paragraphs are the body paragraphs of an essay or

assignment and account for about 90% of the entire essay or assignment.
• They may also be the structure of short answer questions in other types of
writing (e.g. exams).
• Academic paragraphs contain the points you want to make with supporting
arguments and evidence.
Thus,

• An academic paragraph is a group of sentences that ‘talk’ about one

idea, within a larger text.

Today we are going to discuss the ideal structure of an academic essay. We are also
going to examine the different components of an academic paragraph and consider
the relationship between these components.
Task 4.3.2

Functions of Blood: Transportation

Nutrients from the foods you eat are absorbed in the digestive tract. Most of
these travel in the bloodstream directly to the liver, where they are processed
and released back into the bloodstream for delivery to body cells. Oxygen
from the air you breathe diffuses into the blood, which moves from the lungs
to the heart, which then pumps it out to the rest of the body. Moreover,
endocrine glands scattered throughout the body release their products, called
hormones, into the bloodstream, which carries them to distant target cells.
Blood also picks up cellular wastes and byproducts, and transports them to
various organs for removal. For instance, blood moves carbon dioxide to the
lungs for exhalation from the body, and various waste products are
transported to the kidneys and liver for excretion from the body in the form of
urine or bile.
Anatomy and Physiology II, 2015. Module 2: The Cardiovascular System: Blood. [Online}. Available at:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ap2/ Accessed on 19 March, 2017.

• Try to identify different sections of a paragraph, by highlighting or

underlining these components, and try to give these components names.

• Could you identify different components of the paragraph?

Task 4.3.3

• Watch the following video that explains the different components of an

academic paragraph (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeCv0ifsURA).
While watching the paragraph make notes for yourself in terms of the
important components of a paragraph, as well as what is expected of
each section.
What are the components of an academic paragraph?

Paragraphs are the building blocks of a paper. A paragraph discusses one idea in
detail and aids the development of an overall topic for the essay. Briefly stated, a
paragraph is a group of sentences about one specific idea. Paragraph lengths will vary
depending on the purpose of the paragraph.

The basic paragraph consists of three parts: a topic sentence, supporting details, and
a concluding sentence. This basic paragraph format will help you to write and organise
a paragraph and make each paragraph lead to the next.

TOPIC SENTENCE
The main idea of each paragraph is stated in a topic sentence that shows how the
idea relates to the thesis or overall focus of the paper. Generally, the topic sentence
is the first sentence of a paragraph. All subsequent points made in the paragraph
should support the topic sentence.

SUPPORTING DETAILS
Supporting details elaborate upon and prove the topic sentence. Supporting details
should be drawn from a variety of sources and based on research, experiences, etc.
plus the writer’s own analysis. Using a combination of different supports is the most
common and effective way to strengthen a paragraph.

CONCLUDING SENTENCE
Each paragraph should end with a final statement that ties together the ideas brought
up in the paragraph and emphasizes the main idea one last time. If the assignment is
longer, it should transition to the ideas of the next paragraph.
How do you link ideas and paragraphs together?

All good writers - whether they are students, journalists, teachers or business people -
will agree that one of the most important keys to effective writing is the ability to write
coherently. Coherent paragraphs are those in which the ideas flow from one to another
without discernible bumps, gaps, or shifts. By contrast, a piece of writing that is
disjointed (or “disconnected”), and therefore difficult to follow, is said to be incoherent.
A cohesive paragraph is one in which the ideas have been connected to one another
by means of cohesive ties, connective words or transitional expressions.

Transitional devices function like bridges between parts of your essay. They are cues
that help the reader to interpret ideas in the way that you, as a writer, want them to
understand. Transitional devices help you carry over a thought from one sentence to
another, from one idea to another, or from one paragraph to another with words or
phrases. And finally, transitional devices link your sentences and paragraphs together
smoothly so that there are no abrupt jumps or breaks between ideas.

There are several types of transitional devices, and each category leads your reader
to make certain connections or assumptions about the areas you are connecting.
Some lead your reader forward and imply the “building” of an idea or thought, while
others make your reader compare ideas or draw conclusions from the preceding
thoughts. Here is a list of some common transitional devices that can be used to cue
your reader in a given way.

And, again, and then, besides, equally important, finally, further, furthermore,
add
To

nor, too, next, lastly, what’s more, moreover, in addition, first (second, etc.)

Whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however, nevertheless, on the other
compare

hand, on the contrary, by comparison, where, compared to, up against,

To

balanced against, but, although, conversely, meanwhile, after all, in contrast,

although this may be true, by contrast, contrastively

Because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously, evidently, furthermore,
prove
To

moreover, besides, indeed, in fact, in addition, in any case, that is

Immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally, then, later,

show
time
To

previously, formerly, first (second, etc.), next, and then

repeat

In brief, as I have said, as I have noted, as has been noted

To
 Definitely, extremely, obviously, in fact, indeed, in any case, absolutely,

emphasis
positively, naturally, surprisingly, always, forever, perennially, eternally,
To never, emphatically, unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly, undeniably,

e
without reservation

First, second, third, and so forth, a, b, c, and so forth. Next, then, following
sequence
To show

this, at this time, now, at this point, after, afterward, subsequently, finally,
consequently, previously, before this, simultaneously, concurrently, thus,
therefore, hence, next, and then, soon
example

For example, for instance, in this case, in another case, on this occasion, in
To give

this situation take the case of, to demonstrate, to illustrate, as an illustration

an
summarise

In brief, on the whole, summing up, to conclude, in conclusion, as I have

conclude

shown, as I have said, hence, therefore, accordingly, thus, as a result,

To

or

consequently, on the whole

In other words, namely, that is, i.e., I mean, for example, for instance,
identity
show
To

specifically
opposition
To show

But, however, while, instead, nevertheless, on the other hand, in contrast

To show
cause

effect

As a result, because, for, so, as a consequence, therefore

and

!.1.2 Paragraph structure

Read the paragraph below and answer the questions that follow.
Education is the key to success. This may be apparent in many aspects in life where
learning and acquiring knowledge is imperative for attaining skills and expertise.
Therefore, education opens the doors to employment and many professions where
erudition is mandatory. However, success is also dependent on many other facets of
learning, not only formal education. Experience in the field is in part a component of
continuing education and life-long learning needed to achieve expertise. As a result,
success is due to a variety of learning.

We can now all agree that the main components of an academic paragraph
are:

• Topic Sentence (TS): Contains the main idea of the paragraph.

• Supporting ideas (SI): Elaborates on the TS, by providing evidence and
examples to support the main idea of the paragraph. You should include at
least three SI per paragraph
• Concluding sentence: the concluding sentence of a paragraph could serve
three purposes, namely to summarise the argument you made in the
preceding paragraph, provide a clear link to the THS or link to the subsequent
paragraph.
• See diagram below for a visual representation of the structure of an
academic paragraph

Task 4.3.4

Study the following paragraph:

Composition of blood

Certain blood tests check for the composition of the blood itself, including the
quantities and types of formed elements. It is performed by spinning the blood
sample in a specialized centrifuge, a process that causes the heavier elements
suspended within the blood sample to separate from the lightweight, liquid
 plasma. These are the WBCs, clinically known as leukocytes, and the platelets,
cell fragments also called thrombocytes. Above the buffy coat is the blood
plasma, normally a pale, straw colored fluid, which constitutes the remainder
of the sample. Located above the erythrocytes is a pale, thin layer composed
of the remaining formed elements of blood. One such test, called a hematocrit,
measures the percentage of RBCs, clinically known as erythrocytes, in a blood
sample.
Anatomy and Physiology II, 2015. Module 2: The Cardiovascular System: Blood. [Online}. Available at:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-ap2/ Accessed on 19 March, 2017.

• 3.1 Find and underline the topic sentence. Thereafter, write the topic
sentence in your own words.

• 3.2 What supporting details are provided? How do they support the topic
sentence?

• 3.3 Find and circle all the words that link the supporting details together. How
do these words differ?

• 3.4 Does the concluding sentence bring the idea to a close or suggest the
content of the next paragraph?
 • Are all the main components of an academic paragraph present in the
paragraph above? How did you identify the different parts, in other
words, what words or phrases helped you to identify the components?

• Are these components organised in the correct manner?

• If not, make use of the diagram below and structure the paragraph to
meet the specifications of a well-structured academic paragraph.

Task 4.3.5

Now that you are familiar with the structure of an academic paragraph, let’s try and
write one. Consider the following prompt:
Blood has several specific characteristics, such as colour, viscous, pH and
temperature. In a well-structured paragraph, discuss two of the elements
mentioned.

Work through the following questions to help you organise your ideas regarding the
paragraph.

• Complete the following grid, as previously done, in terms of unpacking

the paragraph brief.
Step 1: What is the main topic of this paragraph?

Step 2: What are the restricting words?

Step 3: What are the instruction words?

Step 4: How many parts are there to be answered in the question?

Step 5: How would you rephrase this question to show your understanding?
Step 6: How would you order the information for this topic?

• How will you answer the question? In other words, what will you discuss
to support your answer? (provide three ideas).

• How will you end your paragraph?

• Now, make use of the information you provided in the preceding

questions and write a well-structured paragraph, as per the ‘Hamburger’
paragraph structure.
Task 4.3.6

Reflection

• Write a short reflection in terms of what you learned and how you could
apply it in your future studies.
 LESSON 4.4: TYPES OF PARAGRAPHS

Lesson aims

• Understand different paragraph types

• Identify different paragraph types
• Plan and write a paragraph

Task 4.4.1

Look at the video (the video is not exhaustive as it only focuses on four types of
paragraphs) looks on the link below and take notes using the grid provided.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLLeDCEInqw&t=76s

(Video is also on Blackboard)

Take notes of the following:

• Each type of communication/message,

• When/Why you should use this type of paragraph
• What type of information you need to write the type of paragraph?

You will see that there is an extra column titled, ‘useful transitional words/phrases.
For now, you can leave that column blank. We will revisit those concepts later.

Type of paragraph When to use What information is Useful transitional

needed words/phrases
Types of paragraphs

Though some types were discussed in the video, there are many different ways to
classify paragraph types. The types that are going to be explained below, can be
considered as subcategories of some of the types discussed in the video.

Parts of an essay/assignment

Most pieces of academic writing you’ll encounter during your undergraduate university
studies, will consist of three main parts. Do you know what they are?

They are: an introduction, a body (a middle) and a conclusion.

This is true for the academic texts (articles, books, chapters in books etc.) you read as
sources of information, but also for the essays/assignments you’ll need to write. When a
lecturer gives you an essay/assignment question, most (if not all) of the question, will be
answered in the middle part of the essay/assignment.

By now, you know the importance of unpacking (or analysing) the essay/assignment brief
before looking for sources and writing your essay/assessment. Once you’ve done that, it is
useful to consider what the 3 parts of your assignment will likely consist of. In order to do
this, you’ll need to know the options for the different parts. Below, you’ll find you
‘paragraph type’ toolkit. In other words, these paragraph types are some of the patterns
you have at your disposal:

1. A paragraph that argues

A paragraph like this can be used to provide evidence for your answer to a question (thesis).
The paragraph should focus on developing one main point that supports your thesis.
Remember that your ‘thesis’ is your answer to the question.

To write a paragraph like this (i.e. to develop the argument), you’ll need information like
this:

• Reasons for your thesis

• Facts to support your thesis
• Examples to support your thesis

There are a few useful transitional words and phrases you can use to help you write an
argumentation paragraph:

For giving reasons: because, since, for, first, second, third, another, next

For concluding: therefore, as a result, in conclusion, thus

Example Notes

Ultraviolet (UV) intensity is not the most important factor in skin

cancer fatalities. While residents of Colorado (mean elevation of 2.1
km) have always been subjected to the highest UV intensities in the
United States, Colorado has one of the lowest skin cancer fatality
rates of all the states. In contrast, New England, which has much
lower UV intensities has a death rate from skin cancer 25% higher
than it is in Colorado. In addition, although equatorial regions have
higher UV intensities, the lowest reported skin cancer deathrates in
the world come from Mauritius (0.2 per 100,000) and Nicaragua (0.2
 per 100,000). On the other hand, Ireland (2.64 per 100,000) has the
world’s third highest rate. Evidence is strong that UV intensity is not
the principal factor in determining the skin cancer death rate.
Genetic factors, skin pigmentation, behavioural characteristics,
medical facilities, broad straw hats, and sun screen lotion all have
some influence on skin cancer fatalities.

(https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/writing-paragraphs/types)

2. A paragraph that classifies

A paragraph like this can be used to organise information, items or ideas into categories
(two or more). How that information is organised will depend on your purpose and subject
area.

To write a paragraph like this, you’ll need information like this:

• Detailed information about the items in the category and/or their characteristics
• Explanations as to how their characteristics fit into a particular category

Some of the useful transitional words or phrases to help you to write a classification
paragraph, include: can be divided, can be classified, can be categorised, the
first/second/third

Example Notes

The whole Hindu population of India can be divided into four

castes or varna. The highest of these castes is that of the Brahmans
or priests. The next highest is the varna of the warriors, known as
the Kshatriya, or sometimes the Rajput caste. Below this comes the
Vaishya or merchant caste and the lowest caste is known as the
Sudra caste. While castes are traditionally associated with a type
of occupation, in modern India, occupations are not a reliable
guide to caste.

( https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/writing-paragraphs/types)
3. A paragraph that compares or contrasts

You use a paragraph like this when you need to examine similarities and differences. This
paragraph structure (pattern) is useful for literature reviews and reports (we won’t be
addressing these in this course, but you might have to write them for your degree courses).

To write a compare/contrast paragraph, you could need comparable information about the
issue/concept/theory you are comparing or contrasting. You have to identify, describe and
discuss any similarities or differences.

Some of the useful words/phrases to help you compare/contrast, include:

For contrast: in contrast, on the one hand, on the other hand, different from, whereas, while,
unlike, but, although, however, conversely, yet, unlike

For comparison: similar to, similarly, in the same way, like, equally, again, also, too

Example Notes

There are several characteristics which distinguish plants from

animals. Green plants are able to manufacture their own food
from substances in the environment. This process is known as
photosynthesis. In contrast, animals, including man, get their
food either directly from plants or indirectly by eating animals
which have eaten plants. Plants are generally stationary.
Animals, on the other hand, can usually move about. In external
appearance, plants are usually green. They grow in a branching
fashion at their extremities, and their growth continues
throughout their lives. Animals, however, are very diverse in
their external appearance. Their growth pattern is not limited to
their extremities. It is evenly distributed and only occurs in a
definite time period. Therefore, the differences between plants
and animals is quite significant.
 (https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/writing-paragraphs/types)

4. A paragraph that defines

You use this paragraph structure when you need to define a concept, and demonstrate an
understanding of how it relates to a particular context or discipline

To write a paragraph that defines, you’ll need information that:

• describes and explains the concept,

• gives examples of the concept, and
• makes links between the concept and how it applies to a particular context or field.

Useful transitional words/phrases when writing a definition paragraph, include: in other

words, for instance, simply put, is defined as, for instance, an illustration of this

Example Notes

The term protein quality refers to the ratio of essential amino

acids (eaa) in a protein in comparison with the ratio required by
the body. A high quality protein contains eaa in a ratio that
matches human requirements. A protein which is lacking or low
in one or more eaa is termed a low quality protein. The eaa
which is in the shortest supply is called the ‘limiting’ amino acid.
In general, animal proteins tend to be high quality while
vegetable proteins tend to be low quality. The exception is soy
protein which is quite high quality.

(https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/writing-paragraphs/types)
5. A paragraph that describes

You use this paragraph if you are asked to provide descriptive information about something

To write a paragraph that describes, you’ll need information that:

• Provide specific and detailed information about the item’s characteristic and
functions.

This information can include the item’s history, usefulness, characteristics, applications and
definition. It can include examples of the item, why the item is relevant or why it’s used.

Some of the useful words/phrases to write a descriptive paragraph, include: next to, near,
up, down, between, beneath, above, below, on top of, left/right, centre, front, back, on the
inside, on the outside, surrounding

Example Notes

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a severe and disabling

clinical condition. It usually begins in late adolescence or early
adulthood. OCD is characterised by obsessive thoughts that
continue regardless of efforts that are made by the sufferer to
challenge the behaviours. People with OCD frequently perform
tasks repetitively because they are seeking relief from the
anxiety that is created by their obsession. Some common
compulsions that sufferers may have include counting specific
things (such as money, footsteps, letters), repeatedly washing
their hands, continually clearing their throats, persistently
ensuring that certain items are in a straight line, repeatedly
checking that their parked cars have been locked before leaving
them, constantly organising things in a certain way, turning lights
on and off, opening and closing doors, touching objects a set
number of times before exiting a room, walking in a certain
routine by stepping on a certain colour or shape of floor tile. The
strength of the observed addiction or compulsion leads to a
diagnosis of the disorder.

(https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/writing-paragraphs/types)
6. A paragraph that explains

You use this type of paragraph when you need to explain how something works or the steps
in a process.

To write a paragraph like this you need information that explains:

• each of the steps in the process,

• the order in which the steps take place, and/or
• how and why the process happens.

Some of the useful transitional words/phrases that can help you write an explanatory
paragraph, include: at first, the first step, while, at the same time, the second/third/next
step, after, next, finally, eventually

Example Notes

The general principles of making cheese from milk have

changed little for nearly 3000 years. The aroma, texture,
and taste of cheese depend on slight variations of the
process used to produce it, but all methods consist of two
to four basic steps. The first step consists of the coagulation
of the protein ‘casein’ by adding acid or enzyme to the milk.
Next, the liquid, called whey, is drained, leaving a semi-solid
cheese, called curds, which may be eaten in this form or
processed further. All soft or cream cheeses are of this type.
Hard cheese undergoes two additional steps in the process.
The semi-solid cheese is matured until it reaches the
required level of acidity, at which time it is salted and
pressed into forms or moulds to give it the distinctive shape
and size of a particular cheese. The final step is the ageing
process during which the world’s most famous cheeses
acquire their unique flavours from the place and length of
storage.

(https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/writing-
paragraphs/types)
7. A paragraph that illustrates

You use this type of paragraph when you need to clarify a particular idea.

To write a paragraph like this, you need to offer specific examples and show how they relate
to your main point.

Some of the useful transitional words/phrases you can use to help you write an illustrative
paragraph, include: for example, for instance, an illustration of this, another example

Example Notes

Piedmont, or mountain, glaciers are found in many parts of the

world. In North America they are distributed along the
mountain ranges of the Pacific Coast from central California
northward. They abound in the Andes range in South America
and are familiar and greatly admired spectacles in the Alps, the
Pyrenees, the Caucasus Mountains and the mountains of
Scandinavia. Rivers of ice flow down the valleys of various
Asian mountain ranges, including the Himalayas, the Hindu
Kush, and the Karakoram and Kunlun ranges. They are also a
feature of the Southern Alps of New Zealand and are found in
the lofty mountains of New Guinea. The largest piedmont
glaciers are the Malaspina and Bering glaciers, both in Alaska.

(https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/writing-
paragraphs/types)

8. A paragraph that reflects

You use this type of paragraph when you are asked to think back on an event or experience
and consider what you have learned. Often, these types of paragraphs (or sometimes
longer units of text) consist of three parts, namely:

1. A part that explains the facts about the event/experience (the what, when, where,
how) – you can ask the question, what happened?
2. A part that explains how the event/experience made you feel or what you think
about it – you can ask the question, so what? or why is this important?
3. A part that explains how this experience has influenced your perception of similar
experiences going forward – you can ask the question, now what?
Transitional devices / Linking words

Here is a list of some common transitional devices that can be used to cue your reader in a
given way. Though you are getting introduced to them now, you will be learning more about
them in Lesson 9.

And, again, and then, besides, equally important, finally, further,

To add: furthermore, nor, too, next, lastly, what’s more, moreover, in addition, first
(second, etc.)

Whereas, but, yet, on the other hand, however, nevertheless, on the other
To hand, on the contrary, by comparison, where, compared to, up against,
compare: balanced against, but, although, conversely, meanwhile, after all, in
contrast, although this may be true, by contrast, contrastively

Because, for, since, for the same reason, obviously, evidently, furthermore,
To prove:
moreover, besides, indeed, in fact, in addition, in any case, that is

To show Immediately, thereafter, soon, after a few hours, finally, then, later,
time: previously, formerly, first (second, etc.), next, and then

To repeat: In brief, as I have said, as I have noted, as has been noted

Definitely, extremely, obviously, in fact, indeed, in any case, absolutely,

To
positively, naturally, surprisingly, always, forever, perennially, eternally,
emphasise
never, emphatically, unquestionably, without a doubt, certainly,
:
undeniably, without reservation

To show First, second, third, and so forth, a, b, c, and so forth. Next, then, following
sequence: this, at this time, now, at this point, after, afterward, subsequently, finally,
consequently, previously, before this, simultaneously, concurrently, thus,
therefore, hence, next, and then, soon

For example, for instance, in this case, in another case, on this occasion, in
To give an
this situation take the case of, to demonstrate, to illustrate, as an
example:
illustration

To
In brief, on the whole, summing up, to conclude, in conclusion, as I have
summaris
shown, as I have said, hence, therefore, accordingly, thus, as a result,
e or
consequently, on the whole
conclude:
 To show In other words, namely, that is, i.e., I mean, for example, for instance,
identity: specifically

To show
opposition But, however, while, instead, nevertheless, on the other hand, in contrast
:

To show
cause and As a result, because, for, so, as a consequence, therefore
effect:

Task 4.4.2

They grey information block above contains a table with commonly used transitional
devices, also sometimes called linking words. The video below explains what they are,
and how they work.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpDTxvxuFpM

Watch the video and make notes of important information. Follow these steps:

1. Read through the table with the transitional devices in the grey block above.
2. Watch the video online. Take notes about information that stands out in the
space below.
3. Read through the table with transitional devices again while keeping the
content of the video in mind.
4. Watch the video again and add to your initial notes by writing down any
information that you think you will need later. You can use the blank space
below or you can make notes on the table with linking words.
Remember that transitions are only useful if they make sense within the context they
were added. If you use ‘in contrast’ put don’t add a contrasting idea, your writing will
become incoherent. One way to make sure that you are using your transitions
correctly, is considering the purpose of the idea/sentence you are trying to link. You
may remember that you learned that supporting ideas can have various functions
(Lesson 5, semester 1). Some of these functions included:

• Providing more detail or explanation about the statement made in the topic
sentence (who, what, when, where, how).
• Providing definitions of some of the terms used in the topic sentence,
• Applying the idea expressed in the topic sentence to a particular context or
situation,
• Providing examples to support the main idea of the paragraph,
• Quoting or paraphrasing ideas from sources to support your main idea
• Providing facts to support your claim
• Comparing and contrasting
• Providing causes or effects of the idea expressed in the topic sentence

Have a look at some of the transitional devices in the table above and consider which
ones could be used for sentences with some of the functions mentioned above. Are
there other phrases that can help show the reader that a sentence has a specific
functions

• Providing more detail or explanation about the statement made in the topic
sentence (who, what, when, where, how).

• Providing definitions of some of the terms used in the topic sentence,

• Applying the idea expressed in the topic sentence to a particular context or
situation.

• Providing examples to support the main idea of the paragraph

• Quoting or paraphrasing ideas from sources to support your main idea

• Providing facts to support your claim

• Comparing and contrasting

• Providing causes or effects of the idea expressed in the topic sentence

Task 4.4.3

To practice recognising the structure of an academic paragraph, we will now examine

a number of paragraphs and analyse its structure and purpose. For the examples
below, examine each sample paragraph and complete the questions that follow.

Sample 1

According to the South African common law a teacher occupy the in loco parentis
position. When translated it literally means, in place of the parent. In other words,
a teacher should fulfil some of the parental duties during that a parent normally
would while the teacher is working at school related activities. The in loco parentis
role give teachers the responsibility to maintain authority and compels them to
keep a watchful eye on learners.

Consider the following questions:

• What communicative function did this paragraph illustrate?

 Classify
 illustrate
 Describe
 Reflect
 Compare/contrast
 Define
 Argue

• What word/phrase or information helped you to guess the communicative

function?

• What types of supporting sentences did the writer use? Tick the appropriate
box and indicate the sentence number next to it.

 Evidence/facts
  Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application

• What words/phrases helped you to classify the types of supporting sentences?

 Evidence/facts
 Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application

Sample 2

The use of standardized tests to determine learners’ basic literacy skills is a

contentious issue. Those in favour of such tests argue that it promotes quality
education as it keeps schools accountable for their students’ performance on such
tests. On the other hand, continuous measurement of students’ performance could
negatively affect the quality of education. For example, if schools are under
pressure to produce high performing students, teachers could focus on test
preparation too much and disregard the general curriculum. This means that
educational standards would have dropped even if test results may have improved.

Consider the following questions:

• What communicative function did this paragraph illustrate?

 Classify
 illustrate
 Describe
 Reflect
 Compare/contrast
 Define
 Argue
• What word/phrase or information helped you to guess the communicative
function?
 • What types of supporting sentences did the writer use? Tick the appropriate
box and indicate the sentence number next to it.

 Evidence/facts
 Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application

• What words/phrases helped you to classify the types of supporting sentences?

 Evidence/facts
 Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application

Sample 3

The assessment process is usually conducted in three phases. Firstly, a teacher

should plan the assessment carefully. In other words, they should determine the
goal of the assessment, clear assessment criteria and an appropriate instrument to
achieve the assessment goal. The next phase is the implementation of the
assessment. During this phase the assessment is completed and submitted by
learners and marked by the teacher. Lastly, the teacher should judge the
information gathered through the assessment process (like whether the learner
failed or pass) and decide what action can be taken to improve performance.

Consider the following questions:

• What communicative function did this paragraph illustrate?

 Classify
 illustrate
 Describe
 Reflect
 Compare/contrast
 Define
 Argue
What word/phrase or information helped you to guess the communicative function?

• What types of supporting sentences did the writer use? Tick the appropriate
box and indicate the sentence number next to it.

 Evidence/facts
 Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application

• What words/phrases helped you to classify the types of supporting sentences?

 Evidence/facts
 Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application
Sample 4

In Finland, learners aren’t only educated but some of their basic needs are also met
at school. Because learners can’t learn when they are hungry, they receive a free
meal daily. They also have access to free health care, transport, learning material
and counselling services at school. This promotes a healthy learning environment in
every school. These support structures are mostly funded by the government. In
fact, the government covers 98% of all school expenses. No funds are needed from
private sector nor the parents or guardians of the learners. Having their basic needs
met lead to learners who are ready to learn and grow when the time comes.
Consider the following questions:

• What communicative function did this paragraph illustrate?

 Classify
 illustrate
 Describe
 Reflect
 Compare/contrast
 Define
 Argue

• What word/phrase or information helped you to guess the communicative

function?

• What types of supporting sentences did the writer use? Tick the appropriate
box and indicate the sentence number next to it.

 Evidence/facts
 Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application

• What words/phrases helped you to classify the types of supporting sentences?

 Evidence/facts _
 Examples
 Elaboration
 Definition
 Reasons
 Application
Now that you know a little bit more about types of paragraphs and transitional
devices, it’s time to reflect on how far you have come. Take a look at your final
paragraph draft on social media use in tertiary institutions which you submitted at the
end of the first semester. Evaluate the paragraph and consider possible improvements
by thinking about the following questions:

• What feedback did you receive on your paragraph?

• How can you improve your paragraph based on the feedback?

• What type of paragraph do you think it is and why?

• Are there instances where you could have added a linking word or transitional
device to add clarity to your argument?

Reflection

• Try to rewrite your paragraph by making the improvements you considered in

the previous activity.
LESSON 4.5: DEVELOPMENT OF ARGUMENT(S)
SUPPORTED WITH SOURCES
Lesson aims:

• Revise the structure of an academic body paragraph and its three main parts
• Unpack a paragraph prompt
• Write well-structured body paragraphs
• Achieve coherence and cohesion within your paragraphs

Prepare for class

Thorough preparation before class helps you understand the content discussed in
class and enables you to contribute to the various discussions and tasks given in class.

Complete this section on your own before class.

Watch the video about writing a body paragraph by clicking the link below or
watching it directly on Blackboard. You don’t have to make notes of all the
information in the video, but if something stands out, and you would like to
remember it, you can make a note in the space below or jot down notes in your
notebook:

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0SMvLu2D1Y

Video Notes:

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Before going to class, look at the introduction you wrote last week and include the
ideas of the introduction into the essay outline on the next page. During this lesson
take note of how the introduction connects with the body paragraph.

Essay title

Background
information
Introduction

Thesis Statement
(Topic + Opinion)
Roadmap (main
ideas in body
Topic sentence
Body Paragraph 1

Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
 Topic sentence
Body Paragraph4 Body Paragraph 3 Body Paragraph 2 Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Topic sentence
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Topic sentence
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Restate your position

Summary of reasons
Conclusion

clincher/ final
comment or thought
Reference List
Task 4.5.1

Discuss the following questions:

• Think back to your reflection on the previous lesson, and write down the three
main components of a body paragraph in the space below.

• What are the respective purposes of each component in a body paragraph?

Today we are going to focus on the process of writing an academic body paragraph.
We will begin by unpacking a paragraph prompt, before writing an academic
paragraph and considering its structure. In addition, we will look at achieving
coherence and cohesion in the paragraph.

Task 4.5.2

Go back to Lesson 13, Task 6 and find your roadmap that you wrote on “teacher-
centred and learner-centred approach in schools”.

• Copy your roadmap from lesson, Task 6 below. The two ideas in your roadmap
will assist you with your topic sentences in each body paragraph.
 To recap from the previous semester, the main components and their functions are as
follows:

The three basic parts of a body paragraph are:

• Topic sentence: the topic sentence contains the topic or main idea of the paragraph.
It is usually the introductory sentence, which explains briefly what the paragraph will
be about.
• Supporting sentences: supporting sentences support the topic sentence in that they
give extra information, examples and ideas which elaborate or explain the main idea
or the paragraph.
• Concluding sentence: This sentence concludes and sums up what the paragraph was
about. It repeats the main idea in different words.

Note that all parts of the paragraph are full sentences. Point form should not be used.

Task 4.5.

During the rest of the lesson, we are going to look at the different components of a
body paragraph and apply them to the two body paragraphs you wrote earlier.
The next section of the lesson will look at the topic sentence. This sentence is usually
the first part of a body paragraph, and tells the reader what the paragraph will discuss.
Please note that it is not always the first sentence of a body paragraph.

• First, let us have a look at a student’s roadmap and body paragraphs for the
essay.

Reintroduction of corporal punishment at schools

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that corporal
punishment was generally favoured by authority figures as being the best way to
punish even the mildest form of misbehavior (see, Khathi, 2024; Le Grange, 2023;
Moodley, 2022). Although few teachers today would regard physical punishment as
the answer to all discipline problems, many scholars such as Naidoo (2020) and
Dladla (2016) feel that there are times when no other form of punishment works.
However, corporal punishment should not be reintroduced to schools. This is
argued on the grounds that it undermines human dignity and that educators require
protection, even if it is from themselves.

Corporal punishment undermines a person’s dignity. Without doubt, “a learner will

feel humiliated if he is given a hiding in front of others” (Le Grange, 2025, p. 13). If
the child is young, he may lose face by breaking down and beginning to cry
beginning to cry. The teenager, on the other hand, will feel he has to show his
friends that he will not allow himself to be treated like a child. In all probability, his
response will be one of defiance or open rebellion, which will lead to further conflict
rebellion, which will lead to further conflict. The teacher too will lose face. It is
disconcerting and frightening for scholars to watch an authority figure lose his self-
control and respond violently (see, Khathi, 2025). They may even lose their respect
for him. It therefore seems to me that no one wins when corporal punishment is
used at school.
 In this modern climate with its emphasis on learner rights, teachers too need to be
protected. We all know of irresponsible teachers who would abuse their power if
they had the right to do so, but most educators are genuinely concerned about their
students (Khathi, 2024). It must, however, be added that dealing with thirty and
more people at once can be emotionally taxing. In addition to this, in every class
there is sure to be at least one student who goes out of his/her way to test and
educator’s patience (Le Grange, 2024, p. 220). It is easy for frustrated teachers to
lose their tempers, grab a cane and inflict one stroke too many. In the past, they
would have gotten away with this, but nowadays such an incident would be enough
to end the person’s teaching career. Bearing this in mind, it is in the best interest of
teachers to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment at schools.

In conclusion, it is true that there will always be young people in a classroom who
refuse to work with teachers. After numerous reprimands and detention periods,
teachers and classmates alike may be heard to utter remarks such as, “What that
young person needs in a good hiding”. However, because in the twenty-first
century, we strive to preserve every individual’s human dignity and because we are
concerned about the best interest of educators, as well as learners, there is
absolutely no way that corporal punishment can ever be reintroduced

• Try to identify the topic sentences in each body paragraph and underline it. Go
back to the student’s roadmap and observe how the ideas of the topic
sentences link to the ideas presented in the roadmap.

Try to create your own topic sentences for each of your body paragraphs in the table
below:
Include a relevant topic sentence for both body paragraphs?

Your topic sentences need to match the ideas that you presented in your
introduction (roadmap) in order
Write down the relevant topic sentences regarding the assignment topic. You can
also try to improve on your topic sentences at a later stage, even though you think
they are correct.

1)

2)
Task 4.5.4

Study the student’s body paragraphs again.

Reintroduction of corporal punishment at schools

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that corporal
punishment was generally favoured by authority figures as being the best way to
punish even the mildest form of misbehavior (see, Khathi, 2024; Le Grange, 2023;
Moodley, 2022). Although few teachers today would regard physical punishment as
the answer to all discipline problems, many scholars such as Naidoo (2020) and
Dladla (2016) feel that there are times when no other form of punishment works.
However, corporal punishment should not be reintroduced to schools. This is argued
on the grounds that it undermines human dignity and that educators require
protection, even if it is from themselves.

Corporal punishment undermines a person’s dignity. Without doubt, “a learner will

feel humiliated if he is given a hiding in front of others” (Le Grange, 2025, p. 13). If
the child is young, he may lose face by breaking down and beginning to cry beginning
to cry. The teenager, on the other hand, will feel he has to show his friends that he
will not allow himself to be treated like a child. In all probability, his response will be
one of defiance or open rebellion, which will lead to further conflict rebellion, which
will lead to further conflict. The teacher too will lose face. It is disconcerting and
frightening for scholars to watch an authority figure lose his self-control and respond
violently (see, Khathi, 2025). They may even lose their respect for him. It therefore
seems to me that no one wins when corporal punishment is used at school.

In this modern climate with its emphasis on learner rights, teachers too need to be
protected. We all know of irresponsible teachers who would abuse their power if
they had the right to do so, but most educators are genuinely concerned about their
students (Khathi, 2024). It must, however, be added that dealing with thirty and
more people at once can be emotionally taxing. In addition to this, “in every class
there is sure to be at least one student who goes out of his/her way to test and
educator’s patience” (Le Grange, 2024, p. 220). It is easy for frustrated teachers to
lose their tempers, grab a cane and inflict one stroke too many. In the past, they
would have gotten away with this, but nowadays such an incident would be enough
to end the person’s teaching career. Bearing this in mind, it is in the best interest of
teachers to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment at schools.

In conclusion, it is true that there will always be young people in a classroom who
refuse to work with teachers. After numerous reprimands and detention periods,
teachers and classmates alike may be heard to utter remarks such as, “What that
young person needs in a good hiding”. However, because in the twenty-first century,
we strive to preserve every individual’s human dignity and because we are
concerned about the best interest of educators, as well as learners, there is
absolutely no way that corporal punishment can ever be reintroduced

• Try to identify and underline where the student made use of direct quotes and
paraphrasing.

• What is the difference between direct quotes and paraphrasing?

Refer back to the articles at the back of your study guides. Scan through each of the
articles again and find two quotes for each body paragraph from the articles that will
back up each of your topic sentences. In other words, you will end up having four
quotes (two per paragraph). Use at least two articles for your references.

• Insert your two quotes from the article/s, that will back up your opinion that
you gave in your first body paragraph’s topic sentence. Also, refer back to the
first lesson about referencing and see the example of how the student quoted
in the above sample essay.

Quote 1

Quote 2

Now, follow the steps that you did in your previous lessons about paraphrasing and
paraphrase the second quote. Remember to change the referencing accordingly.

Paraphrased version of the Quote 2:

Now, do the same here. Scan through the articles and find two quotes that back up
your topic sentence for the second and third body paragraphs.

• Insert your two quotes from at least two articles that will back up your opinion
that you gave in your second body paragraph’s topic sentence. Also, refer back
to the first lesson about referencing and also see the example of how the
student quoted in the above sample essay.
• Quote 1

• Quote 2

Now, follow the steps that you did in your previous lessons about paraphrasing and
paraphrase the second quote. Remember to change the referencing accordingly.

Paraphrased version of the Quote 2:

Again, follow the steps you did for the second body paragraph and do the exact same
thing for body paragraph 3

Quote 1

Quote 2

Paraphrased version of the Quote 2:

• Did you quote and/or paraphrase twice per body paragraph?

 • Do they support your two ideas that you presented in your roadmap and topic
sentences? How?

• What did the student do after each quote and paraphrase? Why is this
important to do?

Task 4.5.5

For the last time, scan the student’s body paragraphs. The next component of a body
paragraph is the concluding sentence. This is the closing sentence of the body
paragraph and usually links to the topic sentence.

Reintroduction of corporal punishment at schools

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that corporal
punishment was generally favoured by authority figures as being the best way to
punish even the mildest form of misbehavior (see, Khathi, 2024; Le Grange, 2023;
Moodley, 2022). Although few teachers today would regard physical punishment as
the answer to all discipline problems, many scholars such as Naidoo (2020) and
Dladla (2016) feel that there are times when no other form of punishment works.
However, corporal punishment should not be reintroduced to schools. This is
argued on the grounds that it undermines human dignity and that educators require
protection, even if it is from themselves.

Corporal punishment undermines a person’s dignity. Without doubt, “a learner will

feel humiliated if he is given a hiding in front of others” (Le Grange, 2025, p. 13). If
the child is young, he may lose face by breaking down and beginning to cry
beginning to cry. The teenager, on the other hand, will feel he has to show his
friends that he will not allow himself to be treated like a child. In all probability, his
response will be one of defiance or open rebellion, which will lead to further conflict
rebellion, which will lead to further conflict. The teacher too will lose face. It is
disconcerting and frightening for scholars to watch an authority figure lose his self-
control and respond violently (see, Khathi, 2025). They may even lose their respect
for him. It therefore seems to me that no one wins when corporal punishment is
used at school.

In this modern climate with its emphasis on learner rights, teachers too need to be
protected. We all know of irresponsible teachers who would abuse their power if
they had the right to do so, but most educators are genuinely concerned about their
students (Khathi, 2024). It must, however, be added that dealing with thirty and
more people at once can be emotionally taxing. In addition to this, “in every class
there is sure to be at least one student who goes out of his/her way to test and
educator’s patience” (Le Grange, 2024, p. 220). It is easy for frustrated teachers to
lose their tempers, grab a cane and inflict one stroke too many. In the past, they
would have gotten away with this, but nowadays such an incident would be enough
to end the person’s teaching career. Bearing this in mind, it is in the best interest of
teachers to prohibit all forms of corporal punishment at schools.

In conclusion, it is true that there will always be young people in a classroom who
refuse to work with teachers. After numerous reprimands and detention periods,
teachers and classmates alike may be heard to utter remarks such as, “What that
young person needs in a good hiding”. However, because in the twenty-first
century, we strive to preserve every individual’s human dignity and because we are
concerned about the best interest of educators, as well as learners, there is
absolutely no way that corporal punishment can ever be reintroduced

• Try to identify the concluding sentences in each body paragraph and underline
it.
• Revisit your body paragraphs that you wrote at the beginning of the lesson and
answer the following questions in the table below.

Did you write a relevant concluding sentence for each of your body paragraphs?

Did you make sure that they link to the topic sentences?

Did you make sure that your concluding sentences round off the entire paragraph?

Write down your concluding sentences regarding the assignment topic. You can also
try to improve on your concluding sentences later, even though you think they are
correct.

1)

2)
Task 4.5.6

The final task is to add, transitional devices/ discourse markers/ linking words in order
to ensure the paragraph has a better ‘flow’, in other words, to ensure cohesion within
the paragraph.

• What can you still remember about transitional devices from the first
semester? Refer back to the lessons about transitional devices and cohesion,
and make sure you included the relevant transitions.

• Write your body paragraphs, by including all the relevant information that you
did throughout this lesson. You can make use of the student’s sample essay
that will guide you with the organisation of your body paragraphs. Remember
to use the quote and paraphrase you did above for each body paragraph. Also,
remember to use these same quotes and paraphrases for the next lesson.
Body paragraph 1

Body paragraph 2
Body paragraph 3

Body paragraph 4
Look at your body paragraphs and provide yourself with feedback on the following
questions:

• Are my ideas clearly stated in each paragraph?

• Is it clear to me what each body paragraph discusses?
• Are my two ideas in the introduction (roadmap) discussed separately in each
paragraph?
• Did I use any direct quotes/paraphrasing to back up my arguments?
• Are my body paragraphs cohesive (i.e. have I used transitions/discourse
markers/linking words?)
• Do each of my body paragraphs have a concluding sentence?

Task 4.5.7

Reflection

• What are the three main components of an academic paragraph?

• Which part of an academic introduction do you think you might struggle with?
Please provide a reason why you think you might struggle with this
component.
• How do you think you might overcome this issue?
LESSON 4.6: CONCLUSIONS
Lesson aims:

• Recognise the different components of a conclusion

• Identify and understand the purpose of the different components of a conclusion
• Write an essay conclusion

Prepare for class

Thorough preparation before class helps you understand the content discussed in
class and enables you to contribute to the various discussions and tasks given in class.

Complete this section on your own before class.

Watch the video about concluding paragraphs by clicking the link below or watching
it directly on Blackboard. You don’t have to make notes of all the information in the
video, but if something stands out, and you would like to remember it, you can make
a note in the space below or jot down notes in your notebook:

Video Link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=2UElC_YZ0Eo

Video Notes:

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________

Before going to class, look at the introduction and the body paragraphs you wrote in
a few weeks and include the ideas into the essay outline on the next page. During this
lesson take note of how the conclusion connects with the body paragraphs and the
introduction.

Essay title

Background
information
Introduction

Thesis Statement
(Topic + Opinion)
Roadmap (main
ideas in body
Topic sentence
Body Paragraph 1

Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
 Topic sentence
Body Paragraph4 Body Paragraph 3 Body Paragraph 2 Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Topic sentence
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Topic sentence
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Restate your position

Summary of reasons
Conclusion

clincher/ final
comment or thought
Reference List
Task 4.6.1

Answer the following question:

• In your opinion, what is the purpose of a concluding

paragraph?

• Is there a link between a concluding paragraph and an

introductory paragraph of an academic essay? If there is, how
are the two paragraphs linked?

• What is the main difference between these two types of

paragraphs?
Task 4.6.2

Before we discuss the concluding paragraph in detail, try to write a

concluding paragraph on your own. You are going to make use of
the same assignment brief as used in the previous lessons. You
have already written an introduction, as well as two body
paragraphs, so all you have to do now is write a suitable ending in
the form of a concluding paragraph.

Essay Instructions

There has been a long-time debate regarding the implementation of

a teacher-centred and learner-centred approach in schools.

In a well-structured essay, discuss the relevance (or lack thereof) of

both these approaches in South African schools. Briefly explain
what is meant by each of these approaches and critically evaluate
the appropriateness in the education system based on your own
educational experiences up until now.

Your essay Conclusion

Task 4.6.3

After completing your conclusion, answer the following questions:

• How clearly written is my conclusion?

• Did my conclusion show my essay topic and the key

supporting information (two ideas) that was discussed?
• Have I restated my thesis or purpose statement?
• Does my conclusion end in a way that catches a reader’s
attention?

What is a concluding paragraph in an academic essay:

• A concluding paragraph is the last paragraph in an academic

essay and generally summarises the essay
• It also presents the main idea (thesis/purpose) of the essay, or
• gives an overall solution to a problem or argument given in the
essay

Thus,

• The purpose in a concluding paragraph is to restate the thesis,

summarise the essay's body, and leave readers with a final
impression. Key aspects to remember: A strong essay
conclusion restates (paraphrases), not rewrites your thesis
from the introduction.
A concluding paragraph of an academic essay consists of the
following 3 components:

• Restate (not rewrite) the essay’s thesis or purpose statement:

To remind the reader what the purpose or viewpoint of the essay
was. In other words, what did the essay set out to prove or discuss
in the introductory paragraph?
• Summary of reasons/main ideas: To summarise the main ideas
and focus the essay’s discussion in an effort to support the thesis
or purpose statement as indicated in the introduction of the
academic essay. Here you should provide a summary of your
body paragraphs and show how you proved your argument by
tying up the evidence in each body paragraph.
• Clincher: A "clincher" sentence offers a summary and conclusion
that is delivered in powerful language. It is often preceded by
several sentences that pull together the threads of evidence or
argument, and then delivers the knock-out punch as the "clincher."
It is meant to grab a reader’s attention. It could also be in the form
of a relevant quote form well-known or respected figure.

Please note that no new information aimed at providing evidence to prove

your argument is permitted in the concluding paragraph.

Think about the conclusion as a mirror image of the triangle you did
in the lesson about introductions. The information you provide your
reader moves from very specific information to a more generalised
form of information.
The focus of today’s lesson is on concluding paragraphs. We are
going to discuss the three main parts of a concluding paragraph in
turn. We will also establish the purpose and relationship of these
components to the rest of your academic assignment.

Task 4.6.4

Taking into consideration the description of a concluding paragraph,

do you notice the link between the introduction and the conclusion
of an academic essay? Briefly write down your thoughts regarding
this connection.
Task 4.6.5

Similar to the previous lesson about introductory paragraphs, this

lesson will also break the conclusion down into three different parts.

The following section will investigate the first part, namely restating
the thesis or purpose statement.

• First, have a look at the bolded sentences in both the

introduction and conclusion of the student’s essay.

Should corporal punishment be reintroduced in schools?

Introduction sample:

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that
corporal punishment was generally favoured by authority figures
as being the best way to punish even the mildest form of
misbehaviour. Although few teachers today would regard physical
punishment as the answer to all discipline problems, many do feel
that there are times when no other form of punishment works.
However, corporal punishment should not be reintroduced to
schools on the grounds that it undermines human dignity and that
educators require protection, even if it is from themselves.

Conclusion sample:

In conclusion, there is absolutely no way that corporal

punishment can ever be reintroduced. indeed, there will always
be young people in a classroom who refuse to work with teachers.
After numerous reprimands and detention periods, teachers and
classmates alike may be heard to utter remarks such as, “What
that young person needs is a good hiding”. However, because in
the twenty-first century we strive to preserve every individual’s
human dignity and because we are concerned about the best
interests of educators, as well as learners, the reintroduction of
such punishment should be avoided.

• In what way is the above essay’s thesis statement different to

the sentence highlighted in the conclusion?

Revisit your own conclusion and review the way in which you
restated the THS.

• Do you feel that it is sufficiently written according to what you

just learned?
 • Based on your review, restate your thesis statement below.
Consider the useful phrases in the grey box below and also
what you learnt about paraphrasing thus far:

Useful language for restating the thesis or goal statement

• This study has identified…

• This paper has argued that…
• The current findings clearly indicate that…
• Analysis of X has shown that…
• The investigation of X has revealed that…
• One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is
that…
• The second major finding was that…

• Try to evaluate your restating of the THS. Can you make any
suggestions to improve the sentence? Write those
suggestions down.
Task 4.6.6

The next component of a conclusion is the summary of reasons.

This consists of information that comes directly after restating the
thesis and reminds the reader about the essay’s topic and brings
together all the arguments provided by the writer.

• Let us have another look at the introduction and conclusion (see

bold sentences) of the student’s essay.

Introduction sample:

Research into the educational practices of the past will reveal that
corporal punishment was generally favoured by authority figures as
being the best way to punish even the mildest form of misbehaviour.
Although few teachers today would regard physical punishment as the
answer to all discipline problems, many do feel that there are times when
no other form of punishment works. However, on the grounds that it
undermines human dignity and that educators require protection,
even if it is from themselves, corporal punishment should not be
reintroduced to schools.
Conclusion sample:

In conclusion, it is true that there will always be young people in a

classroom who refuse to work with teachers. After numerous reprimands
and detention periods, teachers and classmates alike may be heard to
utter remarks such as, “What that young person needs is a good hiding”.
However, because in the twenty-first century we strive to preserve
every individual’s human dignity and because we are concerned
about the best interests of educators, as well as learners, there is
absolutely no way that corporal punishment can ever be reintroduced.

• What observation can you make with regard to the student’s

roadmap and summary of reasons?

Revisit your own conclusion that you wrote in the beginning of the
lesson and review the way in which you wrote a summary of the
reasons.
 • Do you feel that it is sufficiently written according to what you
just learned?

• Now, rewrite the summary of reasons section of your

conclusion. There is some useful language you can use in the
grey box below. You can also refer to your roadmap in the
introduction lesson.

Academic phrases associated with summarising your

reasons/findings:

• This paper has argued that…

• The current findings clearly indicate that…
• The investigation of X has revealed that…
• One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is
that…
• The second major finding was that…
Task 4.6.7

The next component of a conclusion is the clincher. The clincher

leaves the reader with a final thought about your essay. To write a
clincher sentence, you need know your key message first. So, think
about this: If readers would remember one thing from your essay,
what would it be? There are various ways of writing a clincher:

Consider the following THS:

The rising incidence of depression in South African schools has

reached a crisis point, requiring a comprehensive response that
integrates counselling, medication, and social support interventions.

1. Make a Prediction

• Make sure your prediction flows logically from your research.

Don’t make a guess.
• If South African schools continues to isolate learners suffering
from depression, these people will continue to experience
difficulties, pain, and loneliness.

2. Offer a Recommendation

• Ensure your recommendation is something realistic.

• The South African mental health community should work
towards raising awareness of the impact of depression in
South African schools. By making this clear to community
leaders, the mental health community can be a voice for
positive change.

3. Suggest Opportunities for Further Research

 • Make use of this method when there is a lack of research on
your topic.
• Future research should examine the treatment strategies
employed in other countries and incorporate successful
approaches in the struggle with the disease. By making use of
this information, South Africa could effectively support those
who live with depression.

4. Ask a Thought-Provoking Rhetorical Question

• Invite the reader to consider the question based on the

evidence in your essay.
• With all that is known about depression and its devastating
impact, why has South Africa not committed more political and
economic resources to the fight against this disease?

5. Connect Back to the Background Info

• Provide closure to an essay by connecting back to the

grabber. Note that a citation is needed because information
has been taken from another source.
• Example BG info: Lim et al. (2008) estimated that mental
illnesses such as depression cost the South African
economoy R1,2 billion as schools experience a high dropout
rate of 56%,
• Example Clincher relating back to BG Info: As Lim et al.
(2008) pointed out, with an estimated R1,2 billion in costs and
damages at stake each year, South African economy cannot
afford to neglect this issue any longer.
Keeping your previous paragraphs, introduction and two body
paragraphs in mind, as well as the first part of your conclusion that
you have already completed in this lesson. Write two different
‘clinchers’ for your academic assignment. You can make use of the
academic phrases that are commonly used in academic writing

Academic phrases associated with a clincher:

1)
• The contribution of this essay has been to confirm…
• The current findings add to a growing body of literature on…
• The present paper confirms previous findings regarding…

2)

Task 4.6.8

The final step is to put your concluding paragraph together.

Combine the three components, restate the THS, summary of
reasons and clincher, and write a complete conclusion in the space
below.
Task 4.6.9

Reflection

• What are the three components of a conclusion for an

academic essay?

• Which part of an academic conclusion do you think you might

struggle with? Why?

• How do you think you might overcome this issue?

UNIT 5: DRAFTING AND FORMATTING
LESSON 5.1: OUTLINING ESSAY ESSAY/ASSIGNMENT
Lesson aims:

• Complete your Assignment outline during class

What do you need for this class:

• Your academic sources that you are going to use for your
assignment
 Background
information
Introduction

Thesis Statement
(Topic + Opinion)
Roadmap (main
ideas in body
Topic sentence
Body Paragraph4 Body Paragraph 3 Body Paragraph 2 Body Paragraph 1

Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Topic sentence
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Topic sentence
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
Topic sentence
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Supporting Idea
Elaboration
Concluding Sentence
 Restate your position

Summary
Summary of
of reasons
reasons
Conclusion
C l i

clincher/ final
comment or thought
Reference List
LESSON 5.2: COHERENCE
Lesson aims:

• Understand how coherent paragraphs are written

• Improve your writing through the writing of cohesive paragraphs.

Task 5.2.1

Look at the two samples of sentences below:

Sample 1:

Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. The first
set of needs are physiological. Physiological needs must be taken care of before a
person can concern themselves with safety needs.

Sample 2:

Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. The first
set of needs are physiological. Safety needs can only be a concern once physiological
have been taken care of.

• Which set of sentences do you prefer? Why?

 • Why are the sentences in 1 more cohesive than the sentences in 2?

• What is familiar with the information that comes before the main verb?

Creating cohesion

Writers, to maintain flow and create focus throughout their paragraph, often make
use of Theme and Rheme. These two concepts combine to create a pattern by
connecting ideas. This makes your writing coherent. Today’s lesson will focus on
building your understanding of these two key concepts and how you can effectively
use them in your academic writing.

Theme

According to Danes (1974: 106), a theme is any information that the reader already
knows (or is obvious) because it was mentioned earlier in the text, because of their
background knowledge, because it is general knowledge.
 Put differently, a theme is everything before the main verb in a sentence.

As a writer yourself, you need to make sure that the theme is something that the
reader is already familiar with.

Task 5.2.2

Consider the sentences in 1 and 2 above again:

• Highlight the main verb in the sentences. Now, underline the theme in the
sentences. What do you notice about the relationship between the main verb
and the themes in each sentence?

Remember that when trying to consider creating meaning and a logical flow to your
writing, everything before the main verb can be called the theme.

Task 5.2.3

Read the paragraph provided below and respond to the questions that follow:

Children are taught how to behave through the use of sanctions. Sanctions refer to
what happens to children after they have done something. There are two kinds of
sanctions, namely positive and negative sanctions. On the one hand, positive
sanctions refer to rewards. Children receive rewards after they have done
something good, like receiving a gold star on a star chart or a sweet. Negative
sanctions, on the other hand refers to punishments that a child receives when
 he/she did something wrong or rude. Examples of negative sanctions include
putting children in the naughty corner or taking away a favourite toy for a while.
Thus, through the use of sanctions children learn how to behave.

• Is the theme of each sentence referring to information presented in the

preceding sentence or referring to something that you are already familiar
with or previously mentioned?

If you notice a pattern that connects ideas, then you have managed to identify the
theme. You should also have seen that the theme acts as a base before one moves on
to new information in a sentence. In this paragraph, the writer maintained the same
focus in succeeding sentences as in the previous sentence and then built new
information from there.

Task 5.2.4

Read the paragraph below and highlight the theme found in each sentence. After you
have highlighted, share your themes prepare to share them with your class.

One of the main reasons people accuse big brands of being ‘evil’ is because of the
belief that they exploit workers, especially those in developing countries. This
exploitation is because wages per hour are significantly cheaper and taxes and
regulations are less stringent in developing countries (Madeley, 1999). For example,
Thai labourers’ wages are about 56 pence per hour so instead of hiring high cost
English labourers companies hire cheaper Thais (Madeley, 1999). Moreover, those
countries have weak enforcement of wage and safety laws. Such accusations have
 been one of the primary factors that have led people to argue that big brands are
‘evil’.

Rheme

To create a consistent and cohesive text, one of the options that writers exercise is
to combine theme and rheme in their paragraph writing.

Rheme is the information in a sentence that is usually new or which the reader is
learning for the first time.

It is everything that comes after the main verb.

The theme provides the reader with a starting point for information to follow later
in the sentence, which is the rheme.

Task 5.2.5

Consider the previous sentence/paragraph that we used earlier and identify the
rheme in each sentence (i.e. everything after the main verb). You can use the table
below to help you structure your answer.

• Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. The
first set of needs are physiological. Physiological needs must be taken care of
before a person can concern themselves with safety needs.

Theme Main Rheme

verb
Task6.5.2 6

Revisit the paragraph given below that you worked on earlier and highlight the rheme
in each sentence. You will share your findings with the class.

Children are taught how to behave through the use of sanctions. Sanctions refer to
what happens to children after they have done something. There are two kinds of
sanctions, namely positive and negative sanctions. On the one hand, positive sanctions
refers to rewards. Children receive rewards after they have done something good, like
receiving a gold star on a star chart or a sweet. Negative sanctions, on the other hand
refers to punishments that a child receives when he/she did something wrong or rude.
Examples of negative sanctions include putting children in the naughty corner or
taking away a favourite toy for a while. Thus, through the use of sanctions, children
learn how to behave.

Theme and rheme combined

From the theoretical knowledge given and the practical activities that you have done
thus far, it is evident that theme and rheme combine in building coherent paragraphs.
One of the observations you probably have made is that one can use a graph to visually
capture how ideas and sentences are connected through theme and rheme. You can
use the ‘relay race’ visual pattern below to plot your theme and rheme as part of your
essay writing process.

Theme Rheme

Theme Rheme
Task 5.2.7

Highlight the relay race pattern in the paragraph below. Do not re-write the
paragraph, use applicable arrows to indicate how the relay works. If there are any
deviations from the relay race in some sentences, highlight those deviations and bring
that to the attention of the class.

Children are taught how to behave through the use of sanctions. Sanctions refer to
what happens to children after they have done something. There are two kinds of
sanctions, namely positive and negative sanctions. On the one hand, positive
sanctions refers to rewards. Children receive rewards after they have done
something good, like receiving a gold star on a star chart or a sweet. Negative
sanctions, on the other hand refers to punishments that a child receives when
he/she did something wrong or rude. Examples of negative sanctions include
putting children in the naughty corner or taking away a favourite toy for a while.
Thus, through the use of sanctions, children learn how to behave.

Task 6.8

Now that you understand how to use theme and theme to connect ideas, put that
knowledge to practical use. Based on the given topic below, write a paragraph that
employs the cohesive technique of theme and theme using the relay race pattern.

Topic:

Describe one of the aspects of online learning that you like and explain the reasons for
your choice.
Paragraph
Map your paragraph onto the following table and discuss with peers in the discussion
forum:

Theme Rheme
Theme 1 Rheme

Theme 2 Rheme

Theme 3 Rheme

Theme 4 Rheme

While the relay race pattern is the most common structuring of paragraphs using
theme and rheme, other paragraph structures are also used to connect ideas.

The One-Man Band

In this pattern, we have a single theme being used more than once. Look at the
paragraph below an example of this pattern.
The compelling sound of an infant’s cry makes it an effective distress signal and
appropriate to the human infant’s prolonged dependence on a caregiver. However, cries
are discomforting and may be alarming to parents, many of whom find it very difficult to
listen to their infant’s crying for even short periods of time. Many reasons for crying are
obvious, like hunger and discomfort due to heat, cold, hunger, illness and the lying
position. (Eggins, 1994:368)

From the paragraph, you will notice that the given paragraph consistent theme ‘crying’
as underlined in the paragraph. The graph below depicts the structure of the one-man
band pattern.

Theme Rheme

Theme Rheme

Theme Rheme

The Fan pattern

Based on the graph below, explain the fan pattern. Jot down your explanation in the
space provided:

Theme Rheme

Theme Rheme

Theme Rheme
In the fan pattern, rheme proceeds from a sentence to be a theme in more than one
sentence as evidence in the paragraph below:

Children are taught how to behave through the use of negative sanctions. Negative
sanctions refers to punishments that a child receives when he/she did something
wrong or rude. Examples of negative sanctions include putting children in the
naughty corner or taking away a favourite toy for a while.

Double Trouble

In the double trouble pattern, the sentence has more than one rheme. The rhemes
proceed to be individual themes, as evidenced in the sentences below.

There are two kinds of sanctions, namely positive and negative sanctions. On the
one hand, positive sanctions refers to rewards for having done something good.
Negative sanctions, on the other hand, refers to punishments that one receives when
he/she does something wrong or rude.

• Explain below as to how the paragraph this aligns with a visual representation
of a double trouble pattern below.
 Theme Rheme + Rheme

Theme Rheme

Theme Rheme

Task 6.8

• Read the paragraphs below and decide which of the patterns they represent.

Paragraph one: __________________________________________

Obesity has been a problem in the United States for a long time. In the 1980s, the
number of obese people began to increase rapidly. The percentage of obese adults
went from 15.0% in 1980 to 32.9% in 2004, more than doubling. Obesity can be
extremely damaging to the body and can lead to other chronic diseases, such as
diabetes and hypertension. It is clear and has been for a long time, that obesity is
an epidemic in America, and researchers are trying to find the cause. Obesity is
commonly associated with people picking food solely based on taste and not on
 nutritional content, leading them to choose delicious junk food over nutritious
vegetables.

Essay by Catherine Sterrett, Portland Community College, 2017. Reproduced with

permission

Paragraph 2 two: ______________________________________________

Divorce causes emotional and financial stress for those involved. The emotional
stress is usually caused by a change to one’s accustomed way of life, and the void
left by a partner can also be traumatic. If a partner is unemployed and has been
relying on the other for financial support during the marriage, then financial, stress
becomes another nightmare.

Reflection

• Explain what theme and rheme are.

• Which theme and rheme pattern best explains your paragraph writing?

• How will you change your paragraph writing going forward?

LESSON 5.3: TEXT COHESION - MICRO
Lesson aims:

• Recognise different strategies to achieve text cohesion

• Understand the main function of each of these text cohesion strategies
• Practice and apply the specific text cohesion strategies

Task 5.3.1

Discuss the following questions with your partner:

• In your opinion, what is meant with the term text cohesion?

• Why do you think it is important to establish text cohesion in your academic

writing, especially at university?
 • What type of strategies do you think a person could use to achieve text
cohesion?

Study the following two text examples:

Example 1

Kolb’s theory about learning styles is not the only one that exists. Researches also
make a distinction between inductive and deductive learning styles. People who
learn through an inductive process, start with specific observations before
considering the rules or principles that can be learned from the observation. On the
other hand, deductive learners use general rules or principles as a starting point
before giving a verdict or forming their opinion based on these rules.

Example 2

There are other theories about learning styles. There are inductive and deductive
learning styles. If you learn with an inductive learning style, you make specific
observations. You find rules of principles that can be concluded. You can have a
deductive learning style. You start with general rules or principles. You give a verdict
or opinion.
 • Which one of the two texts is better? In other words, which one of the two
texts reads easier and is more understandable?

Consider the following text:

Special education has traditionally focused on the individual. Disability definitions

provide individual traits and characteristics. A view of social justice based on the
individual has dominated the special education field. Views of social justice can be
classified as individualistic. Views of social justice can be classified as
communitarian. Individualistic and communitarian views permeate the discourses
on inclusion.

Adapted for academic purposes:

Artiles, A.J., Harris-Murri, N. & Rostenberg, D. 2006. Inclusion as Social Justice:

Critical Notes on Discourses, Assumptions, and the Road Ahead. Theory into
practice, 25(3), 26-268.

On your own, try to rewrite this text to enhance the cohesion of the entire text.
Strategies to achieve text cohesion:

Although there are numerous strategies that a person can use to create text cohesion,
we are going to focus on the following three.

• Transitional devices: Academic writing usually deals with complex ideas. To enable
the reader to follow your thoughts and the connections between them, they need
to be clearly and smoothly linked. To join ideas and sentences, we use a number of
connecting words and phrases (see the list in Lesson 4 for some transitional devices.
• Referring backwards (Anaphoric references): The reader needs to know who and
what is being referred to in a text. However, it is not good to repeat the same
phrases or words too often, so we use cohesive devices to make references to other
parts of a text; such as:

o Pronouns: it, he, she, his, her, they, their etc.

o Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
o Articles: a, the
o Adverbs: previously, subsequently

• Using vocabulary with semantic (meaning-based) relationships (also called Lexical

cohesion): Good academic writing on a specific topic will naturally include
vocabulary that relates to the same topic. Using different words with related
meanings, or words with a formal relation to other words (such as opposites or
category names) can help your text function as a whole. Some of the examples of
these words are:
o Synonyms: Words with (nearly) the same meaning.
o Antonyms: Words with opposite meanings.
o Repeating the same word
 o Different forms of the same word: For example organisations (noun) and
organize (verb).
o Collocation: Words that tend to be used in the same context.

For example, in the sentences, ‘It started raining earlier. I hope it doesn’t snow’, rain and
snow are related because they are part of a bigger concept like the weather. So even though
the two sentences doesn’t have some of the other cohesive devices like a transition, you
still understand the relationship between the two sentences.

Extract from The Relationship Between Teachers’ Implementation of Classroom

Management Practices and Student Behavior in Elementary School 4

Predicting Student Success

An analysis of teacher behaviours is best initiated with consideration of those student

behaviours that are known to be associated with success and then working backward in
terms of identifying teacher behaviours that provide high probabilities for those student
behaviours. Any such analysis leads quickly to student engagement, perhaps the sin qua
non 5 of successful students (e.g., Berliner, 1990; Greenwood, Horton, & Utley, 2002). As
David Berliner (1990) put it, the relationship between academic engaged time and student
achievement “has the same scientific status as the concept of homeostasis in biology,
reinforcement in psychology, and gravity in physics” (p. 3). As such, more engagement is
associated with better student outcomes than less engagement, and engagement can be
defined both by its duration and intensity, with active engagement more beneficial than
passive engagement (e.g., Downer, Rimm-Kaufman, & Pianta, 2007). On the other hand,
the antithesis of active engagement is no engagement with the lesson—or what is
commonly referred to as being off-task.

Just as active engagement is a predictor of student success, disruptive behavior is a

predictor of failure (Noltemeyer, Ward, & Mcloughlin, 2015). Disruption is more than

4
Adapted for academic purposes:
5
an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary

1
simple disengagement in that it involves behaviors that draw the focus of the teacher, and
perhaps the entire classroom, away from instruction or expected tasks. As a result
responding this type of student behaviour is reported to be among the most challenging
tasks of being a teacher, especially among new teachers (Westling, 2010). Furthermore,
students who exhibit disruptive behaviours are more likely to have academic deficits
(Nelson, Benner, Lane, & Smith, 2004; Wagner, Kutash, Duchnowski, Epstein, & Sumi,
2005). As a result, they end up receiving less instruction than their nondisruptive peers
(Sutherland, Lewis-Palmer, Stichter, & Morgan, 2008).

Off-task and disruptive behaviour is a concern for all students, but particularly for students
with and at risk for emotional and/or behavioural disorders (EBD; Kauffman & Landrum,
2018). Research has established that students with EBD are regularly excluded from
classroom instruction, either by being sent to the office (Sugai, Sprague, Horner, & Walker,
2000) or by being placed in restrictive settings (McLeskey, Landers, Williamson, & Hoppey,
2012). In this regard, Trout, Nordness, Pierce, and Epstein (2003) found that students with
EBD were more likely to be below grade level in mathematics when compared with their
peers. They were also find to be below grade level for reading. Longitudinal research
supports these findings, with a number of studies finding that students with EBD
demonstrate deficits in both reading and mathematics, and that those deficits are
sustained across time (Anderson, Kutash, & Duchnowski, 2001; Lane, Wehby, Little, &
Cooley, 2005; Mattison, Hooper, & Glassberg, 2002; Siperstein, Wiley, & Forness, 2011).

Overall, it is clear that students with EBD are not experiencing the same educational
outcomes as their peers. Therefore, to increase the likelihood that students with EBD are
able to (a) remain in their general education classrooms, (b) access high quality academic
instruction, (c) be engaged with that instruction, and (d) increase their academic
performance, general education teachers must effectively implement high quality,
evidence-based classroom management (U.S. Department of Education [USDOE] & Office
of Special Education Programs, 2016).

2
Today we are going to have a look at how a person link the content (paragraphs) in an essay
in order to create cohesion throughout the entire piece of academic writing. We are going to
discuss three ways in which this could be accomplished, as mentioned above. The first of
these strategies is the use of transitional devices/linking words.

Task 5.3.2

Think about the following questions and write down responses:

• What can you remember about transitional words or phase? In other words, what is
the purpose of these words and why do a person have to include them in academic
writing?

Study the following examples and, add three additional linking words in each category.

Category For instance Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

To add Furthermore
To compare However
To prove Because
To show time Immediately
To repeat In brief
To emphasise Indeed
Indicate sequence Firstly
Provide example For instance
To conclude Therefore

Study the text include in the previous section and identify the following transitional devices
in the text by writing the transition and the paragraph and text line.

• Examples of adding or sequence transitional devices:

3
 • Examples of comparing or contrasting transitional devices:

• Examples of a transitional devices\ that indicate that an example is going to be

discussed:

• Examples that shows that a conclusion is being made:

Task 5.3.3

The second strategy that could be used to ensure cohesion throughout your essay, is by
making use of referring backwards.

• As mentioned before, the reader needs to know who and what is being referred to
in a text.
• However, it is not good to repeat the same phrases or words too often, so we use
cohesive devices to make references to other parts of a text, such as:
o Pronouns: it, he, she, his, her, they, their etc.
o Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
o Articles: a, the
o Adverbs: previously, subsequently
• For example, instead of writing it as follows
o The new students at the UFS are very excited for their first day of classes.
The new students have been waiting for this day for a very long time.

4
 • It is better to write it as:
o The new students at the UFS are very excited for their first day of classes.
They have been waiting for this day for a very long time.
• In this example, ‘they’ refer to the new students.
• It is not good academic writing practice to repeat words or phrases to often during
the academic writing process, and we try to ‘substitute’ these words.

Study the paragraph below and answer the questions that follows.

Just as active engagement is a predictor of student success, disruptive behaviour is

a predictor of failure (Noltemeyer, Ward, & Mcloughlin, 2015). Disruption is more
than simple disengagement in that it involves behaviours that draw the focus of the
teacher, and perhaps the entire classroom, away from instruction or expected tasks.
As a result responding this type of student behaviour is reported to be among the
most challenging tasks of being a teacher, especially among new teachers (Westling,
2010). Furthermore, students who exhibit disruptive behaviours are more likely to
have academic deficits (Nelson, Benner, Lane, & Smith, 2004; Wagner, Kutash,
Duchnowski, Epstein, & Sumi, 2005). As a result, they end up receiving less
instruction than their nondisruptive peers (Sutherland, Lewis-Palmer, Stichter, &
Morgan, 2008).

• Consider the words in bold. To what word or phrase that appears before it does it
refer?

5
 • If reference was not used, what would the writer have done? How would this have
affected the cohesion of the paragraph?

Task 5.3.4

The final method that we are going to discuss in terms of establishing text cohesion in an
academic text is called lexical cohesion.

Let us have a look at the same paragraph from the previous task.

Just as active engagement is a predictor of student success, disruptive behaviour is a

predictor of failure (Noltemeyer, Ward, & Mcloughlin, 2015). Disruption is more than
simple disengagement in that it involves behaviours that draw the focus of the teacher, and
perhaps the entire classroom, away from instruction or expected tasks. As a result
responding this type of student behaviour is reported to be among the most challenging
tasks of being a teacher, especially among new teachers (Westling, 2010). Furthermore,
students who exhibit disruptive behaviours are more likely to have academic deficits
(Nelson, Benner, Lane, & Smith, 2004; Wagner, Kutash, Duchnowski, Epstein, & Sumi,
2005). As a result, they end up receiving less instruction than their nondisruptive peers
(Sutherland, Lewis-Palmer, Stichter, & Morgan, 2008).

Study the paragraph and mark words with meanings that relate to each other in some way.
There will be different sets of these words, you can mark them in different colours or in
different ways if you can. Some words may be part of more than one group of words. For
example, they can be part a set of synonyms and a set of antonyms. This is not a problem.

6
• See if you can find a set of synonyms and underline or write them down below.

• See if you can find antonyms and underline them or write them down below.

• See if you can find words that are repeated and highlight them.

• See if you can find different forms of the same word and highlight it.

• See if you can find collocations and write them down or underline them.

7
Task 7.5

Time to practice the skills and knowledge that you have gained during the lesson today. Write
a short paragraph on ‘Challenges and opportunities when studying online’ in which you
included at least TWO examples of each of the three cohesive devices, namely transitional
devices, backwards referencing and lexical cohesion. It can help to first write the paragraph
without too much regard for cohesion and then add cohesive devices in your second draft.

8
Reflection

• Write in your own words what the three cohesion mechanisms are that a student can
use to ensure text cohesion in their academic essays.

• Which one of the three cohesion mechanisms do you think you might struggle with?
Please provide a reason why you think you might struggle with this particular strategy.

• How do you think you might overcome this issue?

9
LESSON 5.4: HEDGING AND BOOSTING
Lesson aims:

• To become aware of hedging, and the reasons for hedging in academic writing
• To consider situations in which it is appropriate to make cautious or strong
claims in academic writing
• To learn language and techniques for softening or strengthening claims

In this week’s lesson, you will be guided to think about the language that is used for ‘hedging’
and ‘boosting’. These are key features of academic language.

Task 5.4.1

Watch the video about hedging and take notes on important information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU-KgiVsAxY

Notes:

10
Task 5.4.2

Answer the following questions:

• What is hedging?

• Why do we hedge in academic writing?

REMEMBER!

A typical stylistic feature of much academic writing is ‘hedging’. Hedging is a more ‘cautious’
or ‘tentative’ style of writing. The aim is to distinguish between facts and claims. When
something isn’t a fact, we use hedging language to represent the information in a more
cautious way.

Why do we hedge?

There are many circumstances in which we may ‘hedge’ our language. For example, when
we want to say something to someone in a gentle way. Instead of saying:

• ‘You should really wear another t-shirt. That one looks horrible!’

You could instead say

• ‘You may want to consider wearing another t-shirt. That one doesn’t really suit you.’

Do you see how the second sentence is a bit gentler?

We can also use hedging when we want to avoid saying something negative. For example,
instead of saying:

• ‘This food is bad.’

You may want to say

• ‘This food isn’t really my taste.’

11
In the second sentence, you are not saying anything negative about the food itself.

In academic writing too, it is sometimes necessary to use more cautious or tentative

language (hedging). We do this to differentiate between facts and claims and show our
readers that, although we may have evidence of something, this may not be true for all
situations/scenarios/contexts. In other words, we hedge in order to be accurate in the
presentation of our arguments.

Why do we boost?

However, there may also be occasions when you want to state information in a clear,
stronger way (boosting). These may be in a results section of a research report, or when
there is very stronger evidence for information.

How to Hedge

a) Modal verbs

It could be argued that….

It may be the case that…
This might be interpreted…

b) Reporting verbs (seem, appear, tend, suggest, etc.)

It seems that…
It appears to be the case that….
This suggests that…

c) Adverbs / adverb phrases (perhaps, possibly, presumably, arguably, relatively to some

extent, etc.)

The second solution is perhaps more convincing…

This argument is to some extent justified…

Aristotle is arguably the founder of the natural sciences…

d) Adverbs of degree (approximately, about, almost, etc.)

Approximately 60 million people live in the UK…

e) Adverbs of frequency (generally, commonly, in some cases, etc.)

Generally, examples of this can be found among international students…

f) Adjectives

12
 It is + adjective + that
(doubtful, unlikely, possible, etc.)
It is possible that these arguments will not stand up to scrutiny…
It is doubtful that these claims can be substantiated …

It is + adjective + to
(possible, reasonable, etc.)
It is possible to argue that…

It is reasonable to suggest that…

Useful language for strong claims (‘boosting’)

a) Adverbs of certainty (certainly, clearly, evidently, inevitably, obviously, undoubtedly,

etc.)

The results clearly demonstrate that the research was valid…

b) Adverbs of degree (exactly, precisely, etc.)

Exactly the same rules apply in all situations…

c) Adjectives

It is + adjective + that
(clear, certain, evident, etc.)
It is clear that…
It is certain that…
It is evident that…

It is + adjective + to

(essential, vital, necessary, etc.)

It is essential to understand that the situation continues to cause problems.

adjective + noun

(strong, clear, compelling, irrefutable, etc)

There is strong evidence that…

There are compelling reasons to believe that…

13
 Useful language for strong claims (‘boosting’)

a) Adverbs of certainty (certainly, clearly, evidently, inevitably, obviously,

undoubtedly, etc.)
The results clearly demonstrate that the research was valid…

b) Adverbs of degree (exactly, precisely, etc.)

Exactly the same rules apply in all situations…

c) Adjectives
It is + adjective + that
(clear, certain, evident, etc.)
It is clear that…
It is certain that…
It is evident that…

It is + adjective + to

(essential, vital, necessary, etc.)

It is essential to understand that the situation continues to cause

problems.

adjective + noun

(strong, clear, compelling, irrefutable, etc)

There is strong evidence that…

There are compelling reasons to believe that…

Task 5.4.3

Read the three texts below and consider the following questions.

1. What are the differences between them?

2. What is the effect of this difference?
3. How does this difference affect you as a reader?
4. Why did the writer of Text A choose to write in this way?
5. Why did the writer of Text B choose to write in this way?
6. Why did the writer of Text C choose to write in this way?
7. Which do you think is better for academic writing in your FACULTY?

14
Write your thoughts here:

Text samples:

Text A

Nevertheless, although a cash economy be expensive to maintain, it provides

several safeguards for ordinary citizens. Firstly, two billion of the world’s poorest
people have no access to banking systems or digital payment systems (Wheatley,
2017). This is exclusionary and the poorest individuals will find it difficult to
participate in the economy. Furthermore, the use of cash allows for greater
flexibility in budgeting for those on lower incomes (Wheatley, 2017). Secondly,
there is an issue with individual privacy. Bendell (2015) shows that no consent has
been given for a system that allows governments and corporations to access the
huge amounts of personal data held by digital payments systems.

Text B

Nevertheless, some researchers argue that although a cash economy may be

expensive to maintain, it provides several safeguards for ordinary citizens. Firstly, it
is estimated that two billion of the world’s poorest people have no access to
banking systems or digital payment systems (Wheatley, 2017). It can be argued that

15
this is exclusionary and that the poorest individuals will find it difficult to participate
in the economy. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the use of cash allows for
greater flexibility in budgeting for those on lower incomes (Wheatley, 2017).
Secondly, there appears to be an issue with individual privacy. Bendell (2015)
argues that no consent has been given for a system that allows governments and
corporations to access the huge amounts of personal data held by digital payments
systems.

Text C

Nevertheless, it is clear that although a cash economy may be expensive to

maintain, it most definitely provides several safeguards for ordinary citizens. Firstly,
there is strong evidence that the use of cash allows for greater flexibility in
budgeting for those on lower incomes (Wheatley, 2017). Secondly, it is reasonable
to argue that there is an issue with privacy. Bendell (2015) insists that no consent
has been given for a system that allows governments and corporations to access
the huge amounts of personal data held by digital payments systems.

The more cautious style of writing in Text B is called ‘hedging’. The ‘stronger’ way pf writing
in Text C is known as ‘boosting’.

• Why do you think a writer would want to write in a ‘cautious’ way?

• Why do you think a writer would want to write in a ‘stronger’ way?

16
Task 5.4.4

Which of the following statements would you hedge? Why? Mark the sentences which should
be hedged.

1. Two plus two equals four.

2. The Simpsons is the most popular television programme in the world.

3. The Amazon river is 7,000km long.

4. The Free State is located in central South Africa.

5. Lecturers don’t care about students’ workload in other modules.

6. Due to Covid-19 we will not have in person classes for the next three years.

• What do you notice about when to hedge?

Task 5.4.5

Look again at the bold text in Text B from Task 10.2. Which of the techniques you learnt about
online does the writer to use to ‘hedge’ their claims?

• Write down your thoughts below

17
Task 5.4.6

Now, go back to the sentences in Task 10.3 which need to be hedged. Rewrite the sentences
in the box below, including suitable hedging language.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Task 5.4.7

Below is a paragraph from an academic article. The article investigated the way mathematics
teachers asked questions and whether their practices promoted critical thinking. All the
hedging has been removed from this paragraph.

1. Read the paragraph, and add hedging in appropriate places

2. Think about why you chose to hedge. Do this for each ‘hedge’ you add to the text.

Teachers in this study asked recall and leading questions that did not give learners enough
opportunities to think critically and find solutions on their own. Questions that required
comprehension and application, that is, those that required understanding and ability to
use learned materials, were least asked in this study. Questions that only required
remembering and application were responded to correctly without thinking and
understanding. These questions promoted critical thinking the least during our
observations. Questions that encourage learners to do more than just remembering and

18
 recalling known facts stimulate critical thinking and deeper reasoning (Sillivan & Lilburn,
2002). Students are not taught mathematics to recite mathematical formulas or follow
algorithms and procedures, but to think critically and mathematically.

3. Now, compare your hedging with your partner and tell them why you chose to add in
the hedging (explain each ‘hedge’ to your partner).

Task 5.4.8

Which of the following statements would you boost? Why? Mark the sentences which should
be boosted.

1. Two plus two equals four.

2. The Simpsons is the most popular television programme in the world.
3. The Amazon is 7,000km long.
4. The wealth of evidence shows a connection between studying and throughput rate.
5. The temperature tomorrow will not be 0 degrees centigrade.
6. Johnson (2013) shows that reading is an important part of good learning. [Johnson
says this strongly in his text).

Task 5.5.9

• Look again at the bold text in Text C. Which of the techniques below does the writer
to use to ‘boost their claims?

19
Task 5.4.10

Now, go back to the sentences in Task 6 which need to be boosted. Rewrite the sentences in
the box below, including suitable boosting language.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Reflection

• Can you think of modules that you currently have where hedging and/or boosting
might seem particularly relevant?

20
• Why do you think it will be useful when completing assignments for the modules
mentioned in the previous question?

21
LESSON 5.5: REFERENCING
Lesson aims:

• Understand what referencing is

• Learn how to avoid plagiarism
• Learn the mechanics of in-text referencing
• Learn the mechanics of end-of-text referencing
• Create citations and references for a sample paragraph.

Prepare for class

Thorough preparation before class helps you understand the content discussed in class, and
enables you to contribute to the various discussions and tasks given in class.

Complete this section on your own before class.

Now, watch the video found on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y and takes notes on important
information. Make sure to include information about:

• The reasons for referencing sources.

• Avoiding plagiarism.
• Citing sources correctly

Notes:

22
Reflect on the questions below:

• Based on your knowledge and experiences, what is your understanding of plagiarism?

• To avoid plagiarism, what should a student do?
• Why do you think students plagiarise?
• For students at a university, what do you think are the consequences of plagiarism?

Write down your thoughts in the space below.

23
What is referencing?

Referencing is a standardised academic method of acknowledging sources of information

that one used in their academic work. While there are many styles of acknowledging
sources, most faculties at the University of the Free State recommend the use of the
Harvard referencing style. The Harvard referencing style uses in-text citations and a
reference list. The in-text citation is located within the body of the assignment and consists
of the author’s surname and the publication date (year). The end-of-text reference is found
at the end of the assignment, where all details of the in-text citations are written in full.

Purpose of referencing

• To give recognition to the source of the ideas that you have used
• Use of authority to bolster your argument or claim
• Evidence of research
• To direct the reader to the source for more information
• To maintain academic integrity
• To show that you understand the topic and can explain your thoughts, especially
when you paraphrase
• To avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is academic theft

• It is the intentional or unintentional stealing of another person’s work and parading
it as your own

Consequences of plagiarism

• Not receiving a mark for your plagiarised assessment.

• Possibly facing disciplinary action, which might lead to the suspension of your
studies.

24
Task 5.5.1

Which of the following acts constitutes plagiarism? Tick the yes/no box that applies.

Act Yes No
Copying from a text, word for word, without using quotation marks and
citing the source
Citing a primary source without reading it yourself but giving the
impression that you read the text yourself
When you are simply repeating a review by your secondary source; or
Paraphrasing ideas but still failing to reference.
Put ideas in your own words but fail to cite the source of those ideas.
Translating material without acknowledgement.
Changing some words from copied text and presenting it as your own.

Task 5.5.2

There are mainly two places where you need to provide references. The first is in the text
(called in-text referencing) and the other one is as a part of a reference list or bibliography at
the end of the text (also called end-of-text referencing). Let’s first look at in-text referencing.

25
How to reference

1) In-text referencing

In-text referencing or citation is when you acknowledge sources of information or ideas that
you have used in the body text. The in-text referencing is placed next to the ideas or
information that you have quoted directly, paraphrased or summarised. As stated at the
beginning of this lesson, the in-text citation would typically include the source’s name and
date of publication. The full details regarding the source will be included in the reference list
as evidenced in the visual below, which shows you both in-text citation and end-of-text
referencing.

See an extract visual below:

26
In-text referencing is done through the use of direct quotations or paraphrasing and
summarising.

There are two ways to reference in text, namely when using direct quotations and when
paraphrasing.

Direct quotations: This is when you write the content word for word from the sources. When
you quote directed, make sure to include the author, year of publication and page number

Example:

Paraphrase: This is when you put the information from the source in your words. When you
paraphrase, make sure to include the author and year of publication.

27
Example:

Author-prominent citation

End-of-sentence citation
If you are using author prominent citation, like in the example above, there are some useful
phrases at your disposal to integrate the in-text reference with your sentences and
paragraphs. Some of these phrases include:

• Roberts (2012:83) describes this event as…

• Roberts (2012:83) says that…
• In her paper, Roberts (2012:83) discuss
• Roberts (2012:83) points out that…
• Roberts (2012:83) propose that…
• Roberts (2012:83) identified three of the…
• Roberts (2012:83) recommend that a different…
• Roberts (2012:83) explains that …

There are many more phrases like this. When you read texts with references in your other
university subjects, be on the lookout for the way in which the writer of the text include the
other of the sources in his/her writing.

28
Task 5.5.3

Now it’s your turn to do in-text citation. Use the information below to write an in-text citation
using direct quotations as well as a paraphrase.

Text In-text citation In-text citation

using direct using
quotations paraphrasing
Culture is a very powerful force in our lives. It
determines many of the experiences we have
and the meanings we give to them. But what
exactly is culture? To the sociologist, culture is
everything that we are socialized to do, think,
use, and make.”

Authors: Williams, J., Brown, K. & Hood, S

Title of book: Academic Encounters. Life in

society

Edition: Second

Year of publication: 2012

Page number: 29

“The value of a thing, be it an object or a belief,

is normally defined as its worth. Just as an object
is seen to be of a high value that is treasured, our
beliefs about what is right or wrong that are
worth being held are equally treasured”

Author: Idang, G.E

29
Title of journal: Phronimon

Title of article: African culture and values

Year of publication: 2015

Page number: 27

“Both terms—norms and values—are at many

times used inter­changeably in our day-to-day
discourse. But social scientists use them in a
specific sense. Social norms are standards, rules,
guides and expectations for actual behaviour,
whereas values are abstract conceptions of what
is important and worthwhile”

Author: Mondal, P

Title of article: Difference between Norms and

Values of Society!

Year of publication: No date

Page number: No page number

URL Link:
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/society/dif
ference-between-norms-and-values-of-
society/35068

30
As mentioned before, referencing also has to be done at the end of a text as a part of a
reference list or bibliography. Although end of text referencing can sometimes seem scary, it
is like a recipe and you do not always have to know the rules by heart. You can look it up in
your faculty/department’s referencing guide each time you need to reference. Eventually,
you will start to remember the rules.

End-of-text referencing

The end-of-text referencing, also referred to as reference list, contains complete details of
sources cited in the text only. The list is arranged alphabetically by the author at the end of
the essay or academic work. Below is a guide on how to do the end-of-text referencing.

1) A book by one author

Surname of the author, Full initials. Year. Title of the publication, exactly as it appears on
the title page of the publication in italics. Place of publication: Publisher.

Two or more authors

Surnames of both authors, Full initials. Year. Title of the publication, exactly as it appears
on the title page of the publication in italics. Place of publication: Publisher.

31
 2) Three or more

Surnames of all the authors, Full initials of all the authors. Year. Title of the publication,
exactly as it appears on the title page of the publication in italics. Place of publication:
Publisher.

(Note: Do not use et al. in the list of references)

3) Editions

Surname of the author(s)/editor(s), Full initials. Year. Title of the publication, exactly as it
appears on the title page of the publication in italics. The edition. Place of publication:
Publisher.

32
 4) With an editor

Surname of the editor, Full initials. Indicate the abbreviation for editor (Ed.). Year. Title of
the publication, exactly as it appears on the title page of the publication in italics. Place of
publication: Publisher.

(Note the full stops: (Ed.).

5) Chapter or contribution

Surname of the author(s) of the specific chapter, Full initials. Year. Title of the chapter (not
in italics). In. The author/editor of the name of the publication. The name of the publication
in italics. Place of publication: Publisher.

33
 6) Journals

Surname of the author(s), Full initials. Year. Title of the article, exactly as it appears in the
journal. DO NOT USE IN here. The name of the journal in italics Volume Number: All the
page numbers for this specific article: e.g. 20–34

7) Newspapers

Title of the newspaper in italics. The year. The name of the article. The date of the day and
the name of the month: The page number of the article

34
 8) Online Source

Surname(s), Full initials. Date (if available) or use n.d. (if no date can be found). Title of the
article in italics (followed by a full stop). Available at: Web address. Date on which the
information was accessed.

Reference list principles

• List in alphabetical order, include all sources used in the text.

• The reference list should be on a new page
• Do not number or bullet the reference list
• Left align your reference list.

35
 • The reference list is not a bibliography. A reference list is a detailed list of references
that you have used/cited in your work. A bibliography is a comprehensive list of
references you have used/cited in work and background readings or any other
material that you may have read, but not actually cited.
• If the work has three or more authors/editors, use the abbreviation ‘et al.’ it used
after the first author’s name in your in-test citation. The first time all the authors
must be written out, thereafter ‘et al.’
• List publications in the language in which it was published. Do not translate.

Task 5.5.4

Write in-text referencing and end-of-text references based on the following:

1) Journal

https://www.pdcnet.org/cultura/content/cultura_2010_0007_0001_0086_0096

36
In-text citation using paraphrasing

Text: “Moreover, Ubuntu, which literally means humanness or humanity to others, is deemed
to promote a sense of community and communality” (page 86 of the above journal)

End-of-text reference

Text: Use the journal provided above.

2) Online source

https://www.psychologytoday.com/za/basics/identity

37
In-text citation using paraphrasing

Text: “Adolescents grapple with so many different aspects of identity, from choosing a career
path to cultivating moral and political beliefs to becoming a friend or partner. Role confusion
pertains to the inability to commit to one path. Adolescents then go through a period of
experimentation before committing, reconciling the pieces of their identity, and emerging
into adulthood” (no page given. Taken from the online source above)

End-of-text reference

Text: Use the webpage provided

3) Book

38
In-text citation using paraphrasing

Text: “Positive psychology has been criticized for a lack of research support and for being
simplistic. It has also been criticized for implying that mainstream psychology is negative”
(page 16. Taken from the psychology textbook given above)

End-of-text reference

Text: Use the provided textbook above.

4) Study guide

39
In-text citation using paraphrasing

Text: “The process approach to academic writing is used to teach students to engage with the
writing process in a meaningful way. As a writer one can never produce a perfect piece of
writing the very first time. Thus, engaging with the piece more than once (in the drafting
process) ensures that ideas are clearly expressed and aligned to the given task” (page 10.
Taken from your EALT1508 module guide above)

End-of-text reference

Text: Use the study guide provided above.

Task 5.5.5

Keeping in mind the reference list principles, create a reference list using the end-of-text
information you created in the previous task.

40
HOW TO USE FEEDBACK (ADDITIONAL)

Lesson aims:

• Notice the importance of feedback in academic writing

• Know why feedback is very important in academic writing
• Apply methods to use feedback effectively

Task 1

Take a minute to think about the following questions:

• What is feedback?
• Why do we use feedback in academic writing?
• What is the purpose of academic reading and writing?
• Know the editing symbols

Write your thoughts in the space below

Feedback is incredibly useful for improving on your work:

What is the importance of feedback?

• It has a developmental purpose:

• It can help you learn more effectively
• It can show you how your work can be improved/maintained
• It is used to assesses the extent to which you have met the assessment
criteria
• Are you achieving the learning outcomes of the module?
• It can help you to self-regulate your own performance
• It is important to develop independence in learning:
• So you can internalise what good performance looks like
• So you can compare your work with the expected standard
• So you can develop an awareness of what needs to be done to meet
the standard

41
In order to understand your feedback, try divide it into two categories and three sub-
categories:
• Argumentation (your answer to the brief, use of evidence for support, use of reading,
use of references) (i.e. higher order issues)
• Structure (essay-, paragraph-, and sentence-level) (i.e. higher order issues)
• Language (i.e. lower order issues)

Higher order skills 6 Lower order skills 7

Argumentation Language

Answer to your assignment brief Use of correct grammar structures

Use of evidence as support Use of correct syntax

Use of reading in your writing Appropriate vocabulary use

Synthesis Variety of vocabulary

Evaluation Appropriate linking

Clear explanations Appropriate/correct referencing

Thorough explanations

Good cohesion

Structure

Essay/case study/report structure

Paragraph structure

Topic and concluding sentences

Logical ordering of points

Important to Note!

Although using these three categories is useful, it is important to note that

mistakes/problems in one category can affect your writing in a variety of different ways.
In other words, there are certain points that extend across two or even all three categories.

6
Higher order thinking skills often require more cognitive engagement.
7
Lower order thinking skills are foundational skills that you need before you can move onto the higher
order skills. E.g. you need to know how to write a grammatically acceptable sentence before you can
write a synthesised essay.

42
In a moment, you will continue with the rest of the feedback process. First, however,
complete the following activity.

Task 2

Consider the following common examples of student errors. Classify the following comments
into higher (argument and structure) and lower order (language) skills. Write A
(argumentation), S (structure), or L (language) next to each comment. Remember that some
comments can fall into multiple categories. The first two have been done for you.

Your arrangement of the material into Your essay does not contain a point of view
paragraphs could provide a more logical or does not directly answer the assignment
sequence of ideas. (S) brief.

Your meaning is clear, but your language Your essay contains some
is too colloquial. (A + L) support/explanation/evidence to support
your answer, but these points need further
Your essay has too many spelling,
development.
grammar, or punctuation errors.
You’ve misused key vocabulary.
Some of your paragraphs do not focus
on one main idea each, or are too short. Good, your writing style is fluent, clear and
the tone is appropriate.
Your essay uses informal language.
Good, you have established a clear answer
Make sure you stick to the correct
to the question, and developed that answer
citation conventions.
throughout the essay.
Your introduction could do more to let
In some passages your writing makes the
the reader know how the essay will deal
meaning unclear or difficult to follow.
with the issues.
The use of synonyms can help a great deal
Your conclusion could do more to give
for choice of better words.
the essay an ending which brings
together your various points. Make sure you stick to the correct citation
conventions.

Good, you have structured the material in a

way that allows for a logical sequence of
ideas.

43
Engaging with feedback is a three-part process (we will go through each part of the process
in turn):

Task 3

1. Before using feedback

Before looking at your feedback, ask yourself the following question and make some
notes about your thoughts:

• Ask yourself the following questions:

• What was my assignment brief and what did it require?
• What did I do right and what did I do wrong?
• What do I need to do to improve?
• Predict the contents of the feedback and pose questions about it.
• Go through the editing symbols and familiarise yourself with them.
• Skim read the feedback so you get a general sense of it.

Have a look at the first draft of the essay about bullying that you submitted a few weeks ago.

• What do at do you think was did well?

• What do you think can be done to improve upon?

Write down your thoughts in the space below

44
 2. During feedback use

• Do something with this information:

o Read through the feedback editing symbols, comments and suggestions
o Note and highlight things you did well and those that need revision
(remember to look at assignment itself as well as the rubric you
facilitator/lecturer used (if provided)
o Summarise key points (about those areas where revision is needed)
o Make a note of anything you don’t understand to ask your
facilitator/lecturer/peer
o Ask your facilitator/lecturer/peer to clarify comments and suggestions made
in the feedback that you don’t understand
• If you receive many comments on structure, then go back and revise your
assignment plan/outline before making changes. Work from your revised plan.
• Order your feedback in terms of importance: you should deal with higher order
feedback before lower order feedback.
• Think about the three categories: Argumentation, Structure and Language.
• Create a vocabulary list of other words that need refinement
• Start making the changes based on your facilitator/lecturer feedback. Remember
to start with the higher order issues
• Take breaks (split the feedback into segments if necessary)

Editing symbols

Below are some of the editing symbols that your facilitator will use when giving feedback.

WW Wrong word
WF Wrong form of the word
SP Spelling
V Verb problem
S-V Subject verb agreement
FRAG Fragment sentence (incomplete sentence)
R-O Run on sentence
P Punctuation
C Capitalization
DS Double subject
MW Missing word
WO Word order
R / Red Redundant (unnecessary – leave out)

45
 MI Missing information
WC Word choice
CE Content error
IE Idiomatic error
TS Topic sentence
THS Thesis statement

Task 4

• Which of these symbols are confusing to you and why?

Write down notes or revised versions of one of your paragraphs below

46
Task 5

3. After using feedback

• Go back through all the feedback and check whether you have addressed the
suggestions provided
• Try summarising the feedback in your own words (what you learned, impressions,
and reactions) in an outline, concept map or matrix. Use this to check whether or
not you have incorporated all the feedback.
• Look for alternative words on your vocabulary list (try a learner’s dictionary) and
practice using them

• Go through the ‘after using feedback’ steps in the grey box above
• Now, give your rewritten paragraph to your partner and ask them for feedback on the
argumentation, structure and language.

Reflection

• What have you learnt about getting feedback that will be useful to you in the future?

47