EAP Essentials

A teacher’s guide to principles and practice

Classroom Materials

Published by
Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8 Southern Court
South Street
Reading RG1 4QS, UK

First published 2008

Published in electronic format 2014

ISBN 978 1 78260 163 0

Copyright © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.

The right of Olwyn Alexander, Sue Argent and Jenifer Spencer to be identified as the authors of this work has been
asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
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The photocopiable resources on this file may be printed and photocopied (or displayed using a visual display
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Acknowledgements
In addition to the credits listed on page ii of the eBook, the authors and publisher would like to thank the following
for permission to reproduce copyright material:

Heriot-Watt University for the use of various texts throughout the eBook and this file from the Heriot-Watt
Management Programme, the Academic English for Business course and other sources.
Pearson Education Ltd for the use in Chapter 3 of the extract ‘Twin Lives’ from Cutting Edge Intermediate Student’s
Book (Cunningham and Moor, 1998).
Cambridge ESOL for the use of sample exam questions in Chapter 10.
Educational Testing Service for the use in Chapter 10 of examples from TOEFL tests.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and we apologize in advance for any unintentional omission.
We will be happy to insert the appropriate acknowledgements in any subsequent editions.

Contents EAP Essentials

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 Contents
These Classroom Materials accompany the book EAP Essentials: A teacher’s guide to
principles and practice. Each Classroom Material provides practical teaching ideas linked
to the approaches presented in the book and is cross-referenced at the relevant point. Also
included are photocopiable masters which offer teachers a wide range of resources for
classroom teaching and learning. For copyright restrictions, please read the ‘Photocopying
and duplication’ notice above.

Chapter 1
1.1 Welcome to Academia! introduces students to the idea of an
academic community

1.2 Rich Aunty shows writer’s stance in a context that is

accessible to students (persuading a family
member to help with a financial problem) and
explores persuasive language for taking a
stance

1.3 Chocolate in the classroom introduces the concepts that underpin

academic referencing. Students invent crazy
ideas which the teacher then attempts to
plagiarize.

Chapter 2
2.1 Recognizing academic style illustrates features of the style of academic
texts

2.2 Controlling nouns in provides practice of the NP structure the …

noun phrases of … in controlling the grammar of verbs in a
sentence
2.3 Identifying general nouns explores the role of general nouns in a text
and in providing more specific reference

2.4 The role of general nouns shows how general nouns create cohesion in
text and indicate author stance

2.5 Topic development shows how topics are maintained through

the use of the passive

2.6 Information flow illustrates the way information flows from

given to new in texts

2.7 It’s in the news provides practice in creating noun phrases

using developing news stories

2.8 Summarizing noun phrases provides practice in creating summarizing

noun phrases to link given and new
information in texts
2.9 General to specific illustrates paragraph development in texts
which explain and persuade

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 Chapter 3
There are no Classroom Materials for this chapter.

Chapter 4
4.1 What is academic literature? introduces students to some text types and
ways to evaluate their scope and status

4.2 How can I read faster? shows how students can be introduced to
reading in meaningful phrases

4.3 How do you read? introduces students to flexible reading

strategies and their purposes

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus illustrates how a text can be exploited in a
hotels series of classroom tasks

Chapter 5
5.1 Unpacking noun phrases shows how technical noun phrases can be
explored in class

5.2 Exploring the academic shows how students can study the AWL
word list through a functional approach

5.3 Product costing shows an example of how key words can be

explored in the classroom

5.4 Gender differences gives examples of tasks which have been

developed to exploit this text

Chapter 6
6.1 Quiz: Do I have a good helps students to clarify misconceptions
academic writing style? about academic writing style

6.2 What is research? introduces students to the concept of

synthesizing their own ideas from several
sources

6.3 Noun phrases for referring gives practice in constructing noun phrases
to data for referring to data

6.4 A class profile introduces students to writing from data and

using highlighting statements

6.5 The demand for chocolate illustrates the language used to explain a
cakes graph

6.6 Quiz: Mathematical enables students to check their knowledge of

expressions some common mathematical terms

6.7 In my own words introduces techniques for paraphrasing and

summarizing

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 6.8 EAP warmers gives ideas for awareness-raising activities
and quick practice for noun phrases and
general nouns

Chapter 7
7.1 Academic listening strategies encourages a systematic approach to
exploring listening strategies

7.2 Seminar awareness explores the challenges of seminar

discussion

7.3 Academic seminar strategies raises awareness of student roles in a

seminar and in encouraging discussion

7.4 Mini-presentation skills models an appropriate introduction and

delivery for a presentation

7.5 Presentation titles encourages clear and accurate pronunciation

of presentation titles

Chapter 8
8.1 Mystery graphs encourages students to present and support
ideas

8.2 Good and bad examples provides practice in presenting and

supporting ideas

8.3 What does the writer think? develops the idea of questioning a writer’s
stance

8.4 Speculating why illustrates creative and complex thinking

8.5 It’s in the genes requires students to assemble what they

know and be ready to make connections with
new information

8.6 Seeing beyond the text helps students to discern connections that
are not obvious

8.7 What’s wrong with these encourages critical evaluation

claims?

8.8 Critical analysis develops critical evaluation in which students

establish the criteria

8.9 EAP pills shows how to make imaginative connections

and think logically to design an experiment

8.10 Should teachers do your encourages students to present and support

washing? ideas

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 8.11 Smoking twins provides a text with a range of activities and
acts as a key to Task 12 in chapter 8 of the
book

Chapter 9
9.1 Self-access quiz encourages reflection on strategies for
studying in a self-access centre

9.2 Correction code and error log provides a framework to support proofreading

Chapter 10
10.1 Applying assessment criteria shows how EAP students can be encouraged
to interact with assessment criteria

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1.1: Welcome to Academia! An introduction to
the concept of academic discourse communities
Teacher’s notes
Background
This activity is a teacher-led discussion. The activity can be used at any level from lower
intermediate upwards, but is particularly useful at the beginning of an EAP course for es-
tablishing the context of study.

Aims
s to introduce the concepts associated with academic discourse communities and
academic purposes

Material
The teacher’s visual Welcome to Academia! has headings under which details are noted
during class discussion.
There is a suggested key.

Procedure
1 Ask the class if they know which country they are in (this can result in a lively
discussion in Scotland, because students sometimes report that they are in England).
Then suggest that they are preparing to enter another country, Academia. Elicit what
this word means, relating it to EAP, and point out the significance of the ia ending.
Ask students to name other countries ending in ia. This is also a good way of getting
students to respond in class from the start of the course, as they are comfortable
volunteering information they are sure about.
2 Elicit what elements make a country, e.g., language, laws, etc. Present a list of
elements, using the teacher’s visual Welcome to Academia!, and elicit examples from
the class under each Students discuss the elements at this stage.
3 Students often add some extra items, and it is interesting to find out if the students
or teacher can think of how this is represented in Academia. An example which one
class of students suggested was currency. It required hard thinking to come up with
the answer – qualifications and publications.
4 The items which generate the most discussion are usually Laws and Communication.
This is a way into the idea of referenced and supported statements of knowledge, and
the seriousness with which this is taken in Academia.

Follow-up
s Any activity which explores an aspect of academic discourse communities in more
detail, e.g., one in which academic texts are distinguished from newspaper articles
through differences in the linguistic style and other features.

s A writing task which explicitly simulates research-based writing, e.g., one in which
students agree to gather data about the class for a short report. This shifts the students’
focus away from the state of their English and on to what to write, as they have to
select information and decide on the appropriate content and structure of their report.

1.1 Welcome to Academia! EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Welcome to Academia!

Language

People

Provinces

Laws

Communication

Currency

1.1 Welcome to Academia! EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

KEY

Welcome to Academia!

Language
Academic English: academic vocabulary
objective, impersonal tone
gives information and ideas
clear, logical structure

People
The academic community or academics: professional researchers and
writers, professors, lecturers, research students, undergraduates and
postgraduates

Provinces
Fields of study: engineering, medicine, linguistics, accounting, IT,
economics
…

Laws
How data is collected
What cheating and plagiarism mean
How academics should relate to each other
How facts are established and theories disproved
What types of claims can be made

Communication
Academic journals, conferences and reports, learned societies,
seminars, lectures, theses and dissertations, books

Currency
Academic qualifications and publications

1.1 Welcome to Academia! EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 1.2: Rich Aunty: an introduction
to writer’s stance
Teacher’s notes
Background
This set of tasks uses an accessible, non-academic context to introduce the concept of taking
a stance, and the evaluative and persuasive language associated with this. It also encour-
ages critical thinking in a familiar context. Students discover the language used by two
writers to give their texts persuasive force. They then complete a vocabulary record and
test themselves. The texts are accessible even to lower intermediate students. The activity is
particularly useful at the beginning of work on argument and persuasion.

Aims
s to identify writer’s stance
s to identify persuasive language for showing stance
s to make an organized record of persuasive language
s to learn and test recall of persuasive language

Material
Key: Letters 1 and 2 with key language highlighted
Tasksheet 1: Letter 1 with questions
Tasksheet 2: Letter 2 with questions
Tasksheet 3: Letters 1 and 2 with key language gapped, for students to self-test
Tasksheet 4: Vocabulary tasksheet

Procedure
1 Elicit how students finance their studies and what problems there can be. Discuss
the dangers of gambling and check/pre-teach vocabulary (e.g., syndicate, racehorse).
Is gambling allowed/restricted in your country? In the UK, gambling is basically
permitted only for adults over 18 years, and is restricted to licensed premises, but the
situation is changing, particularly with the development of the Internet.

Cultural awareness note: Handle the topic with care – the tone of the content is suitably
anti-gambling, and should be acceptable in non-gambling cultures. The situation does,
however, reflect a real danger for a small number of students in the UK.
2 Explain that the lesson will introduce some new vocabulary. To present the difference
between an optimist (The glass is half full) and a pessimist (The glass is half empty), draw
a half-full glass, and ask the class to describe it, to identify the optimists and pessimists
amongst them. There are equivalent expressions in many cultures. The point is that the
same fact can be described with different language, to create different impressions in the
reader. Showing a writer’s attitude in this way is known as showing stance.

Cultural awareness note: Avoid the word opinion because stance is more appropriate
for academic writing.*

* See Chapter 8: Critical thinking for a fuller discussion of this issue.

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
3 Ask students to read Letter 1 quickly (e.g., allow no more than 30 seconds) to find
answers to the Letter 1 questions.
4 Ask students to read Letter 2 quickly (30 seconds) to answer the Letter 2 questions.
5 Ask students to read Billy’s letter again carefully and highlight:
a the language he uses to make his mistake look less serious than it really is
b the language he uses to make his solution seem more attractive than it really is
6 Ask students to read the aunt’s letter carefully and highlight the language she uses to
show her stance.
7 Use the highlighted language to explain and complete the tasksheet vocabulary with
the students.
8 When they think they know how the persuasive vocabulary is used, students can test
themselves, using the gapped texts.

KEY
Letter 1: 1 The writer’s purpose is to persuade the reader to lend him money.
2 He is optimistic.
3 Reader’s predicted response? No correct answer; explore the possibilities.
Letter 2: 1 The writer’s purpose is to justify not lending money and to give advice.
2 She is pessimistic.
See the photocopiable key for highlighted vocabulary for the gapped text tasksheet.
Vocabulary tasksheet suggestions:

Maximizers Minimizers v/n/adj choice showing stance**

[Letter 1]

extremely a little unlucky (+ve/neut.) [c.f. unwise (–ve)]

a few opportunity (+ve) [c.f. chance (neut.), risk (–ve)]
only invest (+ve) [c.f. spend (neut.), waste (–ve)]

relatively (enhances following adjective: small)

[Letter 2]
quite a (written) shock (–ve) [c.f. surprise (neut.)]
totally unwise (–ve)
waste (–ve) [c.f. spend (neut.)]
highly
very
much

relatively (enhances following adjective: large)

even / even if expressions used to indicate something surprising or extreme:

Even Mr Bean passed his driving test. (surprising)
People have been injured and even killed on this stretch of road. (extreme)
**There are other lexical sets worth exploring with students; another common one in EAP is enjoy – experience – suffer (also
endure).

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
s Students can use the language to compose a note/e-mail to a tutor asking for an
extension to the time in which to write an essay (this could be a group task).

s Find further examples to analyse, e.g., in advertisements, political texts, personal

recommendations, or UCAS personal statements.* Students rewrite extracts to make
them more neutral, and pass them on to others who have to make them more persuasive
again.

s At a later stage in the course, students need to work with authentic academic texts.
They can identify the writer’s stance in an argument text through the persuasive
language used, then look at the text organization to see where the stance is taken in
relation to the moves of an argument. Classroom materials 8.3, What does the writer
think? is an example of this. Postgraduate students can also do similar activities using
abstracts, where the writer’s stance is often shown.

*Part of the form that applicants to UK university undergraduate courses have to complete.

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Highlighting for gapped text

Letter 1
Dear Aunty May,

I am writing to ask you to lend me a little money to help me with a few financial problems. I was
extremely unlucky last week and lost my savings while playing cards with some friends.

However, I have an opportunity to invest money in a syndicate which is buying a racehorse. I

need only $1000, which I know is a relatively small amount to you. I will be able to repay you
when the horse wins races.

Your affectionate nephew,

Billy

Letter 2
Dear Billy,

Your letter was quite a shock. Your assumption about my financial position is totally wrong;
even $100 would be a relatively large sum of money to me. Even if I could afford $1000, I would
not let you waste it on a racehorse. You are a highly educated boy but you have been very unwise.
I can’t lend you any money and in future I suggest that you are much more careful with your
savings.

Your affectionate,

Aunty May

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Key: Gapped texts © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1: Letter 1
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Questions
1 What is the writer’s purpose?
2 Does he take an optimistic or pessimistic stance?
3 What do you predict his aunt’s stance will be when she replies?

Letter 1
Dear Aunty May,

I am writing to ask you to lend me a little money to help me with a few financial problems. I was
extremely unlucky last week and lost my savings while playing cards with some friends.

However, I have an opportunity to invest money in a syndicate which is buying a racehorse. I

need only $1000, which I know is a relatively small amount to you. I will be able to repay you
when the horse wins races.

Your affectionate nephew,

Billy
(85 words)

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1: Letter 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2: Letter 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Questions
1 What is his aunt’s purpose?
2 Does she take an optimistic or a pessimistic stance with respect to his proposed
solution?

Letter 2
Dear Billy,

Your letter was quite a shock. Your assumption about my financial position is totally wrong; even
$100 would be a relatively large sum of money to me. Even if I could afford $1000, I would not
let you waste it on a racehorse. You are a highly educated boy but you have been very unwise.
I can’t lend you any money and in future I suggest that you are much more careful with your
savings.

Your affectionate,

Aunty May
(81 words)

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2: Letter 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 3: Gapped texts
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Letter 1
Dear Aunty May,

I am writing to ask you to lend me money to help me with

financial problems. I was unlucky last
week and lost my savings while playing cards with some friends.

However, I have an to money in a syndi-

cate which is buying a racehorse. I need $1000, which I know is a
small amount to you. I will be able to repay you when the horse wins
races.

Your affectionate nephew,

Billy

Letter 2
Dear Billy,

Your letter was quite a . Your assumption about my financial

position is wrong; $100 would be a
large sum of money to me. if I could
afford $1000, I would not let you it on a racehorse. You are a
educated boy but you have been . I can’t
lend you any money and in future I suggest that you are more careful
with your savings.

Your affectionate,

Aunty May

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 3: Gapped texts © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 4: Vocabulary
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Writers/speakers show stance by

s using emphasizers which either maximize (The cup is half full) or minimize (The cup is
half empty)

s choosing words and phrases which evaluate (either positively or negatively)

s using even to emphasize a point

Text Maximizers Minimizers v/n/adj choice

showing stance

Billy
(Letter 1)

Aunt
(Letter 2)

1.2 Rich Aunty EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 4: Vocabulary © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
1.3: Chocolate in the classroom: a fun way
to introduce concepts relating to plagiarism*
Teacher’s notes
Background
In this activity, groups of students invent academic research findings, and write them up briefly
for imaginary academic books and journals. The teacher openly plagiarizes from these to write
a report. The class as a whole then guides the teacher through the process of correctly referenc-
ing and paraphrasing, or summarizing the ideas, as appropriate. The exercise is designed for
students who are beginning to write academic texts and need to incorporate ideas from other
sources. It is important that the topic is accessible, but the treatment is not too serious. Process,
not content, is the learning objective. In fact, the content is the fun part, and the activity works
best if the class is used to the occasional joke or trick in the classroom.

Aims
s to introduce the purpose and process of incorporating the ideas of others into student texts

Material
A means of recording and displaying students’ texts, either on an overhead projector or
electronically, using data projector or interactive whiteboard

Procedure
1 Introduce the topic of the lesson, effective classroom study, and elicit ideas from students
about what helps them to study. Tell students that you have found that eating chocolate
enhances memory. Describe orally some fantasy research and findings, then present this
material as a pre-prepared abstract with a fantasy journal or book reference, for example,
Argent, S. (2007) Eat your way to a degree. Edinburgh: Garner Press.
2 Set up groups of three or four, including one scribe and one spokesperson. Invite
students to invent a similar set of findings, and write them up in the same format. You
need to encourage students to be inventive/provocative (e.g., sleeping in class produces
better exam results). Students should also make up a spurious book title or journal,
with the spokesperson or another member of the group as named author. You will need
to help them to set this reference out appropriately. Some students need more support
and stimulation than others, but some in the class will be surprisingly inventive!
3 Ask spokespersons to present their texts in turn. Help the rest of the class to edit
them for clarity, and to correct referencing and accuracy errors. Allow the content
and ideas, however crazy, to stand.
4 Collect the abstracts, thanking students, and saying how helpful these will be for the
report you hope to publish in an important academic journal. Write the report on the
board, with the help of the class, referring to the abstracts. Deliberately copy word-
for-word and do not reference (leave plenty of space for editing this text).
5 If there has been no reaction to this blatant plagiarism, draw out the fact that their ideas
have been stolen. Elicit/show how to reference properly, and change the text accordingly.
Elicit/shape the reworking of the ideas into your own words to eliminate the copying.

*I am indebted to Andrew Stechmann of Macquarie University for the idea on which this activity is based.

1.3 Chocolate in the classroom EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6 The resulting text can be typed as a short, correctly referenced model text – perhaps
including the source extract so that students have a complete record of the process.

Follow-up
Students will need lots more work on incorporating the ideas of others in their own writing
(see the chapters on writing and reading). Keep pointing out references in reading texts, and
reminding students of the issues as necessary, in feedback on their own writing.
A variation can be used with more confident writers. Divide the class into two groups to
prepare an abstract of research, supporting either claim A or rival claim B. Examples might
be whether reward or punishment is the best way to make students stay awake in class, or
whether students learn better from group work or working alone. Students have to decide
how to show their stance, develop counter arguments, and use more evaluative language
than in the simpler activity.

1.3 Chocolate in the classroom EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.1: Recognizing academic style
Teacher’s notes
Background
One of the key features of academic style is the use of noun phrases to refer to complex ideas,
events and processes. Students need to be able to identify the boundaries of noun phrases in
academic texts in order to be able to understand the ideas they contain. This task assumes that
students are able to identify the main verbs in a sentence.

Aims
s to understand which features of style make a text academic
s to identify complex noun phrases in academic texts
s to identify the components of complex noun phrases

Material
Tasksheet containing two short texts about using a hobby to start a business. One is written
in an academic style and one is written in a style more suitable for a magazine article.

Procedure
1 Ask students if they have ever considered starting their own business. Where did the idea
for the business come from? If no one volunteers hobbies, you can suggest this yourself.
2 Students read the two texts and decide which one is more academic in style. Text 1 is the
academic text. Students should provide evidence for their choice by identifying features
which make the texts academic or non-academic – for example, the use of noun phrases
to carry the main information in Text 1, or the use of personal pronouns in Text 2. Point
out the simple sentence structure in Text 1. All the complexity is in the noun phrases.
3 Students find and highlight the main verbs in Text 1. They then identify the noun phrases
which follow these verbs (i.e., their objects or complements, but it is not necessary to use
these terms) and write them in the table, treating the noun phrases joined by and in the
final two sentences as separate phrases. You can support this process by asking questions
such as Hobbies are what? Disadvantages include what and what?
From the table, guide students to identify the basic structure of noun phrases, which
contain some or all of the following elements:
determiner + adjective (noun) + noun + prepositional phrase + relative clause

Follow-up
Students try producing their own long noun phrases, starting with a controlling noun, and
adding adjectives or nouns to the beginning, and prepositional phrases or relative clauses to
the end. This can be done as a competition to produce the longest accurate noun phrase.
Students carry out similar tasks with any authentic texts they are reading. They can decide
how academic the text is by looking specifically for complex noun phrases within simple
sentences.

2.1 Recognizing academic style EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Text 1 has the more academic style. The sentences begin with ideas (hobbies, advantages,
disadvantages). Most of the information in the text is in noun phrases, and the sentence structure
is very simple: The advantages are x and w; the disadvantages include y and z, where w, x, y and
z are complex noun phrases.

Text 2 has a style similar to a magazine article. The sentences begin with people (you), linking
words (if, when) or empty subjects (there). The verbs carry some of the information and the
sentence structure contains subordinate clauses, indicating time (when it was your hobby) and
condition (if you are looking… if you decide…).

The main verbs in Text 1 are underlined below. They are all lexically empty and are used to link
the ideas contained in the noun phrases. The function of the text is describing.

Hobbies are one source of business ideas. Crafts and unusual hobbies may well have
commercial potential. The advantages of turning a hobby into a business are the degree
to which one is already motivated and knowledgeable about the area and the possibility
that it might make a very agreeable occupation. Disadvantages include ignorance about
the market for the product or service and the loss of the relaxation enjoyed when the
interest was only a hobby.

The noun phrase which follows each underlined verb is shown in the table together with the
controlling noun.

Verb Noun phrase Controlling noun

are one source of business source
ideas

may … have commercial potential potential

are the degree to which one degree

is already motivated and
knowledgeable about the
area

(and) the possibility that it might possibility

make a very agreeable
occupation

include ignorance about the ignorance

market for the product or
service

(and) the loss of the relaxation loss

enjoyed when the interest
was only a hobby

2.1 Recognizing academic style EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 In each case, the controlling noun is a general noun which requires more specific details to
understand what it refers to. These are provided in the other parts of the noun phrase.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Students may be tempted to identify nouns which carry these specific details, e.g., business
ideas and relaxation as controlling nouns in the noun phrases. You can demonstrate how
the noun phrase could function as a subject, and show which noun determines the form of
a main verb using the following diagram:

a good source of business ideas is / are important

These noun phrases contain

determiners: one, the
adjectives: commercial, motivated, knowledgeable, agreeable
prepositional phrases: of business ideas, about the area, about the market, for the product
or service, of the relaxation enjoyed …
relative clauses: to which one is already motivated, [which was] enjoyed when the
interest was only a hobby

in the following framework:

determiner + adjective (noun) + noun + prepositional phrase + relative clause

Noun phrases may contain any or all of these elements, and there can be more than one
prepositional phrase or relative clause, in any order. The following are all examples of noun
phrases:
computers
these advantages
vast sums of money
an immense amount of detailed information
third generation mobile phone technology
the extent to which computers have changed the face of business

2.1 Recognizing academic style EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Recognizing academic style
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Look at the following two texts and decide which style seems more academic.

Hint: Which text seems to talk about ideas and which talks about people?

Text 1
Hobbies are one source of business ideas. Crafts and unusual hobbies may well have commercial
potential. The advantages of turning a hobby into a business are the degree to which one is
already motivated and knowledgeable about the area and the possibility that it might make a
very agreeable occupation. Disadvantages include ignorance about the market for the product or
service and the loss of the relaxation enjoyed when the interest was only a hobby.

Text 2
If you are looking for a business idea, think about your hobbies. You might be able to use an
unusual hobby to start your business. There are several advantages if you decide to turn your
hobby into a business. You probably already know about the area and find it motivating. You
might also find the work very agreeable. However, there are some disadvantages. When it was
your hobby, you didn’t need to know anything about the market for your product or service. If it
becomes your work, you might no longer enjoy the activity and find it relaxing.

Identifying noun phrases

In Text 1, underline the main verbs in the paragraph. In the table below, write the noun phrase which
follows each main verb. When two noun phrases follow the verb, write them in separate rows.

Verb Noun phrase Controlling noun

are

may … have

are

(and)

include

(and)

For each noun phrase in the table, find one noun that seems to be the most important for the
grammar of its sentence. Write this noun in the column on the right side of the table.

Can you make any generalizations about the composition of noun phrases in English? For
example, which word classes do noun phrases contain?

2.1 Recognizing academic style EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.2: Controlling nouns in noun phrases
Teacher’s notes
Background
Once students can recognize the boundaries of noun phrases in texts and identify their basic
structure (Classroom materials 2.1), they need to be able to recognize the way these noun
phrases fit into sentences in the text. Students can look more closely at the function of the
controlling noun, i.e., the main noun in the noun phrase. In particular, they should consider
noun phrases which have two nouns linked by the preposition of. This task assumes that
students understand that subjects agree with verbs in a sentence.

Aims
s to understand how complex noun phrases are used in sentences
s to consider, in particular, the form general noun + of + specific noun

Material
Examples of long noun phrases in sentences, particularly those which contain the form
general noun + of + specific noun. Additional practice tasks can be produced using noun
phrases from texts students are reading.
Tasksheet: Controlling nouns in noun phrases

Procedure
1 Remind students of the basic structure of noun phrases. Students read the introduction on
the tasksheet and study the examples which show subject–verb agreement.
2 Students choose which of two alternative verb forms agrees with the highlighted
controlling noun. The exercises become progressively more difficult. Students have to
determine which noun controls the noun phrase in the sentence and then choose the
correct verb, or supply the correct form of the verb themselves.

Follow-up
Students think about the difference between their own language and English in this area
of grammar. You can ask students to translate some of the noun phrases into their first
language and ‘back translate’ (i.e., provide a word-by-word translation back into English) in
order to compare the organization and order of elements.
Before students begin a piece of writing they can do some pre-writing activities in which
they identify noun phrases they will need to use and attempt to write these accurately.

KEY
The correct verb to follow the noun phrase is circled.
1 Vast sums of money was / were spent on the new football stadium.
2 A series of relatively simple steps is / are needed to send an e-mail.
3 Fewer students in the classroom seems / seem to translate into less noise and
disruptive behaviour.

2.2 Controlling nouns in noun phrases EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4 Smaller classes at junior school means / mean that the teacher can give more
individual attention.
5 A pattern of light and movement appears / appear on the monitor screen.
6 Every day a sample of trainers is / are tested by the Quality Control Department.

The controlling nouns are highlighted. The correct verb is circled.

1 A series of advertisements was / were run on TV to promote the new product.

2 Only the smallest possible amounts of stock is / are kept at the factories.
3 In a cellular production system, the stages in assembling a car is / are carried out by a
group of workers which is / are called a cell.
4 Any problems in the manufacturing process becomes / become obvious if there is a
good Quality Control Department.
5 The benefits of reduced class size depends on / depend on whether teachers adapt
their methods to take advantage of smaller classes.
6 The findings of an investigation into the effectiveness of pre-university language
courses is / are reported in this paper.

The controlling nouns are highlighted and the correct verb is given in the gap.

1 The extent to which computers have changed modern societies is phenomenal.

2 The improvement in customer services that technology can deliver makes it an
essential investment.
3 The importance of comparing companies operating in similar business activities has
already been mentioned.
4 In recent years, the improvement in telephone services which are available to the
general public has been extraordinary.
5 The principal medium of teaching which modern universities and other institutions of
learning still employ remains the lecture.

2.2 Controlling nouns in noun phrases EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Controlling nouns in noun phrases
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

The controlling noun

Noun phrases can be used just like nouns to name things, people, events, processes and ideas in
subjects or complements of sentences or phrases. A noun phrase always contains one controlling
noun.

These nouns control the verbs which follow them because the verbs which follow the noun have
to agree with the noun. You need to be able to recognize the controlling noun so that you can
choose the correct form of the verb which follows it.

general noun more specific nouns is (not are) –

(controls grammar) (add specific meaning) agrees with Improvement

Improvement in customer services is essential.

general noun more specific noun are (not is) –

(controls grammar) (gives main meaning) agrees with kinds

Various kinds of organizational structure are possible.

Choosing verbs which agree with the controlling noun

In the sentences below, the controlling noun has been highlighted in each noun phrase. Choose
the correct verb to follow the noun phrase.
1 Vast sums of money was / were spent on the new football stadium.
2 A series of relatively simple steps is / are needed to send an e-mail.
3 Fewer students in the classroom seems / seem to translate into less noise and
disruptive behaviour.
4 Smaller classes at junior school means / mean that the teacher can give more
individual attention.
5 A pattern of light and movement appears / appear on the monitor screen.
6 Every day a sample of trainers is / are tested by the Quality Control Department.
This time the controlling nouns have not been highlighted. You have to decide which the
controlling noun is and choose the correct verb to follow the noun phrase.
1 A series of advertisements was / were run on TV to promote the new product.
2 Only the smallest possible amounts of stock is / are kept at the factories.
3 In a cellular production system, the stages in assembling a car is / are carried out by a
group of workers which is / are called a cell.

2.2 Controlling nouns in noun phrases EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 4 Any problems in the manufacturing process becomes / become obvious if there is a
good Quality Control Department.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
5 The benefits of reduced class size depends on / depend on whether teachers adapt
their methods to take advantage of smaller classes.
6 The findings of an investigation into the effectiveness of pre-university language
courses is / are reported in this paper.
Pay attention to the relative clauses in some of the following sentences. Write the correct form of
the verb (in brackets) to agree with the controlling noun.
1 The extent to which computers changed modern societies
phenomenal. (have / be)
2 The improvement in customer services that technology can deliver it
an essential investment. (make)
3 The importance of comparing companies operating in similar business activities
already been mentioned. (have)
4 In recent years, the improvement in telephone services which
available to the general public been extraordinary. (be / have)
5 The principal medium of teaching which modern universities and other institutions of
learning still employ the lecture. (remain)

Think about your own language:

s How are noun phrases constructed in your language?

s Is it the same as in English or different?

2.2 Controlling nouns in noun phrases EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.3: Identifying general nouns
Teacher’s notes
Background
General nouns such as activity, approach, issue, problem, solution are empty lexical items
which rely on their context to specify what they refer to. The puzzle in this task raises students’
awareness of the non-specific nature of noun phrases which contain only general nouns, and
forms an introduction to the role of general nouns in texts. This task assumes that students
understand how to write a description of a process and the structure of noun phrases, including
those with the following structure: general noun + such as + specific examples.

Aims
s to raise awareness of the existence of lexically empty nouns
s to practise specifying more precisely what noun phrases refer to

Material
Tasksheet containing a constructed text which describes the process of doing a common
household task. The text is deliberately vague to demonstrate the lexically empty nature of
general nouns.

Procedure
1 Ask students which household tasks they like doing, and which ones they would rather
not do.
2 Students read the text and try to guess which household task is being described. They can
use the stages of the process to help them to do this. You can supply the answer at this
stage if they cannot guess.
3 Students highlight the general nouns in the text which require more specific details if the
reader is to understand the text.
Students write a longer noun phrase, for each general noun, which will make the text
easier to understand. You should point out that this results in some noun phrases which
seem unnatural, and indicate alternative forms.

Follow-up
This task forms an introduction to Classroom materials 2.4, The role of general nouns.
Following this, students should look at Classroom materials 2.5, Topic development,
Classroom materials 2.6, Information flow, and Classroom materials 2.7, Summarizing noun
phrases, in order to understand how general nouns contribute to the logical development of
topics in texts.

2.3 Identifying general nouns EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
The text is about washing dishes. The general nouns are underlined in the text.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Washing dishes
This task is usually carried out three times a day. The process is simple but time consuming
and often interferes with other more enjoyable activities. The items to be processed are
collected and roughly sorted. Small items are usually dealt with first and larger items are left
until the end. The degree of difficulty of the task depends on the facilities available. If the
facilities are very basic, then each item must be handled separately in two different stages.
If sophisticated equipment is available then the process simply consists of transferring the
items to a machine, initiating a cycle and unloading the machine at the end of the cycle.

The general nouns, task, process, activities, items, facilities, stages, equipment, machine and
cycle could be expanded as follows. Note that there will be more than one correct answer.
1 the task of washing dishes [This expansion results in a somewhat inauthentic noun
phrase – you can point this out to students. We would normally just say washing dishes,
without using a general noun.]
2 the process of washing dishes [Note that noun phrases for process often contain verbal
nouns, e.g., washing, which denote an ongoing action rather than a completed action.]
3 more enjoyable activities such as meeting friends, reading or watching TV
4 items of cutlery and crockery [Note that students might not know cutlery and crockery,
but they form quite strong collocations with item in this noun phrase, and should not be
substituted with less frequent collocations, e.g., items of china.]
5 small items such as glasses or plates
6 larger items such as pots and pans
7 facilities for washing dishes
8 stages in the dishwashing process
9 equipment which is necessary for washing dishes
10 machine for washing dishes / dishwashing machine [The second noun phrase is an
example of a ‘reduced’ noun phrase – a more compact form.]
11 cycle which the dishwashing machine goes through (to wash the dishes)

2.3 Identifying general nouns EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Identifying general nouns
Here is a description of household task that no one likes. Can you guess what it is? Write
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

your answer as a noun phrase which could be used as the heading for the paragraph.

This task is usually carried out three times a day. The process is simple but time consuming
and often interferes with other more enjoyable activities. The items to be processed are
collected and roughly sorted. Small pieces are usually dealt with first and larger items are
left until the end. The degree of difficulty of the task depends on the facilities available. If
the facilities are very basic, then each item must be handled separately in two different stages.
If sophisticated equipment is available then the process simply consists of transferring the
items to a machine, initiating a cycle and unloading the machine at the end of the cycle.

Highlight the general nouns in the text which would need to be explained more specifically
to make this paragraph easier to understand.
For each general noun you highlighted, write a longer noun phrase, adding specific details
to make the meaning of the phrase clear.

2.3 Identifying general nouns EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.4: The role of general nouns
Teacher’s notes
Background
General nouns such as activity, approach, issue, problem, solution are empty lexical items
which rely on their context to specify what they refer to. They are often found in noun phrases
which summarize information that has appeared previously in a text, or which advertise what
is coming next. They can give a very brief summary because they classify the person or thing
or event or idea described in more detail in previous or following sentences. They also show the
reader how the writer intends the information to be viewed. This task assumes that students
understand the concept of classification, and the way in which classifying general nouns can
be used to label previous or subsequent ideas.

Aims
s to raise awareness of the use of general nouns to label ideas in other parts of a text
s to notice how writers can use these general nouns to show their viewpoint in a text

Material
Tasksheet containing a constructed text about the activities of a company, Bettaworld

Procedure
1 Remind students of the way in which a general noun can classify a list of specific people
or things or events or ideas. Some simple examples are:

s activities such as cycling, walking and swimming

s countries such as Britain, Australia and New Zealand

s subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics

2 Students read the text about Bettaworld and identify general nouns which label
information in other parts of the text by classifying it. They decide if the general noun
summarizes information from earlier in the text, or advertises something that comes
next. They highlight the information each noun refers to and transfer this to a table.
3 Students decide if the writer views the information as positive or negative or neutral, and
note this in the final column of the table.
4 You can guide students to notice the use of the demonstrative pronoun This in the
last sentence of the text. It is not very clear what this pronoun refers to, and the writer
could make it clearer by adding a general noun which points more precisely to previous
information.

Follow-up
Students can do similar exercises with authentic texts they have been reading, in which
they identify noun phrases, the information they summarize or advertise, and whether they
show the writer’s stance. They can also practise adding general nouns to their own texts, in
appropriate places, in order to make the links between ideas more explicit and to show their
viewpoint.

2.4 The role of general nouns EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
The noun phrases with general nouns which classify are highlighted, and information they
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

summarize (S) or advertise (A) is underlined. The completed table is shown below the text.
Bettaworld is a very profitable and competitive company. Its success has led to the company
creating new departments and taking on large numbers of new managers and office staff.
At first, this expansion led to difficulties in communication between the larger departments
and their managers. In order to solve this problem, the company introduced new ways of
working. Departments were reorganized into project-based teams and communications
were improved by supplying staff with individual computers and telephone lines. The
company had to borrow large amounts of capital to finance this equipment and the staff
training needed to make these changes. However, the investment was well worthwhile
because it resulted in significant improvements, both in customer service and staff
satisfaction. This increased the company’s profits to an even higher level.

Noun S or A Information Writer view

phrase summarized
or advertised
Its success S a very profitable and competitive positive
company

this expansion S creating new departments and neutral

taking on large numbers of new
managers and office staff

this problem S difficulties in communication negative

new ways of A Departments were reorganized neutral

working into project-based teams and
communications were improved

this equipment S computers and telephone lines neutral

these changes S Departments were reorganized neutral

into project-based teams and
communications were improved

the investment S borrow large amounts of capital positive

significant A in customer service and staff positive

improvements satisfaction

This refers to both the changes and the investment described in the paragraph. It would be
clearer if a noun phrase such as These developments was used instead.

2.4 The role of general nouns EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: The role of general nouns
Find the general nouns which classify in the text, and write them in the table below.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

For each of these nouns, decide whether it summarizes information earlier in the text, or
advertises what is coming next. Write S or A in the second column of the table.
Underline the information in the text which these nouns summarize or advertise, and write
it in the third column of the table.
For each of the general nouns, say whether the writer views the summarized or advertised
information as positive or negative or neutral. The first one is done as an example.
Bettaworld is a very profitable and competitive company. Its success has enabled the
company to create new departments and take on large numbers of new managers and
office staff. At first, this expansion led to difficulties in communication between the
larger departments and their managers. In order to solve this problem, the company
introduced new ways of working. Departments were reorganized into project-based
teams and communications were improved by supplying staff with individual computers
and telephone lines. The company had to borrow large amounts of capital to finance the
equipment and the staff training needed to make these changes. However, the investment
was well worthwhile because it resulted in significant improvements, both in customer
service and staff satisfaction. This increased the company’s profits to an even higher level.

Noun S or A Information Writer view

phrase summarized
or advertised
Its success S a very profitable and competitive positive
company

What does the demonstrative pronoun This refer to in the last sentence?
What general noun could you use in the last sentence to make this reference clearer?

2.4 The role of general nouns EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.5: Topic development
Teacher’s notes
Background
When writers construct a clause or sentence in English, they choose to name something in the
subject position and say something about it in the rest of the sentence. However, they have to
decide which ideas will come first. This decision is often presented as a choice about whether
to include people (i.e., the agents) in a sentence. However, it is more often a choice about the
starting point of the sentence, and the way this is determined by the topic of the paragraph.
This task assumes that students understand the form of one-clause sentences and the passive
form of transitive verbs.

Aims
s to understand how writers decide what to put first in a sentence
s to understand how this decision determines the form of sentences

Material
Tasksheet containing two short texts about a fictional company, Bettaworld

Procedure
1 Elicit some sentences from the students which contain transitive verbs. These could be
from a text they have been studying. Write pairs of sentences showing the active/passive
contrast. Identify which form was used in the original text and discuss how the writers
decided which form to use, i.e., what information to put first in each sentence. Students
may suggest some of the following:

s the most important information

s information you want the reader to notice

s information the reader should focus on

However, they may also not have thought about this question before.
2 Students read the two texts and decide the topic of each one. The following list of topics
is provided for students to choose from: sales, clients, Bettaworld, efficiency, staff duties,
management. However, advanced level students can be asked to specify the topic without
being given this support. Note that students sometimes specify efficiency as the topic of
paragraph A, rather than staff duties. You should point out that the first sentence of a
paragraph does not always contain the topic.
3 Ask students to study sentences 3 and 4 in each text. Students who have an advanced level
of English can be asked to say how the sentences differ from each other between the two
texts. Lower level students can be asked to complete the table comparing the topics of the
paragraphs with the subjects of sentences 3 and 4.
4 Explain that the subject of each sentence says what that sentence is about (the topic of the
sentence). When sentences combine in a paragraph, their subjects work together to show
what the paragraph is about (the topic of the paragraph). Because the topic of the two
paragraphs is different, their sentences need to start with different subjects, even though
they present the same information.

2.5 Topic development EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
Students can analyse texts they have been reading to see how the sentences work together
to show the development of the topic. This analysis leads on to consideration of the flow of
information in texts from given to new ideas, which is developed and practised in Classroom
materials 2.6, Information flow.

KEY
The topic is underlined in each text. Note that the topic of Text A is the second sentence not
the first. The paragraph is mainly about how ‘we value efficiency’, i.e., by being clear about
staff duties. This example shows that the concept of topic sentence as the first sentence in a
paragraph can be misleading. Topics can be carried in other sentences in a paragraph besides
the first one.
A At Bettaworld, we value efficiency in our workforce. We are very clear about the
duties of each member of staff. The sales assistant deals with enquiries over the
phone. The manager contacts clients personally. This ensures that there is no
duplication of effort.
B At Bettaworld, we value our clients. They make our business a success. Their
enquiries are dealt with immediately by the sales assistant. Some clients are contacted
personally by the manager. This ensures that they continue to do business with
Bettaworld.
Subjects are underlined in sentences 3 and 4 of each text. Active verbs are shown in italics;
passive verbs are shown in bold.
A (1) At Bettaworld, we value efficiency. (2) We are very clear about the duties of each
member of staff. (3) The sales assistant deals with enquiries over the phone. (4) The
manager contacts clients personally. (5) This ensures that there is no duplication of
effort.
B (1) At Bettaworld, we value our clients. (2) They make our business a success. (3)
Their enquiries are dealt with immediately by the sales assistant. (4) Some clients
are contacted personally by the manager. (5) This ensures that they continue to do
business with Bettaworld.

Paragraph/ Subject Active Passive Paragraph

sentence verb verb topic
A/ 3 the sales deals with staff duties
assistant

B/ 3 their enquiries are dealt with clients

A/ 4 the manager contacts staff duties

B/ 4 some clients are contacted clients

2.5 Topic development EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Topic development
Here are two paragraphs with two different topics. What is the topic of each paragraph?
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

You can choose from the topics listed in the box.

sales clients Bettaworld efficiency staff duties management

A At Bettaworld, we value efficiency in our workforce. We are very clear about the duties
of each member of staff. The sales assistant deals with enquiries over the phone. The
manager contacts clients personally. This ensures that there is no duplication of effort.
B At Bettaworld, we value our clients. They make our business a success. Their enquiries
are dealt with immediately by the sales assistant. Some clients are contacted personally
by the manager. This ensures that they continue to do business with Bettaworld.
Advanced level
Sentences 3 and 4 contain the same information in both paragraphs but it is in different
places in the sentence. How have sentences 3 and 4 been changed from paragraph A to
paragraph B to achieve this?
A (1) At Bettaworld, we value efficiency. (2) We are very clear about the duties of each
member of staff. (3) The sales assistant deals with enquiries over the phone. (4) The
manager contacts clients personally. (5) This ensures that there is no duplication of
effort.
B (1) At Bettaworld, we value our clients. (2) They make our business a success. (3) Their
enquiries are dealt with immediately by the sales assistant. (4) Some clients are contacted
personally by the manager. (5) This ensures that they continue to do business with
Bettaworld.
Intermediate level
Sentences 3 and 4 have been underlined in each paragraph. Complete the following table to
compare how these sentences have been changed from paragraph A to paragraph B. What is
the form of the verb in each sentence?

Paragraph/ Subject Active Passive Paragraph

sentence verb verb topic
A/ 3 staff duties

B/ 3 their enquiries

A/ 4 contacts

B/ 4 are contacted

2.5 Topic development EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.6: Information flow
Teacher’s notes
Background
Writers make information flow logically through their paragraphs by ensuring that the themes,
which locate and orient the message within a sentence, usually contain given information,
while the rhemes, which develop the message, usually contain new information. Because
information in themes is familiar to readers, it is presented in summary form. Rhemes
often contain quite long complex phrases or clauses because new details have to be clearly
explained to readers. This logical flow of ideas is a very powerful resource for creating
cohesion in texts. It is what university lecturers are referring to when they tell students to
write clearly and logically.

Aims
s to raise awareness of the choices a writer has when deciding where to put information
in the sentences in a developing text

s to understand that the flow of information from given to new helps readers to process
the ideas in the text

Material
Tasksheet containing a short text, Groups and Group Formation, for which each sentence (apart
from the first) is shown together with two grammatically correct alternatives. The information
in these alternative sentences has simply been moved to a different part of the sentence in each
case. This exercise works best if the sentences are numbered, 2a, 2b, 2c, etc., and then cut into
strips.

Procedure
1 Remind students that the choice of what to put first in a sentence is normally related
to the topic of a developing paragraph. You can refer to Classroom materials 2.5,
Topic development.
2 Arrange students in groups of two or three. Give them the set of sentences cut into
strips and ask them to construct the text by putting the strips in order. The strips are
numbered but there are three choices for each number and they must choose the best
sentence to construct the text each time. You can ask them to complete the first four
sentences and then check their choices, or you can monitor their progress and make
suggestions.
3 Ask students to think about the reasons for their choices each time. This task can be
done intuitively, but encourage students to look for patterns in the developing text.
4 When they are finished, each group of students can go and look at the texts
constructed by other groups, and decide if they want to change any of their choices.
5 Finally, students make a map of the text with arrows which demonstrate the flow of
information from given to new.

Follow-up
Students can analyse familiar texts to see how the sentences work together to show the flow
of information through a text from what is familiar to what is new.

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Teachers can rewrite texts the students have been working on so that information, which
was originally in the themes of several sentences, is moved to the rhemes (or vice versa).
Students then find and correct the sentences so that the paragraph is more coherent. Once
students are aware of this feature of coherence, the teacher can incorporate it into feedback
on the students’ writing.

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
The text as it was originally written is shown below with the themes underlined. The
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

information in italics appears in subsequent themes or rhemes. Notice that the themes of
sentences 6a and 7b are used to contrast two different types of group. This is a very common
way to handle contrast in texts. Notice also that the idea in the rheme of sentence 5c (achieve
common goals) is developed further in the rhemes of sentences 6a and 7b.
Groups and Group Formation
1 The group is an important unit in the study of organisational behaviour.
2 a Studying groups is especially valuable when group dynamics are analysed.
3 b Group dynamics is concerned with the interactions and forces among group members
in a social situation.
4 b When the concept of group dynamics is applied to the study of organisational behaviour,
the focus is on the dynamics of members of formal or informal work groups and teams
in the organisation.
5 c For behavioural scientists a group consists of two or more people interacting
interdependently to achieve common goals.
6 a Formal work groups are established by organisations to achieve organisational goals.
7 b Informal work groups form naturally in response to the common interests of
organisational members.
8 a Even relatively simple groups are actually complex social devices that require a fair
amount of negotiation and trial-and-error before individual members begin to function
as a true group.
The main aspects of thematic development in texts are as follows:
UÊ ,i>`iÀÃʘii`Êv>“ˆˆ>Àʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜Ê­ÕÃÕ>ÞÊ̅iÊ̜«ˆV®Êˆ˜Ê“ˆ˜`ÊLivœÀiÊ̅iÞÊÀi>`Êܓi̅ˆ˜}Ê
new about it.
UÊ >“ˆˆ>ÀʜÀÊ}ˆÛi˜Êˆ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜ÊˆÃÊÕÃÕ>Þʈ˜Ê̅iÊ̅i“iÃʜvÊÃi˜Ìi˜Við
UÊ ,…i“iÃÊÕÃÕ>ÞÊVœ˜Ì>ˆ˜Ê˜iÜʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜Ê܅ˆV…ʈÃÊÌi“«œÀ>ÀˆÞÊ̅iÊvœVÕÃʜvÊ>ÌÌi˜Ìˆœ˜°
UÊ iÌ>ˆi`ÊiÝ«>˜>̈œ˜Ãʈ˜ÊVœ“«iÝÊ«…À>ÃiÃʜÀÊV>ÕÃiÃÊ>ÀiÊi>ÈiÀÊvœÀÊÀi>`iÀÃÊ̜Ê՘`iÀÃÌ>˜`Ê
if they are in rhemes.
UÊ ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜Êˆ˜ÊÀ…i“iÃÊÀi>««i>ÀÃʈ˜ÊÃÕLÃiµÕi˜ÌÊ̅i“iÃʈ˜ÊÃՓ“>ÀÞÊvœÀ“ÊLiV>ÕÃiʈÌʅ>ÃÊ
moved to the background.
UÊ /…ˆÃʓœÛi“i˜Ìʜvʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜ÊvÀœ“ÊÀ…i“iÊ̜Ê̅i“iʏˆ˜ŽÃÊ̅iÊ`iÛiœ«ˆ˜}ÊÌiÝÌÊ̜Ê܅>ÌÊ
has gone before and helps to maintain the topic.
These aspects of thematic development should be seen as tendencies rather than rules. Writers
usually follow them, but sometimes they have good reasons for not doing so, e.g., sometimes
they want to force a marked reading of the text, so they put new information into the theme
and thus into the background, where it can be considered as given. On other occasions, they
place old information into the rheme to emphasize it.

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 The arrows in the diagram show how the new information is linked to the familiar topics.
In the last box, you can see that the new information is in a long complex noun phrase
containing relative clauses.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Topic or subtopic New information about the topic

1 Groups the study of organisational behaviour

2 Studying groups group dynamics

group members in a social

3 Group dynamics
situation

members of formal or informal

4 Group dynamics work groups or teams

5 A group common goals

6 Formal groups organisational goals

common interests of
7 Informal groups
organisational members

8 Even relatively complex social devices that require a fair amount of

simple groups negotiation before members function as a true group.

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Information flow
Below are eight sentences of a text about Groups and Group Formation. The first sentence is
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

given, but for the remaining text there is a choice of three possible sentences. All sentences
are grammatically correct but only one maintains the logical flow of ideas in the paragraph.
Construct the text by choosing the most appropriate sentence in each case.
1 The group is an important unit in the study of organisational behaviour.
2 a Studying groups is especially valuable when group dynamics are analysed.
2 b Analysing group dynamics is especially valuable for studying groups.
2 c What is especially valuable for studying groups is group dynamics.
3 a The social situation in which interactions and forces among group members occur is the
concern of group dynamics.
3 b Group dynamics is concerned with the interactions and forces among group members
in a social situation.
3 c The interactions and forces among group members in a social situation is the concern
of group dynamics.
4 a The dynamics of members of formal or informal work groups and teams in an
organisation are the focus when the concept of group dynamics is applied to the study
of organisational behaviour.
4 b When the concept of group dynamics is applied to the study of organisational behaviour,
the focus is on the dynamics of members of formal or informal work groups and teams
in the organisation.
4 c The focus when the concept of group dynamics is applied to the study of organisational
behaviour is on the dynamics of members of formal or informal work groups and teams
in the organisation.
5 a A group consists of two or more people interacting interdependently to achieve common
goals for behavioural scientists.
5 b Two or more people interacting interdependently to achieve common goals is what
constitutes a group for behavioural scientists.
5 c For behavioural scientists a group consists of two or more people interacting
interdependently to achieve common goals.
6 a Formal work groups are established by organisations to achieve organisational goals.
6 b Organisations establish formal work groups to achieve organisational goals.
6 c The achievement of organisational goals is the purpose of formal work groups.
7 a The common interests of organisational members prompt informal work groups to
form naturally.
7 b Informal work groups form naturally in response to the common interests of
organisational members.
7 c In response to the common interests of organisational members, informal work groups
form naturally

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 4) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 8 a Even relatively simple groups are actually complex social devices that require a fair
amount of negotiation and trial-and-error before individual members begin to function
as a true group.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

8 b Complex social devices that require a fair amount of negotiation and trial-and-error
before individual members begin to function as a true group are what even relatively
simple groups actually are.
8 c Before individual members begin to function as a true group, even in relatively simple
groups, they require a fair amount of negotiation and trial-and-error because they are
actually complex social devices.

Check the answer key to find out which choices were made by the original writer of this text.
Now make a map of the way information flows through the original text. Use the diagram on
the next page, as follows:
a Underline the noun phrase near the beginning of each sentence which contains the word
group. The first one is done for you.
b Decide if the noun phrases you have highlighted show the main topic or a more specific
aspect of the main topic (a subtopic). Write them in the numbered boxes on the left-
hand side of the diagram on the next page. One is done for you.
c Underline new information at the ends of the sentences. Do not underline the whole
verb phrase but just the new information. One is done for you.
d Complete the diagram by adding the new information about each topic (in note form)
to the right hand boxes. Two are done for you.
e Draw lines between the boxes to show how information in one sentence reappears in a
following sentence. Some of the lines have been drawn for you. Draw the rest.

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 4) © Garnet Publishing
 Topic or subtopic New information about the topic
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

1 the study of organisational behaviour

5 A group common goals

From the diagram you have just completed you can see how a writer can make information
flow logically through a paragraph. The paragraph starts with a topic (1), The group, that is
familiar to the reader (because it was in the title). The first sentence says something about the
topic that is new to the reader.

However, once this information has been introduced, it is familiar to the reader and can be
repackaged (i.e., presented in a different form) so that it can become the topic of the next
sentence (2). Sometimes the writer wants to go back to an original topic (5) so that he can say
something else about it that is new to the reader. This new information can be developed in

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (3 of 4) © Garnet Publishing
 more detail at the ends of following sentences (6, 7). In each sentence, the writer tries to give
the reader some familiar information as a starting point for new information. This is the way
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

writers show the flow of the topic through their texts.

The familiar information at the beginning of each sentence, which forms the starting point for
the new information, has usually been repackaged in short summary form. This is because it
is now in the background. The reader has already seen the information and only needs to be
reminded about it, e.g.,

the study of organisational behaviour studying

However, the new information, presented at the end of each sentence, is often put into quite
long complex phrases or clauses because the new details have to be clearly explained to the
reader. It is easier for a reader to understand long complex phrases and clauses if they are
at the end of a sentence. They are the last things he reads so he does not have to remember
them while he reads the other information in the sentence, e.g., 8a below is easier to read and
understand than 8b.

8 a Even relatively simple groups are actually complex social devices that require a fair
amount of negotiation and trial-and-error before individual members begin to function
as a true group.

b Complex social devices that require a fair amount of negotiation and trial-and-error
before individual members begin to function as a true group are what even relatively
simple groups actually are.

These guiding principles are really what tutors mean when they tell students to write clearly
and logically. They can be summarized as follows:

UÊ >ŽiÊÃÕÀiÊޜÕÀÊÀi>`iÀʅ>ÃÊv>“ˆˆ>Àʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜Ê­Ì…iÊ̜«ˆV®Êˆ˜Ê“ˆ˜`ÊLivœÀiÊޜÕÊÌiÊ…ˆ“Ê
something new about it.

UÊ *ÕÌÊ̅iÊv>“ˆˆ>Àʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜Ê>ÌÊ̅iÊLi}ˆ˜˜ˆ˜}ʜvÊޜÕÀÊÃi˜Ìi˜ViÃÊ>˜`Ê̅iʘiÜʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜Ê
you want your reader to focus on at the end.

UÊ
ÃÊܜ˜Ê>ÃÊޜÕʅ>Ûiʈ˜ÌÀœ`ÕVi`ʘiÜʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜]ÊޜÕÊV>˜ÊÀi«>VŽ>}iʈÌʈ˜Ê̅iÊvœœÜˆ˜}Ê
sentences in a shorter summary form. This just reminds your reader that this information
is now in the background, i.e., already part of the picture building up in his mind.

UÊ *ÕÌÊ`iÌ>ˆi`ÊiÝ«>˜>̈œ˜Ãʈ˜ÊVœ“«iÝÊV>ÕÃiÃÊ>ÌÊ̅iÊi˜`ÃʜvÊޜÕÀÊÃi˜Ìi˜ViÃÊÜÊ̅iÞÊ>ÀiÊ
easier for your reader to understand.

These are guiding principles not rules. Writers usually follow them, but they sometimes have
good reasons for not doing so, e.g., sometimes they want new information at the beginning of
the sentence because they want the reader to see it as familiar and in the background. This flow
of information is a very powerful way of linking ideas together in texts. It is what university
lecturers are referring to when they tell students to write clearly and logically.

2.6 Information flow EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (4 of 4) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.7: It’s in the news
Teacher’s notes
Background
Once students can recognize noun phrases in texts and identify their basic structure, they
can investigate how noun phrases contribute to the logical development of texts. This task
uses the development of a story in the news to take students though the steps of repackaging
the ideas in the previous sentence. It promotes fluency in student writing by helping students
to use a strategy that experienced writers use to develop their ideas in a text. This is a playful
task and should be treated as a language game rather than a recipe for constructing texts.

Aims
s to practise repackaging given information in noun phrases
s to raise awareness of grammar patterns and order of information in noun phrases

Material
Individual copies of the photocopiable tasksheet for constructing noun phrases
A visual of the tasksheet for recording suggested answers

Procedure
1 Demonstrate the first group of sentences with the whole class. Ask how all the
information in the first sentence could be included in a phrase forming the subject of
sentence b. If students are unsure, you can ask them to make a noun from the verb
chew to begin building the noun phrase. Once students have worked through the first
example, they complete the other groups of sentences individually or in pairs.
2 Use the teacher’s visual to record students’ suggested phrases. Compare them with
the answers suggested in the key. Note that these are suggested answers and other
combinations are possible.
3 Draw attention to the way each new noun phrase draws information from the key
idea at the end of the previous sentence, i.e., the new information is repackaged as
given information.
4 Point out that, in 2b and 3c, the summarized information is not the subject of the
verb and that given-to-new is a common pattern not a prescriptive rule.
5 Emphasize that complete sequences of sentences like these would not form a natural
text, although the final sentence achieves an appropriately academic style. Ask
students to suggest how the sentences could be altered to make a more natural text.

Follow-up
Other developing news stories or situations of interest to the class can be used for further
practice in repackaging information into noun phrases. The students can also find complex
sentences consisting of several long noun phrases, and try to produce the shorter sentences
from which they are derived.

2.7 It’s in the news EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
Note that the following are suggestions and other combinations are possible. Shortened
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

forms would also be possible, especially in news headlines, e.g., dental health benefits, bird
flu outbreak.
1 a People chew gum.
b Chewing gum is supposed to benefit dental health.
c The benefit to dental health of chewing gum is supported by medical opinion.
2 a An outbreak of bird flu is possible.
b The public are anxious about the possibility of an outbreak of bird flu.
c Public anxiety over the possibility of an outbreak of bird flu is increasing.
d Increasing public anxiety over the possibility of an outbreak of bird flu is causing a fall
in stock market prices.
3 a Smoking and fatal diseases are linked.
b In health education, there is information about the links between smoking and fatal
diseases.
c People have begun to respond to health education information about the links between
smoking and fatal diseases.
d The response to health education information about the links between smoking and
fatal diseases has led to a decline in cigarette smoking.
These sequences of sentences produce an artificial text, so it is important to agree with
students how to transform the result into a more fluent text, e.g., 2c might be reduced to
This anxiety is increasing. However, very often the final sentence achieves an appropriate
academic style.

2.7 It’s in the news EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: It’s in the news
Add all the information in each sentence to the gap in the next sentence,
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

using a noun phrase.

1 a People chew gum.

b is supposed to benefit dental health.

c is
supported by medical opinion.

2 a An outbreak of bird flu is possible.

b The public are anxious about .

c is
increasing.

is causing a fall in stock market prices.

3 a Smoking and fatal diseases are linked.

b In health education, there is information about

c People have begun to respond to

has
led to a decline in cigarette smoking.

2.7 It’s in the news EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
1 a People chew gum.

b is supposed to benefit dental health.

c is supported by medical
opinion.

2 a An outbreak of bird flu is possible.

b The public are anxious about .

c is
increasing.

is causing a fall in stock market prices.

3 a Smoking and fatal diseases are linked.

b In health education, there is information about

c People have begun to respond to

has led to a decline in

cigarette smoking.

2.7 It’s in the news EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.8: Summarizing noun phrases
Teacher’s notes
Background
Once students can recognize noun phrases in texts and identify their basic structure, they
can practise writing noun phrases which fit appropriately into gaps in texts. This requires
students to consider which information has already been presented in the text, and how the
noun phrase fits in with the logical development of the text. This task provides scaffolding
for student writing by helping students to use a strategy that experienced writers use to
develop their ideas in a text. It is assumed that students understand the way noun phrases
contribute to the development of a text.

Aims
s to practise writing noun phrases which summarize information in other parts of a text
s to notice how this contributes to the logical development of the text

Material
Tasksheet containing an authentic text* with some noun phrases removed

Procedure
1 Remind students of the basic structure of noun phrases, and the way topics develop
through the noun phrases in a paragraph. These ideas were introduced and practised
in Classroom materials 2.4, 2.5 and 2.7.
2 Students choose which of the noun phrases in note form fits into each of the
numbered gaps. They use the clues from the notes provided, and the context of each
gap, to construct an appropriate noun phrase to fit the gap.
3 Check that the students have written accurate noun phrases, and discuss any other
versions they have produced which may be acceptable, e.g., 6) the data which
measured student performance.

Follow-up
This kind of practice activity can be developed from any text that students are reading.
Students with a lower level of proficiency can be given the first part of the text unchanged to
help them to understand the ideas in the text. Postgraduate students can work on abstracts,
which make use of complex noun phrases to condense information.
Before students begin a piece of writing, they can do some pre-writing activities in which
they identify noun phrases they will need to use, and attempt to write these accurately.

*The example given here is from Ehrenberg, D. et al (2001) The influence of class size on academic achievement in Slaght, J.
(2004) English for Academic Study: Reading Source Book. Garnet Education: Reading.

2.8 Summarizing noun phrases EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
The Influence of Class Size on Academic Achievement
There is growing concern in both Britain and the United States that children from lower-
income groups are not doing as well at school and university as children from the middle and
upper classes. In addition, recent studies have shown that (0) most children in these countries
perform poorly when compared to Asian and European students of the same age. If western
countries want to compete in the global marketplace the education of their children must be
improved to provide an effective workforce in future years.
A number of ideas have been put forward to suggest how education could be improved but
the most attractive of these is the proposal to reduce the size of classes, i.e., the number of
pupils for each teacher. (1) This reduction in class size would be very expensive as it requires
more teachers, more classrooms and more equipment and resources. On the other hand if
smaller classes really do improve the quality of education for poor children, (2) the economic
benefits which come from a better educated workforce could far outweigh the costs.
(3) The increased interest in smaller class sizes has prompted a review of several studies
which investigated whether small classes really do improve school achievement. Many of
these studies were poorly designed and the findings were unreliable because it is very difficult
to isolate the effects of class size from (4) the other factors which influence performance at
school. However, one study, known as Project STAR, did give more reliable results. (5)
Pupils who were entering school for the first time were randomly assigned to one of three
kinds of classes, a small class, a normal sized class or a normal sized class with both a teacher
and a teaching assistant. They remained in these classes for four years and then joined a
normal classroom. After the study finished (6) the data measuring student performance
were analysed but there was disagreement about the findings. From the data it seemed that
there was (7) a significant improvement in pupil performance in the smaller classes after
two years and this seemed to persist after the pupils rejoined a normal class. However, other
researchers criticised the project and its conclusions. They claimed that the data could not be
used to argue that the improvement persisted after the pupils had returned to normal sized
classes because of (8) the influence of other factors such as a supportive home.
Researchers also point out that schoolchildren in Japan and China tend to do much better
at school than children in Britain and the United States despite the fact that they normally
study in much larger groups. (9) Typical classes in China or Japan consist of 40 or 50 pupils
and one teacher. It has been suggested that the reason large class sizes do not adversely affect
(10) academic achievement in these countries is due to the fact that these societies are more
homogeneous with less ethnic diversity. Teachers find it easier to impose discipline on large
groups of children.

2.8 Summarizing noun phrases EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Summarizing noun phrases
The text on the following page, entitled The Influence of Class Size on Academic Achievement
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

contains a number of gaps where noun phrases are missing. The missing noun phrases are
shown in the list below in note form.
The phrases are not in the order they appear in the text. Decide which information is required
for each gap in the text, and construct an appropriate noun phrase from the notes in order
to fill the gap. You may have to add determiners such as the/these. Pay attention to the
developing text to help you decide how to construct the noun phrase.
a factors / influence / performance / school
b reduction / class size
c economic benefits / come from / educated workforce
d children / countries
e academic achievement / countries
f influence / factors / supportive home
g data / measure / student performance
h increase / interest / small class size
i significant improvement / pupil performance / smaller classes
j pupils / enter school / first time
k typical classes / China / Japan
Write your answer in the space provided below. The first one is done for you.

0 most children in these countries

10

2.8 Summarizing noun phrases EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 The Influence of Class Size on Academic Achievement
There is growing concern in both Britain and the United States that children from lower-
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

income groups are not doing as well at school and university as children from the middle and
upper classes. In addition, recent studies have shown that (0)
perform poorly when compared to Asian and European students of the same
age. If western countries want to compete in the global marketplace the education of their
children must be improved to provide an effective workforce in future years.
A number of ideas have been put forward to suggest how education could be improved but
the most attractive of these is the proposal to reduce the size of classes, i.e., the number
of pupils for each teacher. (1) would be very expensive as
it requires more teachers, more classrooms and more equipment and resources. On the
other hand if smaller classes really do improve the quality of education for poor children,
(2) could far outweigh the costs.
(3) has prompted a review of several studies which investigated
whether small classes really do improve school achievement. Many of these studies were
poorly designed and the findings were unreliable because it is very difficult to isolate the
effects of class size from (4) . However, one study, known
as Project STAR, did give more reliable results. (5) were
randomly assigned to one of three kinds of classes, a small class, a normal sized class
or a normal sized class with both a teacher and a teaching assistant. They remained in
these classes for four years and then joined a normal classroom. After the study finished
(6) were analysed but there was disagreement about the findings.
From the data it seemed that there was (7) after two
years and this seemed to persist after the pupils rejoined a normal class. However, other
researchers criticised the project and its conclusions. They claimed that the data could not be
used to argue that the improvement persisted after the pupils had returned to normal sized
classes because of (8) .
Researchers also point out that schoolchildren in Japan and China tend to do much better
at school than children in Britain and the United States despite the fact that they normally
study in much larger groups. (9) consist of 40 or 50 pupils
and one teacher. It has been suggested that the reason large class sizes do not adversely
affect (10) is due to the fact that these societies are more
homogeneous with less ethnic diversity. Teachers find it easier to impose discipline on large
groups of children.

2.8 Summarizing noun phrases EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
2.9: General to specific
Teacher’s notes
Background
Texts which explain and persuade usually follow a general to specific development of ideas. The
writer states the main claim or the point of the paragraph in the first sentence, and then develops
this point or claim with specific evidence and examples in the remainder of the paragraph.

Aims
s to raise awareness of a common paragraph structure in academic writing
s to model the writing process and support students in redrafting their work

Material
A means of recording and displaying students’ responses, either on an overhead projector or
electronically, using a data projector or interactive whiteboard

Procedure
1 Ask students to have a pen and paper ready because you are going to ask some
questions, and you want them to write their responses down each time. All students
should write a response to the questions, but if the class is large you may want to
elicit example responses from only a small number of students.
2 Choose a suitable question from the following, depending on the level of the class:
a What ties a text together? (advanced)
b How do we learn to write? (upper intermediate)
c How do we learn new vocabulary? (intermediate)
Ask students to write down quickly the first idea that comes into their heads, without
thinking too much. The response is likely to be a short noun phrase, e.g., by reading, by
noticing new words. Students should not copy the question, just respond to it.
3 Elicit some example responses, and record these on a visual next to the name of
each student. Encourage students who have not written anything to respond, by
saying that everyone must have a response before you can continue.
4 On the visual, under the first set of student responses, write a new question which
incorporates their responses and asks for more specific details, e.g., But how does
[reading] help you to learn to write? Go round the class in turn, providing each
person with a new question which incorporates their response.
5 Students now write a longer response to the second question. You should not
provide any models or clues to the kind of responses you expect at this stage.
Students are free to write whatever they want, but you can tell them that their
response is likely to be longer.
6 Again, you should elicit some example responses from the same students as before,
and write these on the visual underneath the second question. These might include
a description of a learning process, e.g., When you read, you can notice the way
writers use vocabulary and grammar. At this stage, you can ask students to clarify
their ideas or you can challenge any ideas that are not realistic.

2.9 General to specific EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
7 When all students have a response, you should formulate, and write on the visual,
a third question, which incorporates their second response, e.g., But how does
[noticing vocabulary and grammar] help you to learn to write? The response to this
question will again be longer and more detailed.
8 The students now have a set of answers to three questions. You can ask them how
the answers are different, and elicit responses such as the following: longer, more
detailed, more specific. You can then explain that this is the way writers often
construct paragraphs, from general to specific, because they are developing and
clarifying ideas for their readers. Finally, you can ask what else helps readers to
understand ideas. You can suggest that students provide an example to illustrate
their responses.
9 The students’ responses can then be turned into a paragraph using a paragraph
frame similar to the following:
We learn to write by
This helps because
In particular,
For example,
Here is an example written by an advanced level student:
We can improve our writing by reading and learning new vocabulary. This helps
because seeing the word in a context enables us to understand how it is used. In
particular, a wide range of reading allows us to see the same words used in different
subject areas. For example, words used to describe data in tables and graphs can also
be used metaphorically to describe the fluctuations in the stock market.
10 It is important to emphasize to students that the process of generating ideas can
be done with questions and responses, but that these should be mental activities
which help with brainstorming. The questions and responses should be changed
into statements for the final written paragraph. The paragraphs can also be made
more academic by removing personal pronouns and replacing them with passive
or nominal structures, e.g., Writing can be improved by reading and learning new
vocabulary. This allows students to see that their texts might have to be redrafted
several times to be appropriate for an academic audience.

Follow-up
Students can analyse texts they have been reading to see how the ideas develop from general
to specific. You can also provide texts in which the sentences have been jumbled, and ask
students to reorganize them to follow a general to specific development. You might find
examples with a different development, e.g., specific to general, or with a general statement
at the end which summarizes the ideas and prepares for the next paragraph.
When giving students feedback on their writing, you can use the term general to specific to
comment on the organization of their paragraphs.

2.9 General to specific EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4.1: What is academic literature?
Teacher’s notes
Background
This series of tasks is designed to foster a critical approach to selecting reading material in
students preparing for undergraduate or postgraduate study. Signals that show whether a text
is likely to suit their purpose are made explicit, to help students when they are faced with a
large number of possible reading texts.

Aims
s to compare reading requirements for academic study in different cultures
s to identify the purpose and status of common types of academic literature
s to draw up a short list of background reading texts for each student’s subject through
individual research

Material
Copies of the discussion tasksheet on types of academic texts (Tasksheet 1), one for each
group
Teacher’s visual based on types of reading at different levels in the UK academic system (also
acts as a key for Tasksheet 1)
Individual copies of the tasksheet for defining different types of academic texts and their
status (Tasksheet 2)
Individual copies of the tasksheet for evaluating titles in a library catalogue (Tasksheet 3)
Keys for Tasksheets 2 and 3

Procedure
1 Introduce the topic of what sort of texts students read at university. Students form
groups to discuss what they read in their previous school or college courses, and record
their answers on the discussion tasksheet (Task 1). They compare their answers with
other groups, and with information about the type of reading required on UK academic
courses, provided on the Teacher’s visual. They discuss any differences between their
expectations and what they are likely to have to read on their degree courses.
2 Introduce academic texts as the main channel of communication for the academic world.
Elicit students’ ideas on who the audience is, and what the relationship between readers
and authors is. (They may be equal in knowledge or the author may have more expert
status in the subject area.) Ask students to think about the difference between books or
papers written by lecturers to communicate their findings or ideas to other specialists
researching the same topic area, and books or online material written by lecturers for
students on academic courses. Students match the text types to their definitions (Task 2),
and then discuss their understanding of the different types of texts. Any additional types
of academic texts suggested by students can be added to the list.
3 Students study the list of book titles from a search of a library catalogue (Task 3) and
decide which category each text belongs to. They suggest which texts might be useful
as background reading for the undergraduate student in the task, and compare their
suggestions with the key.

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
An out-of-class assignment can be set to suit the context. Students can go to the library and
search the catalogue to make a short list of textbooks, key texts and academic journals in
their field, using the way the references are laid out in Task 3 as a model for the list. Students
without access to a suitable academic library could search for sources online. Compiling this
list can be a group assignment for students with the same intended degree subject. Students
can bring texts from their list to class, to survey these for typical layout features of the genre,
e.g., contents page, headings, index or glossary. They can use the categories from Task 2
to classify and comment on the selected texts, producing a simple annotated bibliography
which might be useful for their future studies.
As a reflective task, students can write a paragraph (or online blog) explaining how they
found the sources on their lists, and any difficulties encountered in finding these or deciding
which were useful. The texts they have found can be used as independent reading for a
longer writing assignment, for example, defining and comparing some important concepts
or items in their own field.

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Tasksheet 2
These are suggested answers. The definitions have been checked in standard dictionaries, but
tutors may wish to draw the boundaries a little differently, e.g., is a handbook sometimes a
textbook? The important point is that students make a start in understanding the range of academic
literature, and acquire some navigation skills for bibliographies and library catalogues.
1 b Course book: book with a series of lessons designed to be taught in class for a particular
course
2 a Textbook: book that is connected with learning or intended for study
3 c Key work: important book on a topic that everyone studying the topic should read
4 d Seminal work: classic article or book that has influenced the way the understanding of
a subject has developed
5 f Reference book: book that you look at to find information, such as a list of data, an
atlas (maps), a dictionary or encyclopaedia
6 e Guidebook, handbook or manual: book which explains how to do something, aimed at
people who need to carry out that activity
7 i Monograph: article or short book that discusses a narrow topic in detail
8 j Review (of other works or of the field): careful examination and analysis of what has
been published about a particular topic
9 l Paper: report or discussion on a particular subject, by someone who has made an
academic study of it, published in a journal or presented at a conference
10 k Academic (peer-reviewed)* journal or conference report: publications aimed at
professional researchers, containing original research reports which have been checked
by other specialists from that field
11 h Web page of practising academic, where a lecturer or professor lists his or her publications,
and may post articles or lectures and materials for his or her students
12 g Specialist magazine: subject-related general interest magazine aimed at interested
professionals and the general public (e.g., New Scientist, The Economist)

Tasksheet 3
Possible clues for a: how specific the title topic is; words like introduction, directory,
handbook, Ed. (suggesting a collection of papers); names of journals. Students might guess
that Slutsky (1939) is a seminal article because the Slutsky effect is subsequently named after
this author.
There are no definite answers to b; it is intended to promote critical discussion. Sloman
(2003) might be useful to an undergraduate as its general title, and the fact that this is the
fifth edition suggest a popular textbook. Burningham (1984) could be rather out of date.
Frequent mention of the Slutsky effect suggests that it might be important to understand.
Journal articles may be too technical for an undergraduate, but Saran (2005) might give a
simple introduction, as the URL suggests it is for students. There is no clue to the fact that
Smith (1950) is a reprint of the seminal 18th century book by Adam Smith, the father of
economics. Students have to be alert for this type of anomaly when searching catalogues.

*Academic journals (sometimes known as refereed or learned journals) are often published by societies of professional academics in a
field. Before publication, articles and papers are checked for academic or scientific reliability (rigour) by a panel of academics. This
is known as peer review, and is an important method of maintaining standards in the academic world.

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Title Category
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Burningham, D. (Ed.) (1984, 2nd ed.) Understanding collection of papers

Economics. England: Hodder & Stoughton.

Directory of property developers, investors and reference book

financiers 1984–85.

The Economist general interest magazine

James, D. E. and Throsby, C. D. (1973) Introduction to textbook/handbook for

Quantitative Methods in Economics. England: Wiley. researchers?

James, S. and Nobes, C. (2005) The Economics of textbook

Taxation. England: Prentice Hall.

Kagel, J. H. and Roth, A. E. (Eds.) (1995) The Handbook handbook for researchers?
of Experimental Economics. USA: Princeton University
Press.

Kamien, M. I. and Schwartz, N. L. (1991) Dynamic specialized textbook

Optimization: The Calculus of Variations and Optimal – or maybe a kind of
Control in Economics and Management. USA: Elsevier. mathematical guide?

Menezes, C. F. and Wang, H. (2005) Duality and the paper in academic journal
Slutsky income and substitution effects of increases in
wage rate. Oxford Economic Papers 2005 57: 545–557.

Saran, R. (2005) Lecture: Slutsky Equation. There are paper or lecture on

two effects when price of a good changes. Brown web page of practising
University – Department of Economics, www.personeel. academic
unimaas.nl/r.saran.

Seidl, C. (Ed.) (1984) Lectures on Schumpeterian collection of papers

Economics. USA: Springer.

Sloman, J. (2003) Economics. 5th edn. England: textbook

Prentice Hall.

Slutsky, E. (1937) The summation of random causes paper in academic journal/

as the source of cyclic processes. Econometrica Vol. 5: seminal work?
105–46.

Smith, A. (1950) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes seminal work
of the Wealth of Nations Vol. 1–2. England: Methuen.

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1
Discuss these questions in your group and make notes of your answers.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

What types of books or other texts did you read at different stages in your previous education
(e.g., in secondary school, at the beginning of an undergraduate degree, near the end of
undergraduate study, during a postgraduate course)?

How did you know what to read? Did you decide yourself or were you recommended to read
specific books?

How many different reading sources were you expected to use for an assignment, for example,
for a secondary school essay or an undergraduate essay?

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Types of academic text

Types of text likely to be Who would read them

read on UK academic
courses
course books secondary school, short courses,
non-academic subjects

set textbooks secondary school / beginning of UG

(subject – wide) study

textbooks UG and PG
(topics within subject)

key works / classic historically UG and PG (reading these books

important works in the field unprompted might show a serious
student with a real interest in the
subject)

reference books all levels – especially for research

projects

reviews of other works UGs for a final-year dissertation

PGs, as specific background

papers in academic journals / UGs at higher levels

conference reports PGs: essential reading at Masters,
PhD and post-doc level

academic web pages UGs (to supplement lectures – get

a different explanation of key
concepts)
PGs: researching topics not directly
related to first degree

specialist magazines from secondary school onwards

– act as ‘newspapers’ for the
academic community and link with
general public

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2
Study this list of types of academic literature and match the definitions to the types of texts.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Write the correct number beside each definition.

Types of academic Definitions

literature
1 course book a 2 a book connected with learning or
intended for study
b a book with a series of lessons
2 textbook designed to be taught in class for a
particular course
c important book on a topic that everyone
3 key work studying the topic should read
d a classic article or book which has
influenced the way the understanding of
4 seminal work the subject has developed
e book which explains how to do
something, aimed at people who need to
carry out that activity
5 reference book
f book that you look at to find information,
such as a list of data, an atlas (maps), a
dictionary or encyclopaedia
6 guidebook, handbook or manual
g subject-related general interest
magazines aimed at interested
professionals and members of the general
7 monograph public (e.g. New Scientist, The Economist)
h web site where a lecturer or professor
lists his or her publications, and may post
8 review (of other works or of the articles or lectures and materials for his or
field) her students
i an article or short book that discusses a
narrow topic in detail
9 paper j a careful examination and analysis of
what has been published about a particular
topic
10 academic or peer-reviewed journal k publication aimed at professional
researchers, containing original research
reports which have been checked by other
11 web page of practising academic specialists from that field
l a report or discussion in an academic
journal or a presentation at a conference
12 specialist magazine on a particular subject by someone who
has made an academic study of it

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 3
An undergraduate economics student was told by her tutor to read more widely. She found
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

over 1200 titles in the economics section of her university library catalogue. Here is a list of
some titles she found. Which category from Task 2 do you think each one belongs to? How
do you know? Which ones might be useful for her to read?

Title Category

Burningham, D. (Ed.) (1984) Understanding Economics. 2nd

edn. England: Hodder & Stoughton.

Directory of property developers, investors and financiers

1984–85.

The Economist.

James, D. E. and Throsby, C. D. (1973) Introduction to

Quantitative Methods in Economics. England: Wiley.

James, S. and Nobes, C. (2005) The Economics of Taxation.

England: Prentice Hall.

Kagel, J. H. and Roth, A. E. (Ed.) (1995) The Handbook of

Experimental Economics. USA: Princeton University Press.

Kamien, M. I. and Schwartz, N. L. (1991) Dynamic

Optimization: The Calculus of Variations and Optimal
Control in Economics and Management. USA: Elsevier.

Menezes, C. F. and Wang, H. Duality and the Slutsky income

and substitution effects of increases in wage rate. Oxford
Economic Papers 2005 57: 545–557.

Saran, R. (2005) Lecture: Slutsky equation. There are two

effects when price of a good changes. Brown University –
Department of Economics, www.personeel.unimaas.nl/r.
saran.

Seidl, C. (Ed.) (1984) Lectures on Schumpeterian Economics.

USA: Springer.

Sloman, J. (2003) Economics. 5th edn. England: Prentice Hall.

Slutsky, E. (1937) The summation of random causes as the

source of cyclic processes. Econometrica Vol. 5: 105–4.

Smith, A. (1950) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the

Wealth of Nations Vol. 1–2. England: Methuen.

4.1 What is academic literature? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 3 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4.2: How can I read faster?
Teacher’s notes
Background
This task is a fun way to raise students’ awareness of their own reading techniques, and
introduce one way to tackle slow reading. It helps students to overcome the conviction that
they must read word-by-word for complete understanding. There needs to be plenty of time
for students to put forward their own ideas about what causes slow reading, and to reflect on
their own problems.

Aims
s to set targets to work towards improving reading speed
s to show that it is possible to read groups of words in each eye movement
s to practise reading in meaningful phrases

Material
Copies of three teacher’s visual sheets, with phrases of increasing length and difficulty on
each one, and a final sheet with a short text divided into meaningful phrases
A piece of cardboard to cover the visual sheets; a slot should be cut in it big enough to show
a single line on the sheets
Means of recording time accurately for each pair of students (stop watches, etc.)
Individual copies of a text of about 500–700 words with an exact word count, appropriate
for the students’ level of reading without any special difficulty
A short summary of the text with gaps for content words

Procedure
1 Reading speed. Ask students how fast they think they read in L1 (in words per
minute). How fast do they think a native speaker reads, for example, when reading
a novel? Suggest about 400 w.p.m. Do they know their reading speed in English?
Explain that they are going to measure and record this. Students are given the chosen
text, record the time when they start and finish reading, and calculate their reading
speed in words per minute. To check comprehension at this speed, they complete the
summary without referring to the text. Discuss how far their reading speeds are from
a target such as 200 w.p.m. Do they expect to understand the whole text? Suggest
that 50–70 per cent comprehension is a reasonable target for quick reading.
2 Reading in chunks. Elicit possible reasons for slow reading. Explain that good readers
can take in several words at once, seeing the words in groups or meaningful phrases.
The longer the phrases are, the faster and more effective the reading is. Explain that
the class can now try reading phrases. Put up the first visual, completely covered. Ask
students to shout out when they recognize a word or phrase. Uncover STOP for an
instant only. Then work through the sheet. Students will find these common phrases
very easy. Work through the next sheet, keeping the exposure time as fast as possible.
Finally, put up sheet 3. These phrases will cause more problems, and it needs to be
pointed out that it is normal to stop and take time to decode long and unknown
words, such as psychosomatic, or unexpected collocations, such as cost stickiness.
The important thing is that reading should be as flexible as possible.

4.2 How can I read faster? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
3 Reading and eye movement. Explain that they are going to find out whether they read
in phrases, by measuring the number of eye-movements they make as they read a line.
Students form pairs and sit where they can see their partner’s eyes. As one student reads
a paragraph of the selected text, their partner records the number of jumps the eyes make
as they read each line. They work out the average number of jumps per line. A student
can also record the teacher reading, for comparison. After comparing the results, the
teacher shows a passage of text, marked into meaningful phrases, on Teacher’s visual
4. Students try to read this silently to see if they can use the technique. Finally, students
mark a section of the copy of the selected text into phrases, and try to read it phrase by
phrase. They can try the eye-movement count again with a partner, to see if they have
improved.
4 Discussion and reflection. Students discuss how they can tackle their own reading speed,
and negotiate some targets and possible class activities, for instance, spending a short
time each week at the beginning of a class reading a text in this way.

Follow-up
One lesson is not enough to develop this skill. The teacher needs to make sure this work
is followed up by devising further tasks, and by regularly monitoring students’ targets and
progress. Students can keep a log recording their reading speed over the course, and set
higher targets as they progress. The teacher can collect a bank of accessible texts of a similar
length and level, and prepare simple gapped summaries so that students can test their speed
and comprehension regularly.

4.2 How can I read faster? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual 1
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

STOP

THE END

Good luck!

Open here

Thank you

NO ENTRY

FIRE EXIT

Low fat

FREE OFFER

4.2 How can I read faster? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

There are many

a major factor

a serious issue

on the contrary

in terms of

more significant than

this is situated

On the other hand

on the basis of

the fact that

4.2 How can I read faster? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual 3
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

psychosomatic illness

collocation exercises

insubstantial evidence

pathogenic bacteria

efficient reading techniques

mobile robot localization

instinctive behaviour

cost stickiness analysis

4.2 How can I read faster? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual 3 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual 4
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Reading in phrases

There are many ways to categorize

blogs. They can be categorized by

media type: a blog which is made

up of videos is called a vlog, and

one which is made up of photos

is called a photoblog.

They can also be categorized by the

device which is used to compose it so

that a blog written by a mobile device

such as a mobile phone is called a

moblog; or they can be categorized by

genre, such as political blogs

or travel blogs.

4.2 How can I read faster? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual 4 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4.3: How do you read? – reading strategies
Teacher’s notes
Background
This task is intended to be used in the early stages of an EAP course for undergraduates or
postgraduates, to prepare students for the strategies they will need in academic reading. This is
an open-ended task and, at this stage, the aim is to raise awareness of their own strategies, and
of the possibility of self-monitoring, rather than to force students to accept particular ideas.

Aims
s to introduce strategies for approaching reading difficult texts
s to present reasons for prioritizing global reading strategies
s to enable students to reflect on the reading strategies they currently use

Material
Individual copies of the tasksheet What academic readers do and the list of reading attack
strategies
Teacher’s visual to record the categories of the strategies (Task 3)

Procedure
1 Ask students what advice they would give to a student needing to do a large amount of
reading in a short time. Introduce the word strategies to describe deliberate approaches
to reading. Give out quotations from academic readers (Task 1). Students identify the
readers’ purposes and strategies, and compare their answers with the key. They compare
the purposes with those they expect to have on their degree courses, and to reflect on
which of these strategies they use when reading.
2 Students identify their own reading attack strategies from the list in the tasksheet, then
compare their answers and categorize the strategies. The teacher records the answers,
using the visual provided. Students may wish to add their own strategies and tips. Ask
which strategies students think are most useful for helping them to read more efficiently.
Present the rationale for prioritizing purpose, prediction and global strategies for
successful reading.

Follow-up
Type up the list of strategies students have prioritized as a record to give out in the next lesson.
The class can return to these regularly as the course progresses to monitor which strategies they
are using and how successful they seem to be. When they read texts, students can be encouraged
to monitor the strategies and report back in tutorials or keep a log of their progress.

4.3 How do you read? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
a The readers’ purposes were:
1 to answer a specific question (the relationship between pressure between the size
of a roll of plastic and the pressure between layers)
2 to find references to support what he wanted to say in his dissertation
3 to find sources to provide enough information for his project
b Strategies are underlined.
1 I wanted to know how pressure builds up between layers as the size of a roll
of plastic film builds up. … I looked at the contents page and picked one chapter that
seemed relevant to answer my question according to its title, ‘Winding Models’.
I read that chapter in depth. I skipped through the rest of the book and the index
to see if there was anything interesting and I also read bits of other chapters whose
input was directly related to the chapter I wanted.
(professional process engineer working in research and development)
2 Teachers can direct you to sources but you have to come to your own conclusions.
I went through library journals typing search words into the library catalogue. There
were a lot of sources so I had to use my own judgement. I read the abstracts. Some
weren’t related to my topic but in fact it helped me narrow down my topic. When I
got an online article, I used ‘find’ to look for the key word and read the bit around
that. I located textbooks through their titles. I spent a lot of time filtering, matching
what I was trying to say and backing it up with a reference.
(final year undergraduate preparing a dissertation project)
3 This was a project, which means I needed to do some research. … So during these
weeks, I learnt how to read effectively and get my necessary information. For
example, an article from a journal contains lots of content but sometime I just used
the conclusion of the articles and read one paragraph or one sentence.
(EAP student preparing a course assignment)

Task 2
It is important that students make personal choices in terms of the strategies that they find
most helpful. However, this classification and ordering are suggested to draw attention to
the strategies related to purpose, prediction and global understanding. Students should
be encouraged to take a top–down approach, and to try for close reading and complete
understanding only where this is necessary for their reading purpose.

Strategies which involve purpose

5 Formulate some questions you want to find the answers to in the text.
16 Accept that you might only understand half or three-quarters of what you are reading.

4.3 How do you read? EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Strategies which involve prediction
9 Decide the purpose of the text.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

3 Identify the topic quickly, and then stop reading and think about what you know about
the subject and the processes involved with it.
4 Identify the topic quickly, and then stop reading and think about the vocabulary you
would expect to see in the text.

Strategies that help in seeing the big picture and understanding the main points
1 Glance through the text and let key words, ideas, topics, questions jump up at you.
2 Float above the text like a bird, trying to take in as much of the view as possible.
6 Glance through the text very quickly and identify the subjects of sentences.
14 Look for things in the text that you do understand.
10 Identify the overall structure of the text.
11 Identify some of the meaning relationships in the text, by finding the language of
comparison or cause and effect.
8 Find the topic sentences and the key words.

Strategies for close reading

7 Find the verbs in the text.
12 Look for paragraph structures which cross sentence boundaries.
13 Look for things in the text that you don’t understand.
15 Look up words you don’t know in your electronic dictionary.

Strategies for reading critically

17 Stop reading and try to think of examples from your own experience, or relate the writer’s
points to your own knowledge.

4.3 How do you read? EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: What academic readers do
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
Here are three academic readers talking about how they read.
a Can you find the purpose each reader had?
b How many different strategies did each reader use to achieve the purpose quickly and
effectively? Underline each strategy you find.
1 I wanted to know how pressure builds up between layers as the size of a roll of plastic film
builds up. I found a book called ‘The Mechanics of Winding’. I looked at the contents
page and picked one chapter that seemed relevant to answer my question according to
its title, ‘Winding Models’. I read that chapter in depth. I skipped through the rest of the
book and the index to see if there was anything interesting and I also read bits of other
chapters whose input was directly related to the chapter I wanted.
(professional process engineer working in research and development)
2 Teachers can direct you to sources but you have to come to your own conclusions. I went
through library journals typing search words into the library catalogue. There were a lot
of sources so I had to use my own judgement. I read the abstracts. Some weren’t related
to my topic but in fact it helped me narrow down my topic. When I got an on-line article,
I used ‘find’ to look for the key word and read the bit around that. I located text books
through their titles. I spent a lot of time filtering, matching what I was trying to say and
backing it up with a reference.
(final year undergraduate preparing a dissertation project)
3 This was a project, which means I needed to do some research. So I had to find a lot of
materials, such as journals and books. In fact, if you want to read all the things that you
find, it is impossible. So during these weeks, I learnt how to read effectively and get my
necessary information. For example, an article from a journal contains lots of content
but sometime I just used the conclusion of the articles and read one paragraph or one
sentence.
(EAP student preparing a course assignment)

4.3 How do you read? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Reading attack strategies
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 2
How many of these approaches do you use when reading in your first language?
Which ones might be helpful for reading in English?
In which order might you use these reading attack strategies with texts?

1 Glance through the text and let key words, ideas, topics, questions jump up at you.
2 Float above the text like a bird, trying to take in as much of the view as possible.
3 Identify the topic quickly, and then stop reading and think about what you know about
the subject and the processes involved with it.
4 Identify the topic quickly, and then stop reading and think about the vocabulary you
would expect to see in the text.
5 Formulate some questions you want to find the answers to in the text.
6 Glance through the text very quickly and identify the subjects: the things or people
involved.
7 Find the verbs in the text.
8 Find the topic sentences and the key words.
9 Decide the purpose of the text, i.e., why it was written; what the writer wanted to
achieve.
10 Identify the overall structure of the text: is there a problem and a solution? Does the
writer make a number of points that lead to a conclusion? Does the writer make claims,
and then give evidence to support them?
11 Identify some of the meaning relationships in the text, by finding the language of
comparison or cause and effect.
12 Look for paragraph structures which cross sentence boundaries, e.g., Some…, However,
others…, which indicate a contrast of ideas.
13 Look for things in the text that you don’t understand.
14 Look for things in the text that you do understand.
15 Look up words you don’t know in your electronic dictionary.
16 Accept that you might only understand half or three-quarters of what you are reading.
17 Stop reading and try to think of examples from your own experience, or relate the
writer’s points to your own knowledge.

Task 3
Which of the strategies above involve: reading for a purpose, prediction, seeing the big
picture, reading carefully, or reading critically?

4.3 How do you read? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Reading attack skills

Strategies which involve reading for purpose

Strategies which involve prediction

Strategies that help in seeing the big picture

and understanding the main points

Strategies for close reading

Strategies for reading critically

4.3 How do you read? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4.4: The Metropole and the Luxus hotels:
taking notes and writing from a text
Teacher’s notes
Background
This text was written to introduce the function of comparison, and also the genre of a case
study. It is suitable for mixed subject undergraduate classes. For postgraduates, the amount
of support can be reduced to make the tasks more challenging. The focus is on note-taking
strategies as a stage in transforming information so that it can be used to answer questions
in their own writing. This includes grouping related features, and choosing suitable general
nouns or noun phases as headings to label these.

Aims
s to identify features of comparison texts
s to practise taking notes suitable for the reading purpose and text function
s to practise using information from a case study in an authentic way

Material
Individual copies of the tasksheet for the case study The Metropole and the Luxus Hotels
containing reading, note-taking and writing tasks
Keys and model answers for the tasks
Teacher’s visual Organizing comparison texts

Procedure
1 Ask students to name famous hotel chains, and to suggest why travellers choose to use
them.
2 Negotiate a very short time for the students to read the text and find the answer to the big
picture task. Elicit the purpose of a case study. Ask students to suggest how they might
use information from a case study like this to answer an exam question.
3 Ask students to identify the main function in the text (comparison). Explain that there
are two ways to organize information when we are comparing. In pattern A, two or more
items are compared in turn, in terms of their features (what can be noticed or described
about them). In pattern B, one feature is selected and the writer compares how this
feature differs in the items. Show the visual illustrating these two patterns, and check that
students understand the difference. Students identify the pattern in paragraph 1 of the
case study (pattern A). Elicit the reasons for this choice (to give a quick overview of the
two hotels and their features). Students study how the author uses pattern B for the rest
of the text, in order to compare closely the features that are relevant to the purpose of the
text (Task 2). Explain that this pattern is for guidance only, to help them in their writing.
and that sometimes several paragraphs deal with one item or feature.
4 Elicit suggestions for a suitable note-taking format for comparing two items. Students
can take notes directly, and then compare them with the key showing model notes (3b).
Students who need more support can complete the gapped note-taking table provided,
and then check the key.

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5 Students look at an exam question (Task 4), and decide what is likely to be the main
point of an answer to this question. (That a more personal style of management is likely
to be more successful in a crisis, because decisions can be made more quickly.) Then they
evaluate their notes critically to see what information is relevant to answering this exam
question.
6 Students write a summary of the text, which forms part of the exam answer (Task 5), as
homework or in a subsequent lesson.

Follow-up
Students can find and record language exponents in the text for the function of comparison, e.g.,
both, whereas, in contrast, the former. In subsequent classes, students can read other comparison
texts and identify the purpose of the comparison, which items and features are being compared,
and how the text is organized. They can find further examples of vocabulary for comparison in
these texts. They can also write a parallel text, comparing two or more items, based on notes
in a table, e.g., information about cities, or types of cars, or they can compare items related
to their own field. The text should have a purpose, e.g., a report for a tourist company or for
consumers.

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
Correct answer: b

Answers a and c are incorrect because the style and content do not match these purposes.
Students may think d is the right answer. This is included to help them think about the
purpose of a text. Comparing and contrasting is not a purpose, but a means of achieving
a purpose, such as evaluating items for a specific reason. Only b represents the whole
purpose of the text in terms of its genre as a case study, function of comparing, and topic
of effective management style.

Task 2
a The facilities (paragraph 2), and the response to the problems following the destruction
of the World Trade Center (paragraph 5)
b The ownership and management of each hotel (paragraphs 3 and 4). This group of
related features (structure and style of management, the type of ownership and aims
of the owners) are important for the main message of the text, so the writer gives a
paragraph to each hotel to reflect the importance of this information.
c The facilities offered by each hotel reflect the market which it aims to attract.
This helps the reader to see the key connection between facilities and target markets.
When there was a problem, the Metropole was able to adapt its facilities to a different
target market.

Task 3

Features Metropole Luxus

location central location edge of city location

target market tourist market business traveller

size 150 rooms 186 rooms

facilities leisure facilities business facilities

ownership one of a small group of part of an international

hotels chain

management structure / major decisions made by devolved management

style owner structure

aims luxury hotels reflecting similar standard of

local environment accommodation / service
in all hotels
effects of 2001 downturn successful response after less successful response
2001 – attracted more after 2001 – lost tourist
business travellers part of its business

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 4
There is no single answer to this, but students may feel the number of rooms is not relevant
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
or likely to be remembered. A few facilities might be useful to remember as examples, but
not the complete list. The aims of the companies do not seem relevant to the exam ques-
tion.

Task 5
Suggested model answer
Management styles can affect the success of businesses in a time of change or crisis. An ex-
ample of this is the case of the Metropole and Luxus Hotels in the period following the de-
struction of the World Trade Center. These were both similar-sized hotels in a large tourist
city. The Metropole was individually owned by Sir Marco Polo, and was run with a very
individual management style, whereas the Luxus was part of a large international chain
with a devolved management structure. The facilities of the city centre Metropole were
aimed at the tourist market, while the main market of the Luxus was business travellers,
as it was near the airport. The destruction of the World Trade Center caused a reduction
in international tourist travel. Hotels had to react quickly to deal with the loss of custom-
ers. The Metropole was able to do this quickly, adding facilities, such as wireless access
and conference rooms, to accommodate business customers rather than tourists. This
was because of the very personal style of management of Sir Marco Polo, who was able
to take major decisions quickly, and implement them without consulting any higher levels
of management. However, the devolved management structure at the Luxus led to slower
decision-making so that the hotel could not adapt quickly to the situation. As a result, it
suffered a loss of profits. (226 words)

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1

Reading: The big picture

What is the purpose of this text? Read the text very quickly and decide if it is:
a a description of the hotels for customers who might wish to stay there
b a case study, using a comparison of two hotels as an example in order to discuss
management theories
c part of the website of one of the hotels giving general information about the company
d a text comparing and contrasting two hotels

The Metropole and the Luxus hotels

The Metropole and the Luxus are large hotels in a major British tourist and business city.
The former, situated in the centre close to a famous shopping street and theatres, attracts
the top end of the tourist market whereas the Luxus, on the edge of the city beside the
airport, caters for the business traveller. Both hotels have a similar number of rooms: the
Luxus has 186 rooms while the Metropole has 150 rooms.
The facilities offered by each hotel reflect the market which it aims to attract. The
Metropole offers a wide range of leisure facilities such as quality gift shops, a high class
restaurant, a beauty salon and a swimming pool as well as the gym and sauna expected
in a hotel of this class. The speciality of the Luxus is the provision of facilities to assist
the business traveller such as modem points in every bedroom, wireless access areas, fax
machines and 22 conference rooms where clients can hold their own meetings.
The Luxus is part of a major international hotel chain, Luxus Hotels Inc., which owns 400
hotels in 75 countries and employs 50,000 people worldwide. The aim of this company
is to produce reliable, high quality accommodation and service of a similar standard in
every hotel. The group has a devolved management structure. Apart from large financial
decisions, the management of each hotel is delegated to a local management team. In fact
in some cases the hotels are leased or run on management contract.
In contrast, the Metropole is one of a small group of hotels owned by the millionaire
Sir Marco Polo, who set up the group as an individual project after his original business
empire was taken over by a larger company. He had the vision of creating a luxury hotel
which would be the best in its class in each major city of the world. He also wanted
each hotel to reflect the character and traditions of the city. An unusual feature of the
management of these hotels is that although each hotel has its own management team for
day-to-day operations, Sir Marco takes a personal part in all aspects from choosing the
locations to making financial decisions.
The hotels had varying fortunes after the downturn in global travel, following the
destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001. Despite its dependence on the tourist
market, the Metropole has fared quite well, perhaps because Sir Marco’s very individual
style of management enabled it to respond more quickly to the problem. He immediately
ordered wireless access areas to be set up and turned some bedrooms into conference
rooms, in order to attract more business customers. The Luxus might have been expected
to have fewer problems, as it catered mainly for business travellers who had to travel
whether they wished to or not. However, it did suffer some effects and lost the tourist part
of its business. This was because people with children felt less safe staying at such a high
profile hotel close to the airport. Because of its less personal management structure, the
hotel was not able to respond to the crisis as quickly as the Metropole.
(523 words)

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 4) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Structure of the text
Using the structure of the text to identify important points

a Two features or aspects are given a whole paragraph each. What are these features?

b The writer uses a separate paragraph to describe each hotel’s ownership, aims, and
management structure and style. Why do you think he does this?

c In paragraph 2, the facilities of the hotels are described in detail. Facilities might not
seem very important if you are not going to stay in the hotels. Highlight the sentence in
paragraph 2 which shows the reason for including this information.

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 4) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 3
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Note-taking
a Highlight phrases in the text that show the differences between the two hotels.
b Choose a general noun or noun phrase from the box below to make a suitable heading for
each feature or aspect being compared and add them to the table below. There are more
headings than you need.
size location interests of management aims hotel chains
ownership effects of 2001 downturn quality varying fortunes
facilities target market management structure and style
c Add short notes to complete the table below, comparing the features of the two hotels.
Use noun phrases and your own words, where possible.

Comparison of the two hotels

Features Metropole Luxus

central location

business traveller

size

leisure facilities

one of a small group of

hotels

devolved management structure

luxury hotels reflecting

local environment

less successful response after 2001 –

losing tourist part of its business

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (3 of 4) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 4
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Critical thinking
Here is an exam question for an undergraduate management course.
How might different management styles affect the way in which companies are able to
respond to a crisis or difficult situation? Give an example from a case study you have read.
You are going to use the case of the Metropole and the Luxus as an example to include in
your exam answer. With a partner, look critically at the notes you have made, and discuss
these points:
UÊ 7…ˆV…ʈÌi“Ãʈ˜Ê“ÞʘœÌiÃÊ>ÀiÊÀiiÛ>˜ÌÊ̜Ê̅iÊ«ÕÀ«œÃiʜvÊ̅iÊÌiÝ̶
UÊ 7…>ÌÊ܈Ê…i«Ê“iÊÀi“i“LiÀÊ̅iʈ“«œÀÌ>˜ÌÊ«œˆ˜ÌÃÊvÀœ“Ê̅iÊÌiÝ̶
UÊ 7…>ÌÊ܈Ê…i«Ê“iÊ̜ÊÀi“i“LiÀÊi˜œÕ}…Ê`iÌ>ˆÃÊ>LœÕÌÊ̅iÊÌܜÊVœ“«>˜ˆiÃʈvÊʘii`Ê̜ÊÕÃiÊ
this case study to answer an exam question?
Now delete any parts of your notes which seem irrelevant or unsuitable for these purposes.

Task 5

Writing a summary
You are answering the question above in an exam. You make this quick plan for your exam
answer.
Paragraph 1 Introduction – types of management style
Paragraph 2 Example of how management style affected the two hotels when there was a
problem
Paragraph 3 Analysis of the way different management styles can affect organizations,
based on what we learned in this management module
Paragraph 4 Conclusion: evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of different
styles – need for flexibility
The opening of paragraph 2 is given below. Use your notes from Task 4 to write the rest of
the paragraph.
Management styles can affect the success of businesses in a time of change or crisis. An
example of this is the case of the Metropole and Luxus hotels. …

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (4 of 4) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Organizing comparison texts

Pattern A: item-by-item comparison

Subject of a Content of the paragraph

paragraph
item 1, Description of a group of features of this item,
e.g., a hotel e.g., the location, facilities and room price of
hotel 1

item 2, Description of a group of features of this item,

e.g., a different hotel e.g., the location, facilities and room price of
hotel 2

Pattern B: feature-by-feature comparison

Subject of a Content of the paragraph

paragraph
feature X, Comparison of items 1 and 2 in terms of this
e.g., the facilities feature,
e.g., the facilities in two different hotels

feature Y, Comparison of items 1 and 2 in terms of this

e.g., the location feature,
e.g., the locations of the two hotels

4.4 The Metropole and the Luxus hotels EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5.1: Unpacking noun phrases
Teacher’s notes
Background
In this exercise, students explore the meaning of some technical terms used in the manufacturing
production process. This is particularly useful for students studying business and technical
subjects, but the principles of trying to unpack noun phrase terms will be helpful for all groups.
Students need to be familiar with the concept of noun phrases.

Aims
s to practise unpacking noun phrases to clarify their possible meanings
s to use critical thinking to identify the best meanings, using explanations and definitions in
context

Material
Individual copies of the tasksheet, with target noun phrases referring to technical terms used
in production, and copies of a manager’s explanations of these terms
Students’ own dictionaries and some English–English advanced learners dictionaries
Business dictionaries or other technical dictionaries can also be used if wished

Procedure
1 Present the phrases consumer focus groups and gas phase reactions. Ask students for
suggested meanings, and record the suggestions. Students check their suggested meanings
with those on the tasksheet, and then study the framework given on the tasksheet for
unpacking noun phrases.
2 In groups, students work out possible meanings for each noun phrase on the tasksheet.
They then read the manager’s explanations of what the phrases mean, and decide which
of the possible meanings is correct. Finally, the students use dictionaries to explore the
meaning of a group of key semi-technical words (words which have a restricted meaning
in the particular discipline). They can also look up in the dictionaries other words they
wish to check from the noun phrases or the manager’s explanations.

Follow-up
Students can bring in examples of noun phrases relating to their subject, and explore the
meaning with the help of other students and the teacher. Alternatively, students can become
the experts, presenting oral explanations of phrases they already know, modelled on the
manager’s explanation in the task. This can be played as a class guessing game, with the
new noun phrases written on the whiteboard, and the class first suggesting possible ways
of unpacking the phrases before checking their suggestions with the explanation given by
the student. The strategy of unpacking noun phrases should become a routine feature of
classroom reading. Students should be encouraged to try this whenever they meet complex
noun phrases in texts.

5.1 Unpacking noun phrases EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Unpacking noun phrases
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Many technical expressions in academic fields are in the form of reduced noun phrases,
such as consumer focus groups or gas phase reactions. Sometimes, there is more than one
possible meaning for the phrase. For example,

consumer focus groups groups which focus on consumers

groups of consumers who are focusing on something
gas phase reactions reactions which take place when substances are in the state
(phase) of being gases
reactions of gases which take place in a series of phases (stages)

In both cases, the correct answer is the first one, but this is not clear from the original
noun phrases. We have to try to unpack the phrase to find its possible meanings, and then
use the context to help us decide which is likely to be the right one.

The first strategy is to look at the last word in the phrase. This is usually the most general
noun. In the first example, this is groups. Then we try to use it to start a phrase which
specifies something about the noun.

groups who (do something)

Other phrases which might specify something about a noun could be:
A ………… where (something happens)
A ………… for doing something
A ………… done by (someone or something)
A ………… done for someone or something
Here are some technical terms used in the field of manufacturing and production. In the
first example, the general noun at the end of the phrase is laboratory. A laboratory is a
place, so a suitable phrase might be: A laboratory where something is controlled. Read the
manager’s explanation on the next page and decide if this would fit the definition he gives.

Try to unpack each phrase to find possible meanings and write them in the grid.

1 process control laboratory

2 batch production process

3 statistical process control

4 monthly management brief

5 waste management report

6 company reporting structure

7 failure mode effect analysis

5.1 Unpacking noun phrases EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 A manager’s explanations
A technical manager gave these explanations when asked what the terms meant.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Compare them with your ideas, and decide which one is the best meaning for each term.

1 It’s the lab where we take measurements so that we can make adjustments to keep
the process under control.
2 This is a process where batches of the same product are manufactured at one time.
3 To do this you monitor and analyse the trends statistically during the process so
that you can correct any problems and control the process.
4 This is a document that is circulated by the management every month to let the
employees know what is happening in the company.
5 This is a report we write on whether the levels of waste in the production process
are being managed effectively, that is, kept to a minimum.
6 This is the way the responsibility is organized: that is, who reports to whom in the
departments and who is in charge of what.
7 Our process can fail in different modes, or ways. For example, if a machine is run-
ning, it might fail by a technical fault, such as a motor burning out. Another failure
mode might be a fault in the materials used in the process. Another reason to fail is
a delivery problem. If the raw material wasn’t delivered on time, that would cause
different types of problem. We do an analysis of the effects of a failure in each
different mode. Then we can pick out the most critical types of failure and try to
design them out of the system.

Vocabulary study
The words in the box below, taken from the noun phrases in the examples and task, have
different meanings in some academic fields from their everyday meanings. Compare the
explanations and examples given for these words in different dictionaries. Do they include
the meaning that is used in the particular noun phrases in this task?

phase mode brief batch

5.1 Unpacking noun phrases EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
The correct answer is underlined. Other possible ways in which the terms could have been
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
unpacked are also given.

1 process control laboratory

a laboratory where a process is controlled
(NOT the process of controlling a laboratory)

2 batch production process

a process in which products are produced in batches
(NOT a process of production named after Mr Batch or a company called Batch*)

3 statistical process control

a statistical method for controlling a process
(NOT a method for controlling statistical processes)

4 monthly management brief

a monthly brief by the management
(NOT a monthly brief for the management or a brief on the subject of managing on a
monthly timescale)

5 waste management report

a report on how waste is being managed (dealt with)
(NOT a management report that is not needed)

6 company reporting structure

the structure used within a company for organizing which manager each employee
reports to (NOT the structure that has to be used for writing reports in a company, or
the structure of reports that have to be written about the company for outside use, e.g.,
company annual reports)

7 failure mode effect analysis

analysis of possible effects of failure in different modes (aspects) of a process

*Remember to check whether technical terms contain proper names by looking out for capital letters at the beginning of a word.

5.1 Unpacking noun phrases EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5.2: Exploring the academic word list
Teacher’s notes
Background
In this exercise, students explore the meaning of some words from the academic word list
(AWL). This requires them to think about differences in meaning between words from the
same functional group, and to practise interpreting meaning from context. The task can be
used when students are studying the rhetorical function of change and development.

Aims
s to explore in context the meanings and collocations of a group of verbs from the AWL
s to raise awareness of transitive and intransitive uses of verbs (optional)

Material
Individual copies of the tasksheet with a word spider for recording vocabulary for change
and a reading task containing short texts about change and development
Students’ own dictionaries and English–English advanced learner dictionaries

Procedure
1 Ask students to reflect on the words to describe change in their language: how do they say
something has got better, or got worse? Are there many different words for make better,
make less or become less?
2 Give out the tasksheet on change and development. Without using a dictionary, students
group words given in the box according to their meaning, and add them to the word
spider. Then they read short texts, to check the meanings of these words in context. After
checking the key, they identify and record collocations for the target words which they
have found in the texts.
3 Students check the words from the box in their dictionaries. They compare the meanings
and information given in different dictionaries, and discuss which of the verbs have
different meanings in these texts from meanings in everyday English, e.g., relax and
revise. They can also evaluate the dictionaries they are using, and decide which ones give
the most useful information.
4 As a further optional stage, the teacher can draw attention to the verb emerge on the
tasksheet, and the fact that it has no object and is always intransitive. Using dictionaries
and the examples in the texts, students can sort the words into the following groups:
always intransitive; always transitive; and those which can occur in both forms. This area
of language is a common source of error for learners, for example, Inflation collapsed the
economy.

Follow-up
Students can:
UÊ >``Ê ÌœÊ Ì…iÊ ÜœÀ`Ê Ã«ˆ`iÀÊ vÀœ“Ê ÌiÝÌÃÊ ÃÌÕ`ˆi`Ê ˆ˜Ê V>ÃÃ]Ê >``ˆ˜}Ê vÕÀ̅iÀÊ “i>˜ˆ˜}Ê VˆÀViÃÊ >ÃÊ
words for new types of change are met
UÊ ÌˆVŽÊ̅iÃiÊܜÀ`Ãʈ˜Ê>ÊVœ«ÞʜvÊ̅iÊ
7
UÊ ÜÀˆÌiÊ«>À>iÊ“ˆ˜ˆ‡ÌiÝÌÃÊ>LœÕÌÊ>˜Ê>ëiVÌʜvÊV…>˜}iʜÀÊ`iÛiœ«“i˜Ìʈ˜Ê̅iˆÀÊÃÕLiVÌʜÀÊ
their country, using the language they have recorded to help them
UÊ w˜`Ê>˜`ÊÀiVœÀ`Ê>``ˆÌˆœ˜>ÊۜV>LՏ>ÀÞÊvœÀÊV…>˜}iÊ̅>ÌÊ̅iÞʅ>ÛiÊÕÃi`ʈ˜Ê̅iˆÀÊÜÀˆÌˆ˜}
.
5.2 Exploring the academic word list EAP Essentials
Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

make different
affect alter
modify revise change from one
distort position, person or
change by thing to another
bringing together
move transfer
unify incorporate
include

end
CHANGE
finish eliminate
make or
collapse remove
become better
improve
refine
begin make or
start build become less
become found
commence create decrease diminish
emerge establish relax
generate
produce

Marked text for a, b and c

Words from Task a are in bold; extra words for change are in italic; and collocations are
underlined.
1 The government are not going to relax the regulations on movement of domestic birds
as there is concern that a new strain of bird-flu may emerge which could be transferred
to the human population. These regulations have affected farmers severely and they fear
that the chicken farming industry may collapse completely if the government does not
remove the restrictions very soon.
2 The first oil company was founded in Scotland and within a few years other oil companies
were established in the USA. Soon exploration commenced in many regions, including
the Middle East, and plants for refining oil were built all round the world. As the industry
became more powerful, oil producing countries decided to create an international
organisation, OPEC, to unify their pricing and production policies. However, as global
demand has increased the oil supply has diminished and other sources of energy are
becoming more important.
3 The revised report was an improvement on the previous versions and incorporated the
data generated in our second survey. We also altered the conclusion to include this new
information.
4 The fact that the thermometer could not be inserted into the liquid distorted the results
of the test. The design of the thermometer was modified to eliminate this problem.

5.2 Exploring the academic word list EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 noun–verb collocations noun–verb collocations
(passive)
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Text 1 Text 2
relax the regulations on The company was founded in
remove the restrictions companies were established
Text 4 Text 3
distorted the results the data generated
eliminate this problem Text 4
The design … was modified

verbal noun–noun verb–adverb collocations

collocation

Text 2 Text 1
refining oil affected severely
collapse completely

verb–preposition fixed phrases

collocation
Text 1 Text 2
transferred to oil producing countries
Text 3
an improvement on

5.2 Exploring the academic word list EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Recording vocabulary
This word spider shows some different ways in which things can change. Some examples of
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

verbs for these types of change are given in the circles.

In the box below, there are more verbs for different types of change.
a With a partner, decide which types of change the verbs in the box refer to, and add each
verb to the correct circle in the word spider.

Change and development

make different
change from one
position, person or
thing to another
change by
e.g., move
bringing together

end
CHANGE
e.g., finish
make or
become better
e.g., improve

make or
become less
begin
e.g., decrease
e.g., start

affect alter commence create collapse distort

diminish emerge eliminate establish found generate
incorporate modify revise refine
relax remove transfer unify

5.2 Exploring the academic word list EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 b Read these mini-texts about different kinds of change. Find and highlight the words
from the box. Do you still agree with the meanings you chose in Task a?
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

1 The government is not going to relax the regulations on movement of domestic birds
as there is concern that a new strain of bird-flu may emerge which could be transferred
to the human population. These regulations have affected farmers severely and they
fear that the chicken farming industry may collapse completely if the government
does not remove the restrictions very soon.
2 The first oil company was founded in Scotland and within a few years other oil
companies were established in the USA. Soon exploration commenced in many
regions, including the Middle East, and plants for refining oil were built all round
the world. As the industry became more powerful, oil producing countries decided
to create an international organisation, OPEC, to unify their pricing and production
policies. However, as global demand has increased the oil supply has diminished and
other sources of energy are becoming more important.
3 The revised report was an improvement on the previous versions and incorporated
the data generated in our second survey. We also altered the conclusion to include
this new information.
4 The fact that the thermometer could not be inserted into the liquid distorted the
results of the test. The design of the thermometer was modified to eliminate this
problem.
c Find other words for change in the text, and add their verb forms to the word spider. Add
new circles to represent other types of change if you need to.
d Find collocations in the text to complete the patterns in the boxes.

noun–verb collocations noun–verb collocations

(passive)
__________ the regulations on The company was __________ in
__________ the restrictions companies were __________
distorted the __________ the __________ generated
__________ this problem The __________ … was modified

verbal noun–noun verb–adverb collocations

collocations

refining __________ affected __________

collapse __________

verb–preposition fixed phrases

collocation
transferred __ oil producing countries
an ___________ on

5.2 Exploring the academic word list EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5.3: Product costing: studying subject-related
vocabulary
Teacher’s notes
Background
In this exercise, students explore the vocabulary of a key business concept: cost. They meet
vocabulary associated with this concept in an introductory text designed to prepare students
for the first-year course in an undergraduate Business Management programme. As the
main rhetorical function of the text is classification, students also identify and record some
vocabulary for this function.

Aims
s to explore the meanings and collocations of vocabulary associated with cost
s to identify and record vocabulary for classifying
s to develop strategies for noticing and learning key subject vocabulary

Material
Individual copies of the reading tasksheet Product costing
Students’ own dictionaries and some English–English advanced learner dictionaries
Specialist business dictionaries can also be used, if available

Procedure
1 Ask students how companies decide the price of a product. What does the price depend
on? Elicit suggestions, e.g., raw materials, wages, delivery and advertising costs. How
does a company know how much it costs to produce a product?
2 Students read the text quickly to find out why accountants classify costs in two different
ways. Then they read the text carefully in order to fill in the diagram that represents this
classification. They should not use dictionaries at this stage.
3 Students find the vocabulary used to classify the types of cost. They then focus on the use
of the word cost, and collect collocations and grammar patterns which occur with this
word. There is space on the language reference sheet for students to add words from the
text which were unfamiliar to them or used in a new way. Dictionaries can be used at
this stage.
4 Students test their knowledge by completing the gapped summary of the text at the end of
the tasksheet. This can be done in the same lesson or as revision at the beginning of the
next lesson.

Follow-up
As a fun way of recycling this language, students can form groups and choose a light-hearted
example of a business they might set up. They brainstorm the different types of costs involved
in producing the product or service, and write a short text on a teacher’s visual to present
to the rest of the class. The strategy of picking key words, and looking for the patterns and
collocations, can be applied to other specialist texts relevant to the group’s degree subjects.

5.3 Product costing EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
Accountants need to classify costs as a basis for recording accounts, and in order to make
decisions.

Task 2

COSTS

ABSORPTION MARGINAL
COSTING COSTING

DIRECT COSTS INDIRECT COSTS FIXED COSTS VARIABLE COSTS

e.g., materials, pay e.g., small costs Costs which have to Costs which depend
for workers which are difficult to be paid, e.g., rent for on quantity of
identify the factory products produced

Task 3
Marked text for a and b. Words and phrases for classifying are highlighted in bold.
Collocations with cost are underlined.

Product costing
In this section we will explain how accountants calculate the total cost of a product. But we
must first tell you something about the classification of costs.
Costs may be classified in very many different ways. Accountants traditionally use two
main classification systems: (1) into direct and indirect costs; and (2) into fixed and variable
costs.
A direct cost is one that is easily and economically identifiable with a particular product or
unit. It follows that an indirect cost is one that is not easily identifiable with a particular
product or unit.
Suppose that we are manufacturing a leather armchair. The leather used in making the chair
will be easily identifiable. It will probably be fairly easy (and economic) to work out the cost
of the leather. Hence we would classify the leather as a direct cost. Apart from the leather
some nails have been used in making the chair. It is possible to see the nails, that is, identify
them but it probably would be uneconomic to try to work out the cost of just a few nails.
They would, therefore, probably be treated as an indirect cost.

5.3 Product costing EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Direct costs are usually classified into direct material costs (such as the leather used in
making the chair) and direct labour costs, that is, the wages and salaries incurred* in
making the chair.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Another common classification system used by accountants is the distinction made between
fixed costs and variable costs. A fixed cost is one that does not change with the level of
activity, for example, the managing director’s salary. A variable cost is one that varies
directly with the level of activity. For example, manufacturing one unit might cost £1, two
units £2, ten units £10 and so on.
Traditionally, costs are recorded in management accounts on a direct/indirect basis. This
basis is then used to calculate the total cost of making a product. The procedure is known
as absorption costing. The fixed/variable classification is normally used in decision-making.
It is known as marginal costing.
1 Absorption costing: a way of calculating the cost of a product, including the cost of
producing it and also the general costs of running the business or factory.
2 Marginal costing: a system of costing where overheads (= general costs not directly
related to particular goods and services) are not included and are calculated
separately.
*(The strong collocation costs are incurred can also be noted here, although it occurs in a
rather indirect form in the text.)

Box a

phrases for putting items into categories may be classified in different ways
classify the leather as
would … be treated as
are … classified into

showing the difference between items the distinction made between

being classified
noun–noun collocation classification system/s

5.3 Product costing EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Box b
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Verb–noun collocations Noun–passive verb collocation

calculate
the cost of costs are recorded
work out

Noun–verb collocation
varies directly with
cost
does not change with

Collocations for types Collocations for costing

of cost
material
labour
direct absorption
indirect costs costing
fixed marginal
variable
total

Other vocabulary and patterns

patterns with the cost of the cost of running a factory
the cost of making/producing a product

how costs are recorded on a direct/indirect basis

costs not directly related to overheads

particular goods or services

Task 4
Accountants have two main ways of classifying costs. They can consider the cost of producing
a particular product, for example, they calculate the cost of the materials and the direct labour
costs (the wages and salaries that have to be paid to the employees who make the products).
They also have to consider the costs of other items that are difficult to work out. These are called
indirect costs.

Another method used to classify costs is to distinguish costs that vary with the amount of goods
that are produced, that is, variable costs, from fixed costs incurred whether a large or small
number of products are manufactured.

5.3 Product costing EAP Essentials

Key (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Reading
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1

The big picture

Read the text below quickly to answer this question:
Why do accountants need to classify costs? Write two reasons here.

Product costing
In this section we will explain how accountants calculate the total cost of a product. But we
must first tell you something about the classification of costs.
Costs may be classified in very many different ways. Accountants traditionally use two
main classification systems: (1) into direct and indirect costs; and (2) into fixed and variable
costs.
A direct cost is one that is easily and economically identifiable with a particular product or
unit. Suppose that we are manufacturing a leather armchair. The leather used in making the
chair will be easily identifiable. It will probably be fairly easy (and economic) to work out
the cost of the leather. Hence we would classify the leather as a direct cost. It follows that an
indirect cost is one that is not easily identifiable with a particular product or unit.
Apart from the leather, some nails have been used in making the chair. It is possible to see
the nails, that is, identify them but it probably would be uneconomic to try to work out the
cost of just a few nails. They would, therefore, probably be treated as an indirect cost.
Direct costs are usually classified into direct material costs (such as the leather used in
making the chair) and direct labour costs, that is, the wages and salaries incurred in making
the chair.
Another common classification system used by accountants is the distinction made between
fixed costs and variable costs. A fixed cost is one that does not change with the level of
activity, for example, the managing director’s salary. A variable cost is one that varies
directly with the level of activity. For example, manufacturing one unit might cost £1, two
units £2, ten units £10 and so on.
Traditionally, costs are recorded in management accounts on a direct/indirect basis. This
basis is then used to calculate the total cost of making a product. The procedure is known
as absorption costing.* The fixed/variable classification is normally used in decision-making.
It is known as marginal costing.**
(Adapted from Dyson, J. Introduction to Business, Heriot-Watt University distance learning
materials)

*Absorption costing: a way of calculating the cost of a product, including the cost of producing it and also the general costs of
running the business or factory.
**Marginal costing: a system of costing where overheads (= general costs not directly related to particular goods and services) are
not included and are calculated separately.
(Definitions from Longman Business English Dictionary)

5.3 Product costing EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Understanding the text
Read the text carefully to fill in this diagram showing the main types of classification of
costs.

COSTS

___________ ___________

COSTING COSTING

_____ COSTS _____ COSTS _____ COSTS _____ COSTS

e.g., materials, pay e.g., small costs Costs which have to Costs which depend
for workers which are difficult to be paid, e.g., rent for on quantity of
identify the factory products produced

Task 3

Vocabulary study
a This text is about classifying costs. Find and highlight words or phrases for classifying.
Add them to the box below.

phrases for putting items into may be classified in different ways

categories ______________ the leather __
would … be _________ as
are … classified _____

showing the difference between the ______________ made ______

items being classified

noun–noun collocation classification ______________

b The word cost is very important in accounting and business texts. Highlight each example
of one of its forms in the text Product costing. Then find collocations with cost, and add
them to the boxes.
Hints: Some of the vocabulary is in the footnotes. Some letters in the words are given to
help you.

5.3 Product costing EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Verb–noun collocations Noun–passive verb collocation
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
_________
the cost of costs are r________
_________

Noun–verb collocations
_____ directly _____
cost
does not ________ with

Collocations for types Collocations for costing

of cost
_________
_________
_________
_________ _________
_________ costs costing
_________ _________
_________
_________

Other vocabulary and patterns

patterns with the cost of the cost of r________ a factory
the cost of making/p________ a product

how costs are recorded ___ ___ direct/indirect ________

costs not directly related to o________ds

particular goods or services

new words or phrases

Task 4
Complete this summary of the text to test yourself. Use one word in each gap. The length of
the gap does not tell you the length of the word. Some letters are given to help you.

Summary
Accountants have two main ways of classifying costs. They can consider the cost of a
particular product, for example, they the cost of the materials and the direct costs
(the wages and salaries that have to be paid to the employees who make the products). They also
have to consider the costs of other items that are difficult to out. These are called
costs.

Another method used to classify costs is to d costs that v with the amount of
goods that are produced, that is, v costs, from fixed costs in ed whether a large
or small number of products are manufactured.

5.3 Product costing EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 5.4: Gender differences: studying functional
vocabulary
Teacher’s notes
Background
In this exercise, students read a text from a marketing unit in an undergraduate business
management programme, which presents evidence and conclusions, and they explore the
vocabulary for this function in the context of a report on other writers’ research.

Aims
s to read flexibly for different purposes
s to record and learn vocabulary for research activities, the conclusions that are tested, and
the evidence that is found

s to write a summary based on a source

Material
Individual copies of the reading tasksheet Gender difference surveys

Procedure
1 Students read the introductory paragraph Gender difference surveys, and discuss
stereotypes and examples of stereotypes of men and women.
2 Students read quickly to identify the main finding of the research, before reading carefully
to take notes to answer a specific question. They add a title and the source to the table of
notes to practise simple referencing skills. The teacher can stop and have an ‘auction’* at
this stage, to see who has the best title in the form of a suitable noun phrase.
3 Students find and record language for referring to research, and the evidence and
conclusions which are drawn from research. Discuss the issue of academic caution.
Students try to think of reasons why academic writers use hedging or cautious language
in drawing conclusions from their research. Then they look for examples of this in the
text and underline them.
4 Students use their notes to write a summary, and compare it with the model answer.
They should highlight evidence–conclusion vocabulary, and language indicating caution,
which they have used in their texts.

Follow-up
As a fun way of recycling this language, students can form groups, think of a stereotype they
may have of other class members (based on gender or nationality), then do a class survey of
how valid these stereotypes are, and write a brief account of their research. They could also
find a report of a survey or other research in their subject and write a summary.

*See Chapter 6 and Classroom materials 6.8, EAP warmers, for an explanation of this technique.

5.4 Gender differences EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
Does the writer claim there are any major differences between men and women in how they
use the web? No. He reports evidence that the differences are small or getting smaller.

Task 2

Feature Men Women

trend in share of web use more use, but decreasing less use, but increasing

seek relationships? no difference

comfortable with technology? no gender difference, experience more significant

uses web for shopping? slightly more slightly less

Suggested title and source:

Gender differences in web use
(Georgia Tech Research Corporation (1995, 1998) and Hawfield and Lyons (1998)

Task 3
Text is marked as follows:
vocabulary for research activities, evidence and conclusions in bold; words showing hedging
(academic caution) are underlined.
The Graphic Visualization and Usability Center (GVU) of the Georgia Tech Research
Corporation carried out a number of surveys of the Web. Their 1995 survey found that only
29% of users were female. By comparison the 1998 survey findings indicated that females
now accounted for 39% of all users. This is evidence to support the view that the male
domination of the Web is beginning to wane.
One assumption that is frequently used in marketing is that there is a difference in Web use
between men and women. This issue was explored in a study carried out by Hawfield and
Lyons (1998). They looked at four common assumptions.
The first claim was that women seek relationships or “community” on the Web, but the
Hawfield and Lyons research suggests that there is no real difference between men and
women in this respect.
With respect to the second conventional belief that women are uncomfortable with technology,
Hawfield and Lyons found that research findings suggest that it is rather general experience
with technology that matters and that gender does not play a role.
As regards the third belief, that women love to shop, Hawfield and Lyons found that
most women do not fit this stereotype. This is backed by the GVU study which found
that marginally more male than female respondents reported using the Web for shopping
purposes.
Finally, the researchers examined the idea that women are drawn to the Web to purchase
retail items such as cosmetics and clothing. The authors found little evidence of this.

5.4 Gender differences EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Nouns
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
experts (who work on evidence) authors, researchers

people who take part in surveys respondents

research activities surveys, studies

conclusion or idea under investigation view, issue, claim, belief

fixed ideas not based on evidence assumption, stereotype

evidence findings

Verb collocations
experts found + that
looked at the idea
examined the idea that
carried out a number of surveys

respondents reported

(people) do not fit this stereotype

conclusions or ideas under investigation are explored, are backed by

a survey/study found that

carried out by

research suggests that

research findings suggest that

collocations for conclusions or ideas conventional belief

common assumptions

collocations for evidence evidence to support

little evidence of

Task 4
(Vocabulary for research activity, evidence and conclusions, including hedging words
indicating caution, is in bold.)
According to studies on possible gender differences in web use carried out by the Georgia
Tech Research Corporation (1995–1998) and Hawfield and Lyons (1998), there were few
differences in men’s and women’s patterns of use of the web. Although these surveys found
that men used the web slightly more, their share was decreasing, suggesting a trend towards
equal use. There appeared to be no difference with respect to seeking relationships on the
web and how comfortable the respondents felt with technology depended mainly on their
experience. Men used the web slightly more for shopping, which did not fit the stereotype
that women are more interested in shopping.

5.4 Gender differences EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Reading
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Gender difference surveys

Marketing experts take very seriously the differences between men and women in purchasing
behaviour. It is essential that marketing experts know which differences are real, and which
are only stereotypes. A stereotype is a fixed idea about what people are like, based not on
real evidence, but on prejudice. For example, many people assume that women are ‘not good
with computers’. We are all liable to make assumptions about people based on stereotypes,
but it is very important for businesses not to make this mistake when dealing with their
customers. If you don’t know how your customers really think and behave, you could lose
them. For this reason, there are many studies investigating gender differences to find out
which are real, and which are just stereotypes. The following text outlines the conclusions
of two of these studies.

Task 1

The big picture

Read the text Gender and the Web for two minutes, without using a dictionary, to answer
the following question:
Does the writer claim that there are any major differences between men and women in how
they use the web?

Gender and the Web

The Graphic Visualization and Usability Center (GVU) of the Georgia Tech Research
Corporation carried out a number of surveys of the Web. Their 1995 survey found that only
29% of users were female. By comparison the 1998 survey findings indicated that females
now accounted for 39% of all users. This is evidence to support the view that the male
domination of the Web is beginning to wane.
One assumption that is frequently used in marketing is that there is a difference in Web use
between men and women. This issue was explored in a study carried out by Hawfield and
Lyons (1998). They looked at four common assumptions.
The first claim was that women seek relationships or “community” on the Web, but the
Hawfield and Lyons research suggests that there is no real difference between men and
women in this respect.
With respect to the second conventional belief that women are uncomfortable with technology,
Hawfield and Lyons found that research findings suggest that it is rather general experience
with technology that matters and that gender does not play a role.
As regards the third belief, that women love to shop, Hawfield and Lyons found that
most women do not fit this stereotype. This is backed by the GVU study which found
that marginally more male than female respondents reported using the Web for shopping
purposes.
Finally, the researchers examined the idea that women are drawn to the Web to purchase
retail items such as cosmetics and clothing. The authors found little evidence of this.
(Adapted from Consumption and Identity Marketing module, Heriot-Watt University
Management Programme)

5.4 Gender differences EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Note-taking
Complete the table of notes on Gender and the Web. These notes are to answer the
question:
Outline any differences between men and women in their use of the Web.
Give your notes a suitable title and add a reference to the source.
Title and source: ________________________________________________________________

Feature Men Women

trend in share of web use

seek relationships?

comfortable with technology?

uses web for shopping?

Task 3

Language study
a Find and highlight words in the text that refer to people involved in research, research
activities, ideas which the researchers have, and the evidence that is found. Then highlight
any collocations you can find. Add the vocabulary to the Vocabulary reference sheet.

Vocabulary reference sheet for research activities, evidence and

conclusions
Nouns
experts (who work on evidence) authors, ______________

people who take part in surveys r_______ents

research activities s_________, s_________

conclusion or idea under investigation _______, issue, ___________, __________

fixed ideas not based on evidence a_________, _________

evidence ______ings

Verb collocations
experts __________ + that
__________ at the idea
__________ the idea that
__________ a number of surveys

5.4 Gender differences EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 respondents __________
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

(people) do not ____ this stereotype

conclusions or ideas under investigation are ____________, are ______________ by

a survey/study __________ that

__________out by

collocations for conclusions or ideas __________that

collocations for evidence __________ that

collocations for conclusions or ideas __________ belief

__________assumptions

collocations for evidence evidence to __________

________evidence of

b Underline expressions that the writer uses to show caution about the initial assumptions,
and the conclusions that can be drawn from the surveys.

Task 4

Writing a summary
Write a brief summary to answer the question below. Use only the notes you took in Task 2
and the Vocabulary reference sheet. Reference any sources you use in your text.
Outline any differences between men and women in their use of the web.

5.4 Gender differences EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.1: Quiz: Do I have a good academic writing
style?
Teacher’s notes
Background
This task is designed to raise awareness of academic style in English at an early stage of an
EAP course.

Aims
s to examine preconceptions about academic style
s to compare academic style in different cultures
s to raise awareness of aspects of organization and language which contribute to an academic
style

Material
Individual copies of Quiz: Do I have a good academic writing style?
Individual or shared copies of the Score sheet

Procedure
1 Introduce the topic of writing style. Ask students if they would write in a special style
when writing academic texts in their own language. Explain that this quiz is based
on research into academic style in English.
2 Students complete the quiz individually, then check what their score means.
3 They discuss any differences from their preconceptions about English academic style or
differences from academic style in their first language.

Follow-up
Give students examples of different texts, for example, newspapers, journal articles, and
textbooks, to identify the features mentioned in the quiz, or ask them to bring texts to class
from their subject area and survey these for typical features of academic style. Refer to the
checklist at the end of Chapter 2 for more detail on these features. Students can write short
texts in a group, and ask other students to decide if these are in an academic or non-academic
style. Then they can try to write the same information using the opposite style.

6.1 Quiz: Do I have a good academic writing style? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Quiz: Do I have a good academic writing
style?
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Read each question and choose the best answer for you by putting a tick ✓ next to a letter
in the table below. When you have finished all the questions, check your answers over the
page and add up your total score.

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6
a a a a a a

b b b b b b

c c c c c c

d d d d d d

Q1 Which one of the following is closest to academic style?

a a novel
b a newspaper article
c an advertisement
d a letter from the bank

Q2 The best way to start an academic text is

a with a question
b with some new or surprising information
c with some background details
d with the topic of the text

Q3 The best way to keep your reader’s attention in an academic text is

a to write short sentences
b to give familiar information first, and then new information
c to be friendly, e.g., as in an e-mail
d to ask questions first, and then give the answers, e.g., as in a conversation

Q4 The best order for ideas in an academic paragraph is

a from a general idea of the main point to specific details
b from specific details to a general idea of the main point
c the order in which I think of the ideas when I am writing
d no particular order, as this does not matter

Q5 The best way to start a sentence in an academic text is

a with some information the reader knows already
b with some background details
c with some new or surprising information
d with a person or personal pronoun, e.g., We can see

Q6 The best kinds of words to use in academic writing are

a unusual words that a reader will notice and admire
b simple words, such as big and important, which are easy to understand
c words such as reason or similarity which show relationships between ideas
d special technical words which are specific to the subject I am studying

6.1 Quiz: Do I have a good academic writing style? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Score sheet
Answers
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

You can score between 0 and 3 for each question. The best answers are worth 3, but some
others are still OK, and they are worth 2 or 1. Use the table below to find your score.

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6
a=0 a=0 a=2 a=3 a=3 a=0

b=2 b=0 b=3 b=1 b=2 b=0

c=1 c=1 c=0 c=0 c=0 c=3

d=3 d=3 d=0 d=0 d=0 d=1

What does my score mean?

Less than 8: It seems you do not yet have much experience of academic writing. Perhaps you
cannot see any differences in style between academic writing and other kinds of writing. Try
to find some examples of academic writing in your subject. Compare the way the author
writes with the questions in this quiz.

9 to 14: You have some ideas about good academic style, but it is possible that you are still
remembering classes you had at school in which you studied literature (e.g., novels, poems
and plays) or newspapers. You perhaps still remember some of the things your teachers
told you about why these kinds of texts are effective. However, good academic writing is
quite different from good literature. Try to find some examples of academic writing in your
subject. Compare the way the author writes with the questions in this quiz.

15 to 18: You are probably already a good writer in your own language, and you have been
using your skills to learn and use an academic writing style in English. For you, this process
may even happen without you being aware of it. Your EAP course will help you to notice
what you already do so that you can develop your academic writing style further.

6.1 Quiz: Do I have a good academic writing style? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.2: What is research? Synthesizing from
sources
Teacher’s notes
Background
This series of tasks is designed to support students when they first attempt a coursework
assignment which requires using information from different sources. Students are therefore
introduced to the idea of synthesizing ideas from sources in a context where they need this
skill. The tasks lead students through steps in which they formulate their own ideas before
drawing on the ideas of others. This emphasizes the importance of students developing their
own voice rather than simply reporting other authors’ views.

Aims
s to introduce the idea of constructing a text which combines the ideas of other authors with
students’ own ideas

s to raise awareness of strategies and language for summarizing and evaluating the ideas of
other authors

Material
Teacher’s visual sheet: Instructions for a dissertation
Individual copies of the writing Tasksheet 1: Exploring meaning
Individual copies of the reading text: Definitions of research
Individual copies of the writing Tasksheet 2: Synthesizing a definition
Individual copies of Tasksheet 3: Two example answers
Individual copies of the keys for Tasksheet 3

Procedure
1 Ask students to brainstorm reasons for using ideas and information from other sources
when they write academic texts. Show and discuss the teacher’s visual sheet Instructions
for a dissertation. Explain that they are going to use other peoples’ ideas to construct a
text that shows their own ideas.
2 Students write their own definition of research (Tasksheet 1). After comparing their ideas
with other students, they write a revised one.
3 Students read all the definitions of research in the reading text and use these definitions,
along with their own definition from Tasksheet 1, to write a text, using the framework
given in Tasksheet 2. More confident students may prefer to write without the support of
the framework.
4 Students read the model answers produced by two teachers, compare them with their
own definitions, and give feedback on what they noticed (Tasksheet 3). Ask about whose
voice is heard in these texts. Give out the table analysing the model texts. Discuss the
ways in which the writers use the ideas and language of the original texts to support their
own definitions. Stress that, in academic writing, it is expected that people may have
different interpretations of ideas and come to different conclusions, and that students’
own definitions may be just as valid as those of the two teachers.

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
After this introduction, further practice in synthesizing information from different sources,
including summarizing, paraphrasing and citation should be incorporated into classes. As
a next step, students can bring texts they are reading for their coursework assignment, and
practise identifying and summarizing important ideas from the texts.

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Two example answers (Tasksheet 3)

These tables compare what the teachers wrote in Texts A and B with the original source,
and comment on the way they signal their own views of these sources, and also how they
paraphrase when they want to keep close to the ideas in the sources. Compare these comments
with your own answers from Tasksheet 3.

Text A

Model text A Original source Comments

is further expanded by Nunan expanded shows the
(1994) writer regards Nunan’s
definition as more
comprehensive than
those in the dictionaries

who states that research is research is a systematic use of general

an activity requiring three process of inquiry noun activity as a
elements paraphrasing device

firstly, a question, secondly, (1) a question, problem Nunan’s own words are
data and finally, analysis and or hypothesis, (2) used but the second
interpretation of data. These data, (3) analysis and sentence uses the
three elements need to be interpretation of data. Any positive form instead
present for research. activity which lacks one of the negative, as a
of these elements … paraphrasing device.

Her principal claim signals that only the

most important point of
the definition is being
considered by the
writer

the academic community The academic world essential signals that

plays an essential part in the is the guardian of this the writer thinks this is
research process by providing research process. … It the core of Spencer’s
a framework for regulation … oversees the process of claim. Framework is
collecting information … a useful paraphrasing
device.

is only concerned with, social the deliberate study of is only concerned

research other people … signals that the writer
thinks this definition is
not very relevant

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Text B
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Model text B Original source Comments

emphasize the outcome in order to discover/reach emphasize indicates
of research, that the outcome is
the most important
common feature of the
two definitions, in the
writer’s opinion

the most important The minimal definition / Any writer has interpreted
characteristic of research activity which lacks one of these two points as
these elements … the most important
characteristic

the systematic process a systematic process of inquiry writer has paraphrased

of forming a question consisting of … (1) a question, and simplified the
and collecting data which problem or hypothesis, (2) data, original
is then analysed. (3) analysis and interpretation
of data.

a process based information is transformed writer has identified this

definition into abstract concepts, … By passage as a description
analyzing and looking for of a process, and
relationships in the abstract therefore been able to
world, researchers can gain connect it with Nunan’s
a useful understanding of the claim (using also). This
real world. For example they is an example of real
can then solve the problems synthesis
or explain the phenomena.

but proposes a further signals that the writer has

element: identified a difference
between Nunan’s and
Spencer’s definitions

she claims a signalling device to

show that the writer may
not agree with this claim

the world of the The academic world is the Both writers used the
academic community guardian of this research same paraphrasing
also plays an essential process … It oversees device. They had not
part in the research the process of collecting seen each other’s work.
process providing a information … It shows that academic
framework for English does not need to
regulation … be original, although the
ideas should be.

Teacher B did not mention Dawson’s definition. She may have considered it too irrelevant
to be worth considering. Remember you do not need to include everything you come
across in your reading.

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.3: Noun phrases for referring to data
Teacher’s notes
Background
This series of tasks is designed to raise awareness of the role of noun phrases in labelling and
explaining data. These exercises are designed to promote fluency in writing, by giving students
the resources to construct texts that use a general to specific development to comment on data.
The focus is on data that represents change, and also proportion. The tasks are based on two
separate sets of data, so they could be separated and done on different occasions.

Aims
s to identify noun phrases that explain precisely what data represents
s to identify noun phrases that carry the general to specific development of a text
s to practise constructing noun phrases to explain items of data

Material
Individual copies of Tasksheet 1 concerning the growth of exports in the world economy
(Tasks 1 and 2)
Individual copies of Tasksheet 2 concerning the market share in world merchandise trade
(Tasks 3 and 4)

Procedure
1 Introduce the topic of international trade. Ask how economic growth and success can
be measured. Check students’ understanding that exports represent success in trade,
and GNP is a way economists measure a country’s wealth. Give out the table (Task 1).
Students discuss the big picture and their interpretation of the table with each other
before checking with the teacher. Emphasize the importance of being clear about what
data represents, and the consequences, for example, in an exam, of not making it clear
if figures refer to the amount of growth or the rate of growth. Ask questions about the
tables so that students practise talking about the data orally. Introduce the idea of precise
noun phrases that contain all the information to specify an item of data.
2 Students identify noun phrases referring to the data in the table. Draw students’ attention
to the way verbs of change can be nominalized to create noun phrases (grow → growth).
Explain that, although these kinds of noun phrases in English seem rather long and
difficult to construct, they are essential to represent the data accurately. Students
construct their own noun phrases (Task 2), and compare these with those written by
other class members and with the keys. It is important to stress that the answers are
suggestions and students may have produced other correct alternatives.
3 Elicit what the pie charts represent (Task 3). Make sure that students are clear that
these represent the share of total world trade and that, by comparing the two charts,
we can see the changes in the shares of different countries or groups. Students read the
accompanying text to find the main point that the writer wants to make about the data
charts, and discuss the answers. Emphasize the fact that this data commentary does not
merely describe data, but explains its significance, through highlighting statements and
words such as important and significantly.

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4 Students highlight the noun phrases that carry the flow of information (Task 4). When
they check their answers with the key, point out that the noun phrases to identify exactly
what is referred to become more specific as the writer moves from explaining general
trends to specific details. Explain that this is a good way to plan texts. It is like the
opening of a movie, where we see a big city, then one busy street in the city, and then a
close-up view of one of the people in the street. We know where this person is and where
the story takes place, and this helps our understanding.
5 Students then try to write their own sentences to explain data in the text, and compare
them with the suggested answers.

Follow-up
Students can work on other sets of data in the same way, constructing noun phrases, then
sentences, to explain data and, finally, writing short texts highlighting significant data,
following a general to specific framework.
Students can identify the prepositions (by, at, to, from) that link the verbs for change (grow,
rise) to the mathematical expressions and record these as collocations.

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
a The amount of exports was greater in 1996. This is because the data show the average
annual percentage growth for the exports. According to Table 1, in each period there
was growth relative to the previous period. This means that the total amount of exports
was much greater in 1996, even though the rate of growth was not as fast as it had been
in the 1960s and 70s. This question shows how important it is to be able to refer precisely
when explaining data. Confusion between the amount of exports and the rate of growth
of exports could lead to failure in an exam.
b 1 In the 1980s, GDP in the less developed countries grew by only 1.8% per year on average.
2 The average annual growth of exports from Eastern Europe rose from 4.4% to 7.4%
between 1990 and 1996.
3 During the 1960s, world GDP was growing on average at 5.2% per year.
4 The 1980s marked a further lowering of the rate of growth of world trade to a yearly
average rate of 4.1 per cent.
5 The average annual rate of growth of exports in the developed market rose to 6.3%
in the 1990s from 3.9% in the previous decade.

Task 2
a 1 In the 1980s, the average annual percentage change in GDP for the less developed
countries was only 1.8.
2 In the 1980s, GDP in the less developed countries grew by only 1.8% per year on average.
3 In the 1980s, growth in GDP in the less developed countries averaged only 1.8% per year.
4 In the 1980s, annual percentage change in GDP averaged only 1.8.
b Suggested answers
A Between 1961 and 1970, the annual average growth in world exports was over 8%.
or
World exports grew by over 8% on average each year during the period 1961 to 1970.
B During the 1970s, the annual average growth in GDP in the developed market was 3.2%.
or
During the 1970s, GDP in the developed market grew by 3.2% annually, on average.
C Between 1990 and 1996, the average annual growth in exports from the less developed
countries was almost 12%.
or
Exports from the less developed countries rose by almost 12% each year, on average,
between 1990 and 1996.

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 D Between 1990 and 1996, annual growth in GDP in the East European countries
averaged only 2.0%.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

or
Between 1990 and 1996, the average growth in GDP in the East European countries
was only 2.0% each year.
(There may be other possible answers. They should include phrases to indicate that
the growth is annual and average.)

Task 3
Suggested answers
a 1996 (The use of 1996$ is to allow for inflation over such a long period.)
b The share of world trade accounted for by the seven major economies has fallen over the
period compared to that of other countries (signalled by Significantly).

Task 4
a The period since the 1960s has seen some important changes in 1 the global distribution
of international trade. The general trends are shown by Figure 5.4.2. By the mid-1990s,
2 the volume of world merchandise trade had risen more than fourfold. Significantly, 3
the share of world trade accounted for by the seven major economies has fallen over
the period, from 54 per cent in 1966 to 47.5 per cent in 1996. Within the group of
rich countries, some countries have performed better than others over the period. In
particular, 4 the share of world merchandise trade accounted for by Japan has increased
sharply, from 5 per cent of the total in 1966 to almost 9 per cent in 1996. On the other
hand, 5 the share of world trade accounted for by the UK fell from 8 per cent in 1966 to
slightly under 5 per cent in 1996.
b Suggested sentences
1 In 1996, the volume of world merchandise trade was $4,214 billion.
2 Over the period from 1966 to 1996, the share of world (merchandise) trade accounted
for by the rest of the world, that is countries other than the seven major economies,
rose from 46% to 52%.
3 Between 1966 and 1996, the share of world (merchandise) trade accounted for by
Germany remained the same, at 10%.
4 In 1966, both Japan and Canada had the same share of world (merchandise) trade, at
5%.
5 In 1996, Canada, France, Italy and the UK each shared a similar proportion of world
(merchandise) trade.
6 By 1996, the global distribution of world (merchandise) trade had changed
considerably, with the rest of the world accounting for a larger share than the seven
major economies.

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

The growth of exports in the world economy

Task 1
a Read the title of Table 1 carefully, and use the information in Table 1 to answer this
question:
Was the total amount of exports in the world greater in 1996 or in 1961?

Table 1: Growth of exports in the world economy, 1961–96 (average annual percentage change)

Country group Year Exports GDP*

World 1961–70 8.1 5.2
1971–80 5.3 3.8
1981–89 4.1 3.0
1990–96 7.2 3.7

Developed market 1961–70 8.1 4.9

1971–80 6.0 3.2
1981–89 3.9 2.7
1990–96 6.3 2.9

Less developed 1961–70 8.0 5.9

1971–80 3.2 5.0
1981–89 2.6 1.8
1990–96 11.8 3.0

East Europe 1961–70 8.3 7.2

1971–80 7.2 4.8
1981–90 4.4 4.4
1990–96 7.4 2.0

b Here are sentences explaining the data in Table 1. In each sentence, highlight the noun
phrases which define exactly what has changed.
Hint: They form the subject of the verb in each sentence except 4.
1 In the 1980s, GDP in the less developed countries grew by only 1.8% per year on
average.
2 The average annual growth of exports from Eastern Europe rose from 4.4% to 7.4%
between 1990 and 1996.
3 During the 1960s, world GDP was growing on average at 5.2% per year.
4 The 1980s marked a further lowering of the rate of growth of world trade to a yearly
average rate of 4.1 per cent.
5 The average annual rate of growth of exports in the developed market rose to 6.3%
in the 1990s from 3.9% in the previous decade.

*GDP is Gross Domestic Product, a measure of the wealth produced by a country from its manufactures and services.

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 2
a Complete each sentence below so that it has exactly the same information and meaning
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

as sentence 1. Add a suitable noun phrase in each gap.

Hint: Check which information from the noun phrase in 1 is already included in each
sentence.
1 In the 1980s, the average annual percentage change in GDP for the less developed
countries was only 1.8.
2 In the 1980s, _______________________________________________ grew by only
1.8% per year on average.
3 In the 1980s, ________________________________________________ averaged only
1.8% per year.
4 In the 1980s, ___________________________________________________________
averaged only 1.8.
b Write one sentence explaining each of the figures underlined in the table below.
Table 2: Growth of exports and GDP in the world economy, 1961–96 (average annual
percentage change)

Country group Year Exports GDP

World 1961–70 8.1 (A) 5.2
1971–80 5.3 3.8
1981–89 4.1 3.0
1990–96 7.2 3.7

Developed market 1961–70 8.1 4.9

1971–80 6.0 3.2 (B)
1981–89 3.9 2.7
1990–96 6.3 2.9

Less developed 1961–70 8.0 5.9

1971–80 3.2 5.0
1981–89 2.6 1.8
1990–96 11.8 (C) 3.0

East Europe 1961–70 8.3 7.2

1971–80 7.2 4.8
1981–90 4.4 4.4
1990–96 7.4 2.0 (D)

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

The global distribution of world trade

Task 3

Seeing the big picture

a Look at the two pie charts on the next page. Was the total amount of world trade greater
in 1966 or in 1996?
b Read the text below that comments on the charts. What is the most important change
that the writer wants readers to notice about the data?

The Global Distribution of World Trade*

The period since the 1960s has seen some important changes in the global distribution of
international trade. The general trends are shown in Figure 2. By the mid-1990s the volume
of world merchandise trade had risen more than fourfold. Significantly, the share of world
trade accounted for by the seven major economies has fallen over the period, from 54 per cent
in 1966 to 47.5 per cent in 1996. Within the group of rich countries, some countries have
performed better than others over the period. In particular, the share of world merchandise
trade accounted for by Japan has increased sharply, from 5 per cent of the total in 1966 to
almost 9 per cent in 1996. On the other hand, the share of world trade accounted for by the
UK fell from 8 per cent in 1966 to slightly under 5 per cent in 1996.

*Adapted from Heriot-Watt Management Programme International Economics: Chapter 1: The Global Economy

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 1966 $1,000 billion (1996 $)
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

16% US

46% Rest

8% UK

5% Japan

4% Italy
5% Canada
6% France 10% Germany

1996 $4,214 billion (1996 $)

12% US
52% Rest

5% UK

8% Japan

5% Italy

4% Canada
10% Germany
5% France

Figure 1: Market share in world merchandise trade 1966/1996

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 4
a In the text The Global Distribution of World Trade, highlight noun phrases which have
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

the same meaning as phrases 1 to 5 below.

1 How international trade is distributed between different countries in the world.
2 How much merchandise trade there is in the world.
3 What share of the total world trade the seven major economies have.
4 What part of the total trade in the world Japan has.
5 What part of the total trade in the world the UK has.
b Use information from Figure 1: Market share in world merchandise trade to complete
these sentences using appropriate noun phrases.
1 In 1996, the ________________________________________ was $4,214 billion.
2 Over the period from 1966 to 1996, __________________________________________
____________________________ , that is countries other than the seven major economies,
rose from 46% to 52%.
3 Between 1966 and 1996, ____________________________
____________________________ Germany remained the same, at 10%.
4 In 1966, both Japan and Canada had the same ____________________________
___________________________________, at 5%.
5 In 1996, Canada, France, Italy and the UK each had a similar proportion of _______
_________________________________________________.
6 By 1996, the __________________________________________________ had changed
considerably, with the rest of the world accounting for a larger share than the seven
major economies.

6.3 Noun phrases for referring to data EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
Here is an extract from a dissertation guide* for university students:
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

In the dissertation you are expected to

develop your own ideas and state your
own opinions. However, the work of other
people will be essential to the development
of your own thoughts and ideas. You need
to identify what ideas of other people you
have drawn upon so that the examiners
know how you have used these ideas in
forming your own conclusions.

*Heriot-Watt School of Management and Languages Dissertation Regulations and Procedures (2005–2006)

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1: Writing
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Exploring meaning
What is research? Why do people do it?
Think about what you mean by research. Now, with a partner, write a definition here.

Research is

Compare your definition with those written by the rest of the group.
Read the definitions written by other writers and researchers on the next page. If you have
changed your ideas, write your new definition of research below.

Research is

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Reading
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Definitions of research

research noun [U]

a detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new) information or reach a
(new) understanding: scientific/medical research
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2003) Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press

research serious study of a subject, in order to discover new facts or test new ideas
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (2004) Harlow: Longman

The minimal definition that I shall adhere to … is that research is a systematic process of
inquiry consisting of three elements or components: (1) a question, problem or hypothesis, (2)
data, (3) analysis and interpretation of data. Any activity which lacks one of these elements
(for example, data) I shall classify as something other than research.
Nunan, D. (1994) Research Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press

For the purpose of this book, research is defined as the deliberate study of other people for
the purposes of increasing understanding and/or adding to knowledge.
Dawson, C. (2002) Practical Research Methods: A User-friendly Guide to Mastering
Research Techniques and Projects. England: How to Books

Academic research involves the interaction of three worlds. In the real world, issues, problems,
things, events or phenomena are identified. The researcher then collects information about
these, which can be recorded in an abstract way.
In the abstract world, information is transformed into abstract concepts, which may be
mathematical (such as equations and statistics) or take the form of a system of categories.
By analyzing and looking for relationships in the abstract world, researchers can gain a
useful understanding of the real world. For example they can then solve problems or explain
phenomena.
The academic world is the guardian of this research process. (It is like a government that
makes the laws and ensures they are kept.) It oversees the process of collecting information
from the real world and analyzing it through abstract and mathematical concepts. The
channels of communication of the academic world are by writing and reading books and
learned journals and conference reports. There are also discussion groups for specific topics
(e.g. on the internet), seminars, conference presentations and lectures.
Spencer, J. A. (2005) (unpublished paper) What is academic research? School of Management
and Languages, Heriot-Watt University

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Reading © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2: Writing
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Synthesizing a definition

Use the framework below to write a definition of research based on those given in Definitions
of research, as well as your own ideas. List the references at the end.

What is research?

Both the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2003), and

_______________________________________________ define research as

This fairly general definition is further expanded by _________________, who believes that

Spencer (2006) does not actually define research, but looks at

Her principal claim is that

Dawson (2002) is only concerned with

In this paper, therefore, research will be used to mean

References:

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 3
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Two example answers

Text A was written by a teacher using the framework you were given. Text B was written by
another teacher who has used a different framework, to suit her own definition. How is each
one different from your definition of research?
Compare the sections in bold with the definitions by the original authors, and underline the
same information in those definitions. How have teachers A and B summarized information
and shown how it is important or relevant? How many exact words and phrases from the
source have they used? Whose voice do you hear in these extracts?

Model text A
Both the Longman Dictionary (2004) and the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
(2003) define research as a ‘detailed’ or ‘serious study of a subject’ which takes place ‘in order
to discover new information’. This fairly general definition is further expanded by Nunan
(1994) who states that research is an activity requiring three elements: firstly, a question,
secondly, data and finally, analysis and interpretation of data. These three elements need
to be present for research. Spencer (2005) does not actually define research, but looks at
how academic research involves the interaction of three ‘worlds’, notably the ‘real world’,
the ‘abstract world’ and the ‘academic world’. Her principal claim is that the world of
the academic community plays an essential part in the research process by providing a
framework for regulation and communication of the research. Dawson (2002) is only
concerned with social research and her definition is therefore too limited in application.
Nunan’s and Spencer’s definitions are more appropriate to academic research in that they
stress, respectively, the process of research and the academic context. In this paper, therefore,
research will be used to mean a systematic process of identifying a question, followed by
collecting and analysing data. The research is set in an academic context by being related
to other academic research and theories, and is then assessed by other members of the
academic community.

Model text B*
Simple dictionary definitions of research given in the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s
Dictionary and the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English emphasise the outcome
of research, which is the discovery of new information or reaching a new understanding.
However, according to Nunan (1994), the most important characteristic of research is the
systematic process of forming a question and collecting data which is then analysed. Spencer
(2005) also suggests a process based definition but proposes a further element: she claims
that the world of the academic community also plays an essential part in the research process
providing a framework for regulation and communication of the research activity. For the
purposes of this paper, the discussion will focus on what has been learnt from undertaking
the research process.

*Reprinted with permission of Emma Guion Akdağ, EAP tutor, Heriot-Watt University

6.2 What is research? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 3 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.4: A class profile: collecting and commenting
on data
Teacher’s notes
Background
This series of tasks is designed to explore the three basic aspects of academic writing: writing
for a purpose, writing for an audience, and writing from sources. The task-based approach
leads students through steps of collecting, selecting and organizing information appropriate
for the reader and the purpose. These activities can also act as a purposeful version of a get-to-
know-you task, at the beginning of a course. The materials can take between 4 and 6 hours of
class time, depending on the level of the class and the amount of work completed at home.

Aims
s to collect information and organize data to suit a particular purpose and reader
s to practise grouping information in ways which will be helpful to the readers
s to introduce the concept of general to specific order in academic writing
s to introduce the idea of highlighting statements in a data commentary

Material
Individual copies of Task 1a or 1b of the writing tasksheet
Individual copies of the questionnaire table (if needed)
Unmarked individual copies of students’ own texts (in the second lesson)
Individual copies of the teacher’s model answer
Keys for highlighted model answer (a sample model answer is provided but the teacher can
write one or use a good student example)

Procedure
1 Give out the writing tasksheet with the description of the purpose of the report. Task
1a is designed to enable students who may not have much academic experience to find
out more general information about one another’s background and intentions. Task 1b
is more authentic, as its purpose is real – to write a report on information the teacher
needs. It is suitable for students who have some previous experience of university study or
English-medium learning. Check that students understand the writing purpose, and the
needs of the particular reader. Ask students to form groups to draw up a list of questions
to obtain suitable information for the reader. If the class is at a lower level or if time is
short, the pre-prepared questionnaire, A class profile (Task 1a), can be used, but groups
should evaluate it by adding one or two questions of their own to the list, or deleting
questions they think are not relevant to the purpose.
2 The whole class reports back and evaluates the questions each group has chosen. The
class decides on a final list of questions to ask.
3 In groups, students interview other students and record their answers. If the class is small,
students can interview the whole class in this way. For larger classes, the teacher can
photocopy the completed sheets for each group and distribute them to the other groups.
4 Students write individual reports or collaborate in groups to compose texts.

6.4 A class profile EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5 Photocopy students’ individual texts before marking them. In the next lesson, give out
the model answer, and draw attention to the general to specific structure. Ask students
to highlight in one colour the general highlighting statements that form the narrative,
then mark the supporting details in another. Ask students to do the same in their own
unmarked texts before giving back the marked texts and any further feedback.
6 Ask students to identify useful expressions for writing about data (e.g., the majority of …)
that they find in their own texts and the model text.

Follow-up
Students write parallel texts from other data sources, such as tables supplied by the teacher.
They should routinely highlight their texts to identify highlighting statements to make
sure their own voice is heard in the text. They should also check the general to specific
organization and other frameworks they use such as problem–solution–evaluation.

6.4 A class profile EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Sample model report and notes

(General highlighting statements are in bold. Supporting details are underlined.)
The postgraduate writing class consists of nine students. There are four Chinese speakers from
the PRC and the remainder are Arabic speakers from Saudi Arabia, Libya and Algeria.
The students have a wide range of first degrees. Most of their proposed postgraduate degrees
are closely related to their bachelor degree subjects. There are two maths graduates who
intend to study Actuarial Maths and Applied Maths respectively. There are two business
graduates both of whom will take the MSc in International Business and Marketing. The
remaining students have first degrees in Architecture (progressing to a M.Phil in Hospital
Construction), Civil Engineering (MSc in Construction Management), and Software
Management and Development (MSc in IT and Computer Science).
The majority of students hope to find employment in academic or commercial fields in their
own countries after completing their postgraduate degrees. However, one student would
like to gain experience in the UK IT sector before returning to China.
There is a strong interest in business topics in this group. A Background Studies option
comprising Cultural Studies, an Introduction to Maths or Introduction to Business is offered
to Foundation students in the second and third terms. Apart from the intending Applied
Maths student, who wishes to take the maths option, all the students have chosen the
business option.

Notes
In paragraph 2, the writer makes two separate claims, but integrates the supporting data
to show both the wide range of degrees and their close relationship with the first degree
subjects.
Students may argue that the statement in paragraph 3 does not actually support the claim.
However, the fact that there is only one exception supports the use of the word majority.
The only information that does not use the data to support the claim is in the final
paragraph. This extra information is to help the target reader. The staff in the admissions
or marketing offices may not know or recollect the exact details of each course provided in
the university.

6.4 A class profile EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Writing
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
a The university marketing officer has asked for a report on the type of students attending
EAP Courses to help in preparing international publicity materials for the university
courses, and also to investigate the facilities required by international students during
their studies.
Together with your group, devise a questionnaire to collect suitable information for this
report.
Collect information from students in the class, using the questionnaire.
Using your notes, write a report about the class for the marketing officer. Think about
what would be useful for the marketing department to know.
Write about 200–300 words.

b Your EAP teacher would like a report from the class to help in preparing a suitable course
programme which reflects the students’ needs and previous experience.
Together with your group, devise a questionnaire to collect suitable information for this report.
Collect information from students in the class, using the questionnaire.
Use your notes to write a report about the class for your EAP teacher. Think about what
would be useful for your teacher to know about the students in order to prepare a suitable
course.
Write about 200–300 words.

6.4 A class profile EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 1
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
a Questionnaire: A class profile
Find out about …

Name
leisure activities they
would like to take
part in at university

previous academic
subjects

why they chose this

university/
town/country

proposed degree
subject

first language

type of
accommodation they
are staying in while
they are studying
what they would like
to do after they finish
their degree

nationality

previous work
or professional
experience

6.4 A class profile EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Sample model answer
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Report

The postgraduate writing class consists of nine students. There are four Chinese speakers
from the PRC and the remainder are Arabic speakers from Saudi Arabia, Libya and
Algeria.
The students have a wide range of first degrees. Most of their proposed postgraduate degrees
are related to their bachelor degree subjects. There are two maths graduates who intend to
study Actuarial Maths and Applied Maths respectively. There are two business graduates
both of whom will take the MSc in International Business and Marketing. The remaining
students have first degrees in Architecture (progressing to a M.Phil in Hospital Construction),
Civil Engineering (MSc in Construction Management), and Software Management and
Development (MSc in IT and Computer Science).
The majority of students hope to find employment in academic or commercial fields in their
own countries after completing their postgraduate degrees. However, one student would
like to gain experience in the UK IT sector before returning to China.
There is a strong interest in business topics in this group. A Background Studies option
comprising Cultural Studies, an Introduction to Maths or Introduction to Business is offered
to Foundation students in the second and third terms. Apart from the intending Applied
Maths student, who wishes to take the maths option, all the students have chosen the
business option.

6.4 A class profile EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.5: The demand for chocolate cakes: graphical
presentation
Teacher’s notes
Background
This series of tasks is designed to take students through steps in studying the language
and organization of texts which use mathematical notation or graphs to explain causal
relationships.

Aims
s to study the language and organization of texts which explain equations or graphs
s to write a short text explaining a graph representing a causal relationship

Material
Individual copies of Tasksheet 1, The demand for chocolate cakes: a mathematical
explanation
Individual copies of the reading text, The demand for chocolate cakes: graphical presentation
and the tasksheet
Individual copies of the gapped summary of the text (Tasksheet 2, Task 3)
A prompt for students’ parallel writing (Tasksheet 2, Task 4)
Individual copies of the keys for the vocabulary record sheet and the gapped summary (and
of the model answer for Task 4, if wished)

Procedure
1 Ask students about luxury food items. What would make people buy more or fewer?
What would lead manufacturers to produce more or fewer cakes?
2 Explain that they are going to read about how complex economic relationships in the
real world can be expressed in mathematical formulae. However, they will not need to
understand any maths or economics to answer the questions, only the language in the
text.
3 Students read the text, The demand for chocolate cakes: a mathematical explanation,
and answer the questions (Task 1). When checking the answers, point out that the text is
about how a causal relation in the real world is represented mathematically.
4 Explain that a graph records data or mathematical relationships in a visual form.
Students are going to read about how the same economic relationship can be represented
on a graph. Students read the text The demand for chocolate cakes: graphical
presentation and answer the big picture question. They then identify the relationships
shown in the graph and the language used to show these. Discuss the pattern they
notice after highlighting the text in which the description of the graph is followed by the
explanation of the causal relationship in the real world and how the two are linked by
verbs (e.g., reveals, depicts). They then record the vocabulary for explaining this type of
graph on the vocabulary record sheet (Task 2c).
5 Students complete the summary of the text (Task 3). They then transfer their
understanding to a new context by drawing a graph of the relationship of price and
supply, and writing a commentary, individually or as a group writing task (Task 4).
Finally, they compare their texts with the model text and highlight phrases or sentences
which explain the real world relationship, as they did for the original text.

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
Students can find and bring in examples of graphs from their subjects to analyse the patterns in
texts which are used to explain them, and add further examples of language used. They then
write parallel texts explaining these graphs.

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
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Task 1

The demand for chocolate cakes: a mathematical explanation

a Seeing the big picture
1 price
2 cause: independent variable effect: dependent variable
3 independent variable = price
dependent variable = demand (the number of cakes bought)
b Language study
is a result of – is dependent on/is a function of
can be calculated – it is possible to determine
The present tense is used in explaining the equation because this is a general
causal relation which is presumed to be true in all cases.

Task 2

The demand for chocolate cakes: graphical presentation

a Seeing the big picture
1, to explain a type of graph often used in economics, using an example
b Understanding the real world relationships
(Economic causes and effects are highlighted.)

The demand for chocolate cakes: graphical presentation*

To illustrate an economic relationship graphically, two sets of information are needed: the
data on the independent variable and the data on the dependent variable. In the example on
the consumption of cakes, the independent variable is price, and the dependent variable is the
quantity of chocolate cakes demanded. The graph of the relationship is presented in Figure 1.
Price is plotted along the vertical axis and the demand for cakes along the horizontal axis.
Point a, the point on the price axis, reflects the fact that there is no demand for chocolate
cakes at a price of £6 and above. Point b, found by measuring 5 units (£5) along the y-axis
and 2 units (2 chocolate cakes) along the x-axis, reveals that there is demand for 2 cakes
at a price of £5. Joining all the points together provides a straight line which depicts the
relationship between the price of chocolate cakes and the demand for them. Because the
line slopes downwards from left to right, it is said to have a negative slope, i.e., the variables
move in opposite directions. As the price falls, there is an increase in the quantity demanded.
The negative slope is in contrast to that for the supply of chocolate cakes, which would
have a positive slope. The variables would go in the same direction because, as the price of
chocolate cakes increased, more chocolate cakes would be supplied.
Notice the pattern in which the writer begins the explanation by drawing the reader’s
attention to a feature of the graph and then gives the explanation of what this means in
the real world situation. Verbs such as illustrate, reflects, reveals, depicts signal the link
between the graphical representation and the real world.

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 c Language study
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Vocabulary record sheet

nouns: names of parts of a graph axis/axes, origin, line, points, slope

verb = constructed a graph plotted

verb = produces a line on a graph generates
verbs linking graphs with the real world illustrate, reflects, reveals, depicts
adjective: relationship represented linear
by a straight line
noun–adjective collocations horizontal axis
vertical axis
a straight line
positive slope
negative slope

fixed phrase in scale

= relation between real size and size on graph

Task 3

Summary
Economists can represent the formula for the demand for chocolate cakes by plotting the
price along/on the vertical axis and the quantity of chocolate cakes sold, that is the demand,
along the horizontal axis. Figure 1 represents the relationship between price and demand.
The points on the graph represent/show the number of cakes sold at each price. The straight
line which is generated illustrates/depicts/shows the relationship between the price of the
cakes and the demand. The line has a negative slope, because the variables move in opposite
directions.

Task 4

The supply of chocolate cakes: model answer

Figure 2 represents the relationship between the price of chocolate cakes and the supply. The
price is plotted along the vertical axis, and the quantity of chocolate cakes manufactured,
that is the supply, is plotted along the horizontal axis. Point a reflects the fact that, at a price
of less than £1, the manufacturers would not supply any chocolate cakes. The straight line
has a positive slope, because, as the price increases, more chocolate cakes are supplied by
the manufacturers.

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Key (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1: Reading
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The demand for chocolate cakes: a mathematical explanation

Task 1
a Seeing the big picture
1 Read the text quickly and find a factor in the real world which affects the demand
for chocolate cakes. Do not use a dictionary.
2 The text explains that dependent and independent variables have a causal relationship.
Which variable is the cause and which is the effect?
3 In the case of the demand for chocolate cakes, what is the independent variable and
what is the dependent variable?

The demand for chocolate cakes: a mathematical explanation*

Mathematical notation can be used to present or explain an economic relationship. The
relationship between the price of and the demand for chocolate cakes can be presented as:
Demand for chocolate cakes = f (Price of chocolate cakes)
D = f(Pc)
The demand for chocolate cakes is dependent on, or a function of, the price of chocolate
cakes. Where D and Pc represent the demand for and the price of chocolate cakes, and f
represents the functional relationship between price and demand.
This statement says, in a general form, that demand for cakes is a function of the price of
cakes. Demand is on the left-hand side of the equation as it is the dependent variable, while
price is on the right-hand side as it is the independent variable. This statement implies that
if the value of the independent variable, the price, is known, then it is possible to determine
the level of the demand for cakes.

b Language study
Find two expressions in the text which have a similar meaning to is a result of.
Find an expression that means the value of something can be calculated.
What verb tense is used in explaining the equation? Why is this used?

*Adapted from Heriot-Watt Management Programme Microeconomics, Chapter 1: Economic Issues, Concepts and Tools

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 The demand for chocolate cakes: graphical presentation
Many models can be presented in a relatively simple form by using graphs. The most
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commonly used graph in economics is constructed with two axes. The vertical axis is
generally described as the y-axis and the horizontal axis as the x-axis.
Units of quantity for one economic variable are measured in scale along each axis, starting
from the origin, which generally represents zero for both variables. A distinction is made
between the independent and dependent variable. As its name suggests, the dependent
variable relies for the determination of its value (or values) on the independent variable
whose value (or values) is determined outside the model.

y-axis

5
a

4
b
Price (£)
3

x-axis
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Quantity (number of chocolate cakes)

Figure 1: The demand for chocolate cakes

To illustrate an economic relationship graphically, two sets of information are needed: the
data on the independent variable and the data on the dependent variable. In the example
on the consumption of cakes, the independent variable is price, and the dependent variable
is the quantity of chocolate cakes demanded. The graph of the relationship is presented
in Figure 1. Price is plotted along the vertical axis, and the demand for cakes along the
horizontal axis.
Point a, the point on the price axis, reflects the fact that there is no demand for chocolate
cakes at a price of £6 and above. Point b, found by measuring 5 units (£5) along the y-axis
and 2 units (2 chocolate cakes) along the x-axis, reveals that there is demand for 2 cakes
at a price of £5. Joining all the points together provides a straight line which depicts the
relationship between the price of chocolate cakes and the demand for them. Because the
line slopes downwards from left to right it is said to have a negative slope, i.e., the variables
move in opposite directions. As the price falls, there is an increase in the quantity demanded.
The negative slope is in contrast to that for the supply of chocolate cakes, which would
have a positive slope. The variables would go in the same direction because, as the price of
chocolate cakes increased, more chocolate cakes would be supplied.
(Adapted from Heriot-Watt Management Programme Microeconomics, Chapter 8: The
Factor Markets and Income Distribution)

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 2
a Seeing the big picture
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Read the text The demand for chocolate cakes: graphical presentation quickly to answer
the following question.
Which statement, 1, 2 or 3, best describes the purpose of the text Graphical
presentation?
1 To explain a type of graph often used in economics, using an example
2 To calculate the value of the demand for chocolate cakes using a graph
3 To explain to students how to draw a graph
b Understanding the real world relationships
Highlight sentences or phrases where the writer is talking about relationships in the real
world and economic causes and effects.
c Language study
Find words and expressions in the text to complete this table.

Vocabulary record sheet

nouns: names of parts of a graph a / es,
o ,l ,
p ,s

verb = constructed a graph p

verb = produces a line on a graph g
verbs linking graphs with the real world i ,r ,
r ,d

adjective: relationship represented l

by a straight line

noun–adjective collocations axis

axis
a line
slope
slope

fixed phrase in scale

= relation between real size and size on graph

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2: Writing
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Task 3
Complete this summary which explains the graph for the demand for chocolate cakes. Add
one word in each gap.

Economists can the formula for the demand for chocolate cakes by plotting
the price the vertical axis and the quantity of chocolate cakes sold, that is
the along the axis. Figure 1 represents the relationship between
and . The points on the graph the number of cakes sold at
each price. The line which is generated the relationship between the
price of the cakes and the demand. The line has a negative because the variables
move in opposite directions.

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Task 4
Figure 1 in the text represents the demand for chocolate cakes. On the graph below draw a
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line to represent the supply of chocolate cakes. Write a paragraph explaining your graph.

4
Price (£)
3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Quantity manufactured (number of chocolate cakes)

6.5 The demand for chocolate cakes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.6: Quiz: Mathematical expressions
Teacher’s notes
Background
This brief task is designed to make students aware that they need to know the English
expressions used for mathematical symbols and expressions. They will meet them in lectures
and reading texts, and may need to use them in their writing when commenting on data in
graphical or numerical form.

Aims
s to check knowledge of English terms for mathematical expressions and symbols
s to identify other mathematical expressions or symbols for which students may need the
English terms

Material
Individual copies and keys for Quiz: Mathematical expressions

Procedure
1 Elicit examples of mathematical expressions students expect to meet in their area of
study. Students can write them on the board if they do not know the names for them.
Ask if students learnt the English words for these at school. Explain that they have the
opportunity to check which ones they know already.
2 Students complete the quiz individually or in groups then check the key and fill in correct
answers so that the quiz sheet becomes a reference sheet.

Follow-up
Revise these terms as games and warmers in future lessons. For example, two teams can devise
a few equations and dictate them to a member of another team, who must write the equation
correctly on the board.
Students can use the hint on the Key to prepare a list of other symbols they need to know the
names for, e.g., α, β (alpha, beta) to add to the reference sheet. The teacher and students can
research together (e.g., by asking science staff) to find the names of any terms that the teacher is
not familiar with.

6.6 Quiz: Mathematical expressions EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Quiz: Mathematical expressions
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KEY
Words or Mathematical Words or Mathematical
phrases expressions phrases expressions
or symbols or symbols
units metres, grams, $ a number 1,254 1.254

6 digits 01-05-32 an amount of £1,254

money

fractions ½ ¾ 7/3 an amount of 220 kg

rice

half ½ the value of a £1,254

car

per cent % a decimal 1.254

number

brackets () three-quarters ¾

plus + an equation Y = C + I , D = ƒ(P,Y),

3 + 9 – 2 = 10

minus – divided by ÷

equals = multiplied by x

is = a formula Y= C+ I , D= ƒ(P,Y)

pi π the square root √

of

Hint:
Go to insert on the Windows™ toolbar. Find insert symbol. Look at the mathematical
symbols and the Greek letters (small case). Which ones are used in your subject area? Do
you know the English words for them?

6.6 Quiz: Mathematical expressions EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Quiz: Mathematical expressions
Below is a list of English words or phrases used to represent mathematical expressions,
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operations or symbols. Match each example in the box to an appropriate word or phrase on
the list. Some of the examples match more than one word or phrase.

Words or Mathematical Words or Mathematical

phrases expressions phrases expressions
or symbols or symbols
units a number

6 digits an amount of
money

fractions an amount of
rice

half the value of a

car

per cent a decimal

number

brackets three-quarters

plus an equation

minus divided by

equals multiplied by

is a formula

pi the square root

of

Examples
1,254 £1,254 1.254 220kg 01-05-32 π √
÷ x + – = ()
½ 7/
3 ¾ % metres, grams, $
Y=C+I 3 + 9 – 2 = 10 D = ƒ(P,Y)

6.6 Quiz: Mathematical expressions EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.7: In my own words
Teacher’s notes
Background
When using the work of other writers to support points in their own writing, students need
to know how to present these citations, briefly acknowledging information which is factual
or in the public domain, paraphrasing where they wish to stay close to the author’s idea,
summarizing wider points in a way that demonstrates real understanding, and synthesizing a
group of relevant ideas from the sources to create their own points.

Aims
s to enable students to refer to the work of other writers appropriately
s to provide practice in paraphrasing and summarizing for particular purposes

Material
Texts which the students are reading and using as source material for their writing. For each
text you should decide a purpose for using the ideas from the text. This may be a functional
purpose, e.g., to provide a definition of a term, to explain the causes of a problem, to find
evidence for a specific conclusion. Alternatively, it may be a content purpose, i.e., to find
ideas or examples to answer an essay question you have specified for a writing task.

Procedure
1 Discuss with students the reasons for using the text(s), and help them to decide how
useful and relevant each text is for their writing task, e.g., does the text simply provide
a detailed and useful definition of a term or is it a key text with many ideas which can
be used to support the answer to the question specified for their writing? Discuss how
much of the text is relevant to their writing task, and decide whether the ideas could be
paraphrased very briefly or should be summarized in more detail because they relate
closely to the topic of the writing.
2 Constructing an oral summary
The students should be familiar with the text they want to summarize because they have
already read it. Ask them to read through it again and then put it away so they cannot
refer to it during the exercise. In pairs, students should each take a turn to answer the
question What is this text about in (x) words? where the size of the number (x) increases
with each repetition, e.g., five words, then ten words, fifteen words, twenty words, and
finally thirty words. Each speaker must remember as much as they can of the text in
order to reach the number of words specified in the question. For each repetition of this
question, the speaker will build up the oral summary by adding more detail, and their
partner can write down the answer. Students then decide what length of summary is
appropriate for their purpose.
3 Using key words to construct a summary
This exercise is useful for synthesizing ideas from several texts. Ask students to select
around five to ten key words from the texts that they think will be relevant and important
for the summary they want to make. Students then put away the original texts, so
they cannot look at these during the exercise, and, referring only to the key words,
they construct an appropriate summary, e.g., to define a term or support a point in an
argument. The purpose of the key words is to help them remember the ideas in the text.
They are not required to use any of the key words, but may do so if appropriate.

6.7 In my own words EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4 Summarizing for a functional purpose
If the purpose of the summary is a functional one, ask students to make notes in a
functional framework, e.g., a process flow diagram, a comparison and contrast table, a
cause–effect chain or network, a classification diagram. The framework should only
contain key words, and not phrases or whole sentences. If appropriate, students can add
their own examples to the framework. They can then use this framework, rather than the
original text, when summarizing the ideas.
5 Summarizing for a content purpose
If students are summarizing to support their ideas in the answer to an essay question,
they can use a highlighter pen to select only parts of the text that are relevant to their
purpose, and then use the strategies in stages 2 or 3 above to produce an appropriate
summary. They can then look back to the original texts, and decide if any of the words or
phrases are particularly appropriate to their purpose and could be quoted directly.
6 Working with poorly written summaries
Ask students to compare a text with a poorly written summary of this text, and discuss
whether the summary is accurate in its reporting of the ideas of the original text or
whether it captures the viewpoint of the original author. Students can identify aspects
of the summary which do not reflect the original, and then attempt to write a better
summary. This combines aspects of oral and written summarizing as students will
have to give an oral summary of the original text in order to compare this to the poorly
written summary.
7 Acknowledging sources
Each time students are asked to summarize a text or borrow ideas from it, they should
also provide an in-text reference and a reporting verb, together with the full reference,
which would appear at the end of the essay in the references list. This reinforces the need
to acknowledge the source of citations, whether they are paraphrased or quoted directly,
as well as the importance of using their own words.
8 Making summarizing strategies explicit
Once you have tried eliciting summaries from students using the ideas in 1–7 above, it
is useful to discuss and evaluate these summarizing strategies. Students who are not
confident in their use of language will usually report strategies which allow them to stay
close to the source text. You can then ask them to contrast these strategies with those
they use in their first language, in which they are experts. The photocopiable tasksheet
shows an example of this contrast, and can be used as the basis for a discussion prompt
for students to identify and evaluate the strategies that work best for them.

Follow-up
Each time students approach a text, they should answer a Big Picture question about the
purpose of the text or its main point. This is good preparation for identifying the key ideas in
the text which might be included in a summary. Students can negotiate different purposes for
summarizing texts. If they are already studying on their degree programmes, they can bring
texts to the EAP classroom which they need to use in their assignments, and experiment with
some of the strategies listed above.

6.7 In my own words EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: In my own words
Read the strategies for summarizing listed below, and identify the strategies you use when
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you summarize texts in your own language and texts in English.

1 What beginner writers tend to do, which produces a bad summary:
a read the text to be summarized very slowly and in great detail, looking up the meaning
of every word they do not know
b find the most general sentences in the paragraphs and highlight them or use them to
make notes
c follow exactly the same structure as the original text while they
i join the general sentences together, paying no attention to the coherence of the
summary or its purpose
ii change the order of words in the general sentences, thus destroying the cohesion of
the summary
iii find synonyms for some of the words in the general sentences
d produce a summary that follows the original structure as closely as possible using
many key words and phrases from the original
e claim in their writing that these are their own ideas by failing to acknowledge the
source of their summary
2 What expert writers usually do, which produces a good summary:
a decide their goals in wanting to include the summary in their text
b consider the overall structure only if they want to summarize several texts of a similar
structure together for comparison
c reduce the texts to a few lines in note form containing the key words
d construct an oral summary by asking the following questions:
i What is this about in 5 words?
ii What is this about in 15 words?
iii What is this about in 30 words?
iv What is this about in 50 words?
e write down this oral summary, changing it to an academic style
f look back to the original text if they need to quote particularly appropriate expressions
from it
g ensure that the source of these quotations and the summary in general is attributed in
their texts
Students summarize for their teacher because she or he tells them to. The main question they
usually ask is ‘How many words?’
Expert writers summarize because they need to incorporate the ideas of other people in their
writing, to answer their own question, or support their own ideas. They want to keep their
summaries as short as possible. The main question they ask is ‘How much of this text is
relevant to my main point?’

6.7 In my own words EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6.8: EAP warmers
Teacher’s notes
Background
These suggested activities can be used as games or competitions at the beginning of a lesson or
to give a break in the middle of a lesson. Teachers and students can develop similar games to
recycle learning and to inject fun into the classroom.

Aims
s to develop fluency by regularly activating students’ language resources
s to practise the language for specific rhetorical functions

Material
A means of recording students’ responses, either on an overhead projector (OHP) or using a
data projector or whiteboard for activities 3, 4 and 5
Office or household objects for activity 6
Teacher’s visual of descriptions of simple objects

Procedure
1 Noun phrase awareness
Ask students to find the longest noun phrase in a text they are studying (phrases of 12
or 13 words are common in academic texts, and phrases of 30 words or more occur not
infrequently in research articles). Once the noun phrase is found, they can try to unpack
it and investigate its role in the text, and decide why the writer needed to use such a long
phrase.
2 General noun awareness
Ask pairs of students to write a sentence on any topic, describing a situation. Each
pair reads out the sentence, and other pairs have to think of the next sentence in a text
dealing with that topic. The second sentence must begin with the words This/These + an
appropriate general noun.

Example
First sentence: The overhead projector in Room 104 is not working.
Continuation: This problem should be reported to the head of department.

Other suggestions could be This equipment should be replaced / This item has been
faulty for some time.
3 Sentence auctions
This writing activity provides collaborative assessment in game form. Supply a very
simple prompt, such as some simple data in a table, problem–solution–evaluation notes,
or a simple causal chain in note form. Groups write sentences to represent each stage in
the information.
The aim is then to construct a mini text with the teacher as scribe. The teacher asks one
group to read out their first sentence. If another group think their sentence is better than
one already offered, they read it out. The class can vote on which sentence is best, with
the teacher as referee, and the team whose sentence is finally accepted to continue the text
wins points. If they offer their sentence and it is rejected, points are deducted. The text is
gradually built up using the best sentence to continue it at each point. This provides on-

6.8 EAP warmers EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 going evaluation of the sentences and can lead to productive discussions on the choices
available to writers when constructing a text.
4 How many ways can you write this?
Choose a sentence from a text the class is reading which expresses a functional
relationship. Ask the students to form groups and write the same sentence in as many
different ways as possible.

Example:
Increased carbon dioxide emissions have resulted in a rise in global temperatures.

Possibilities include:
Increased carbon dioxide emissions have caused a rise in global temperatures.
There has been a rise in global temperatures due to increased carbon dioxide emissions.
There have been increased carbon dioxide emissions resulting in a rise in global
temperature.
Global temperatures have risen because of increased carbon dioxide emissions.
An increase in carbon dioxide emissions has led to a rise in global temperatures.
Increased carbon dioxide emissions are responsible for a rise in global temperatures.

Students can discuss to what extent the choice of which form to use would depend on the
intended topic flow in the text, and which sentences are completely interchangeable.
5 Functional stories
To introduce a new rhetorical function, tell the class the beginning of a simple story or
episode, preferably humorous, which involves this rhetorical function and ask the class to
suggest how it might continue.

Examples:
The teacher explains that she borrowed a thousand pounds from her brother, but
she gambled and lost it all at the casino. What would the students suggest she should
do? The students suggest solutions which she records on an overhead sheet. They are
encouraged to criticize each other’s suggestion and the teacher records these and the
final recommendation. The result is a mini-text with the structure problem–solution–
evaluation–recommendation, which can be used to introduce the organization of a
problem–solution text.
The function of evidence and conclusion texts could be introduced in a similar way, for
example, by saying that a dead body was found by someone who was out walking. There
was a large hammer nearby – what could be the conclusion? If the students suggest a
murder, the teacher can introduce further evidence which the students have to evaluate
(for example, the dead person had been a workman mending a fence). A similar mini-text
representing the evidence and conclusions drawn from it can be created.

As well as noticing the organization of the mini-texts, students can look for language that
represents the functions used.
6 Mystery objects
This activity is a lively way to introduce the function of describing objects. Prepare a
bag containing a variety of small devices and gadgets from the office or kitchen, e.g., a
paperclip, a stapler, an egg-slicer, a rotary grater. Students form teams, and each team
sends a member to the front of the class to examine one of the objects in the bag. They
run back and describe the object to their team without using the name of the object. As
soon as the team have correctly identified the object, they can send another runner to tell
the teacher what the object is and then look at another object. The aim is to describe and
guess as many objects as possible in a short time.

6.8 EAP warmers EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Once the game is over, ask the students to think about the way they described the object.
Which was the quickest way to help the team guess the right answer? The answer is
usually by a functional description, i.e., what the item is used for. Students identify other
types of language they might need to describe the object, e.g., material, shape and mode
of operation.

They read a simple text describing an everyday object, such as a paperclip, and identify
the way it is organized, looking for sentences or sections which describe components,
arrangement of parts, or uses of the object. They then highlight expressions which
express these functions.

Examples of language exponents from the model descriptions of the paperclip and the
button:

Class (general nouns): an item of stationery / a device / sheets of paper /

a piece of metal wire / fabric
Composition: consists of
Function: for ing
Purpose to / so that
Dimensions: size / length / diameter
Shape: adj. flat / oval / circular; n. disc / spiral / slot
Arrangement and location: arranged in a square / at the centre of
Collocations: holding / held together firmly

6.8 EAP warmers EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Paperclip
This is an item of stationery for holding
sheets of paper together. It can be any
size from about one to five centimetres.
It consists of a piece of metal wire bent
into a flat, oval spiral. To use it, the sheets
of paper are held together firmly and the
paperclip is pushed over the edges of the
paper so that these fit between two parts of
the spiral.
Button
A button is a device for holding two pieces
of fabric or leather together. It consists
of a circular disc of a hard material such
as wood, bone or, in more recent times,
plastic. There are four holes arranged in a
square at the centre of the disc. The button
is stitched through the holes onto the fabric
using fine thread. To use it, the two pieces
of fabric are held together and the button
on one piece of fabric is pushed sideways
through a slot, whose length is the same
as the diameter of the button, in the other
piece of fabric.

6.8 EAP warmers EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
7.1: Academic listening strategies
Teacher’s notes
Background
Students need to explore strategies for listening beyond their competence, and experiment
with a variety of ways to retrieve the information they need from lectures. The experimental
research design of this exercise – in which one group (the control) just listens, while the other
group (experimental) has additional support from reading material – encourages students to
take a systematic approach to the exploration of listening strategies.

Aims
s to evaluate prior reading as a listening strategy
s to provide an academic, i.e., research-based, focus for post-listening discussion
s to enable students to reflect on their performance in a listening task

Material
A listening passage from an EAP course book, which you consider to be challenging for the
level of the class, together with reading material connected with the topic (probably from
another source)

Procedure
1 Before the lesson, explain that you are going to carry out an experiment with the class
to evaluate the usefulness of reading about a topic before listening to a talk about it.
Divide the class into two groups, and explain that one group is the control, listening
in the normal way, and one the experimental group. Give the reading passage to the
experimental group, and ask them to prepare it outside class so that they understand the
main points and any key vocabulary. This should be done at least one or two days in
advance.
2 At the start of the lesson, divide the class into the control and experimental groups. If
some students in the experimental group have not done the pre-reading, transfer them
to the control group. Explain that the purpose of the exercise is to decide whether both
groups experience the same degree of difficulty understanding the listening passage, i.e.,
the reading preparation makes no difference to understanding.

Use your own pre-listening activities or those suggested in the course book to orient the
students to the topic of the listening. At this stage, do not refer to the material read by the
experimental group.
3 All students listen to the passage and complete any tasks designed to check their
understanding. If these require listening for gist and then detail, the students should
listen for the required number of times. However, at this stage they should not check their
answers.
4 Still in their initial groups, students should discuss their answers to the tasks, and how
confident they are that their answers are correct. They should say what percentage of the
listening passage they think they understood. The experimental group can also discuss
whether the reading passage helped them to answer any of the questions.

7.1 Academic listening strategies EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5 Students then pair with a member of the opposite group and compare their answers,
again saying how confident they are that the answers are correct. The class then checks
the answers with the key. Each pair notes which of them has the most correct answers,
and who was justified in being confident that their answers were correct.

If prior reading makes no difference to listening comprehension, then there will be no

difference between the pairs. If there is a difference (as expected), then prior reading is a
useful listening strategy.
6 If there is no difference between the scores for some of the pairs, students can be asked
to speculate whether there were any variables which interfered with the experiment. For
example, students in the experimental group may not have prepared the reading as well
as requested; students in the control group may have already been familiar with the topic
of the listening, or had a more advanced level of skills than others in the class.

Follow-up
It is possible to set up control and experimental groups to evaluate other listening strategies,
e.g., prior learning of vocabulary items; listening with or without note-taking; listening
with or without supporting handouts. Students should also be encouraged to decide for
themselves which strategies work for them, and to make use of these when listening to live
lectures on their courses.

7.1 Academic listening strategies EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
7.2: Seminar awareness
Teacher’s notes
Background
The purpose of seminar discussion is to deepen knowledge about a topic and examine different
points of view through analysis and negotiation of ideas. The topic in this seminar is cultural
attitudes to group discussion. Students talk about the difficulties of seminar discussion for
them personally, and try to decide what key factors might prevent them from contributing.
The task is designed to explore and value students’ ideas, which neither the teacher nor the
students necessarily know in advance. It is not intended for language work.

Aims
s to explore reasons for silence in group discussion
s to reduce anxiety about contributing in seminars

Material
Tasksheet with reasons for reluctance to participate in discussions, which have been identified
from research into cultural attitudes

Procedure
1 Elicit from the students the purpose of seminar discussion and the value it is thought
to have in the UK education system. Ask students if they would feel comfortable
contributing to discussion with other students they do not know well. Try to elicit some
reasons for their responses.
2 Explain that researchers have studied discussion groups and found that some students
are reluctant to contribute, and often remain silent during discussion. Researchers
have suggested a number of explanations for this, but they do not know which are
most likely. The purpose of this discussion is to evaluate these reasons and decide
which are most important.

Arrange the students in groups of four or five, and hand out the discussion tasksheet.
Check that students have understood the reasons listed in the tasksheet. Explain that the
discussion outcome is to rank the reasons why students do not contribute in class or in
seminar discussion and to give some justification for the ranking chosen.
3 Monitor the groups, and note down any key ideas or insights which you hear to bring
into the plenary session later on. Do not be tempted to use this discussion for language
feedback as it is intended to show students that their ideas are important. Once the
discussion seems to be complete (or the preset time limit is reached), groups should be
asked to prepare a presentation of their ranking and a justification for it.
4 Listen to each of the presentations. Respond with any questions to clarify the points being
made and draw out additional ideas (that you noted earlier). Encourage students from
other groups to ask questions or challenge the ranking of each group. As a class, agree on
the two most important explanations for lack of contribution to discussions.

7.2 Seminar awareness EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Follow-up
In turn, consider each explanation agreed on as most important by the class, and examine it
using ‘rational emotive therapy’,* which involves identifying an irrational belief, e.g., ‘I must
speak good English before I can contribute in group discussion’, and then asking students
to identify what evidence exists, from their own experience or from analysis of authentic
discussions, for the falseness or the truth of this belief.

*Foss and Reitzel (1991) cited in Liu, Ngar-Fun and Littlewood, W. (1997) Why do many students appear reluctant to participate
in classroom learning discourse? System, 25/3 371–384.

7.2 Seminar awareness EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Discussion
The issue: in English-speaking academic culture, spoken participation is valued and is thought
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

to promote deeper understanding of a subject. However, students from some cultures appear
reluctant to speak out in class or contribute in seminar discussion with a lecturer present.
Researchers have suggested a number of reasons for this, but there is no clear explanation for
it.
In your group, consider each of the explanations below, and rank them on a scale from 1 (most
likely reason) to 6 (least likely reason) for each situation, to show which explanations you
think are most relevant. Try to justify your ranking by thinking about your own experience.
Possible reasons put forward for reluctance to speak during class:
1 Some traditional cultural values require people to respect those in authority and to remain
unnoticed. Speaking out in class can be seen as boastful and self-conceited.
2 Some traditional cultural values promote a strong sense of solidarity with a social group,
whose needs are valued more than the needs of each individual. Choosing to speak out in
class can be seen as individuals valuing themselves more than the group.
3 Some educational cultures value the transmission of knowledge from one who knows
(the lecturer) to those who do not know (the students). Speaking in class is not valued by
lecturers, and students are not asked to contribute.
4 In some educational cultures, there is a large distance in power between lecturers and
students. If a lecturer in an English-speaking context tries to reduce this power distance
and encourage informality, students feel uncomfortable.
5 Students do not have confidence in their speaking skills, and feel anxious about contributing
in class. They are unhappy about taking risks.
6 Students do not see the point of speaking in class because it is not usually assessed. They
are not interested in the contribution of other students.
Possible reasons put forward for reluctance to speak in seminar discussion:
1 Some traditional cultures value silence and avoid challenge or argument in groups.
2 English-speaking educational culture seems to value an ability to work instantly with
strangers, whereas students from other cultures need a longer group-forming process
before they feel comfortable.
3 English-speaking educational culture seems to value the ability to respond quickly and
spontaneously to new ideas put forward in seminar discussion. Students from other
cultures need to know in advance what questions will be asked, and need time to prepare
answers.
4 Students can feel their cultural values are being challenged or dismissed when they are
asked to adapt to different ways of learning such as seminar discussion so they are reluctant
to participate.
5 In English-speaking educational culture, there are unwritten rules and conventions for
contributing to seminar discussion (e.g., when and how to take a turn to speak), which
students from other cultures are aware they do not know and are afraid of breaking.
6 Students feel embarrassed making mistakes (either in language or ideas) in front of other
students, as they are afraid of being misunderstood or appearing foolish.

7.2 Seminar awareness EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
7.3: Academic seminar strategies
Teacher’s notes
Background
The purpose of seminar discussion is to deepen knowledge about a topic and examine
different points of view, with the aim of reaching a consensus through negotiation of ideas. It
is important that all students are involved and contribute. In this exercise, students simulate
a seminar discussion using familiar topics so that they can also adopt a particular role in the
seminar and monitor their performance. This requires them to operate on two levels, paying
attention to content and strategy.

Aims
s to encourage students to participate fully in seminar discussions
s to raise students’ strategic awareness of the variety of roles in a seminar
s to enable students to monitor and reflect on their performance

Material
Sets of role cards for the seminar with instructions for typical moves in a discussion
Possible topics for the discussion, supported by background reading material if needed

Procedure
1 Elicit from the students the purpose of seminar discussion and the kinds of moves
(described on the cards) that members of a seminar group might typically make. Discuss
whether there are some moves which only the tutor can make, and establish that it is the
responsibility of everyone in the seminar to promote discussion of the topic, not just the
tutor. If necessary, elicit some of the language that could be used for each of the moves
described on the cards. Try to keep this as simple as possible; the focus of the activity is
seminar performance not language.
2 Divide the class into groups of around seven students and, if possible, arrange the seating
so that students can sit in a circle and all see each other. Ask the students to nominate
some topics for discussion, and agree on several along with the order in which they will
discuss them. Allow time for thinking about the topics individually and making notes to
support the discussion.
3 Each group agrees which topic they are going to discuss, and then takes a set of role cards,
shuffles these, and deals one to each member of the group. Explain that the purpose of
the task is to keep the discussion going as long as possible, with each student following
the instruction described on their role card as many times as possible. It may be necessary
to try the first discussion, and then intervene to point out who is or is not playing their
role effectively.
4 Monitor the groups and where a student is silent, check their role card and help them to
get into the discussion using appropriate language for the move. Then leave them with
the floor to continue the discussion. If discussion seems to have stopped, suggest that the
group changes to a new topic. They should reshuffle the role cards and deal them again
so that each member has a different role to play in the discussion for each topic.

7.3 Academic seminar strategies EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5 Monitor the performance of the groups, using the instructions on the role cards as a
checklist of communicative strategies. Note any particularly effective performers so you
can comment on their performance afterwards.
6 After the discussion, ask students to reflect on how effective their discussion of each topic
was, and how easy or difficult it was to play their role in the discussion. They should also
decide who in their group was most effective in particular roles, and what they can learn
from that person. Ask students whether they would be able to use the same strategies in a
real seminar in their degree studies.

Follow-up
Set up more complex seminar discussions, which students have to prepare in advance through
reading or listening materials. Use the same set of cards to encourage them to monitor their
activity in the discussion, and prompt them to be more active contributors. You can increase
the number of students in the seminar group by using duplicate cards for some of the roles,
e.g., introduce ideas; remind someone of a point; reformulate a point.
You can also show recordings of authentic seminar discussions (if available), and use the
statements on the role cards to evaluate the performance of individuals in these seminars.

Sample exponents

Start OK, we’ve decided to talk about… I think…

discussion
Introduce other According to [name of researcher]…
[name] suggests that…
ideas
Elicit ideas What…? How far…? Do you feel there is…?

Respond to Can I pick up on what you said about…

You mentioned the possibility of… Did you consider…?
ideas Wouldn’t you agree that…? But what about…?

Justifying an Just out of interest… I’m just curious about…

interruption
Taking the floor Can I just say [+ pause] This halts the discussion and gives
the interrupter the floor.
directly
Showing But the important point here is…
The point I’m making…
importance
Ask for more I’m not clear about…
Can you say a bit more about that?
information
Ask for I’m not sure what you meant when you said…
Do you mean…
clarification
Summarize You say… You focused on… [title for point or topic]
point

7.3 Academic seminar strategies EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Summarize Well, so far we’ve talked about… Would you agree…?
discussion

Role cards
These can be customized to suit the level of your students. You should, however, try to
avoid writing them in terms of simple functions such as agreeing and disagreeing, but try to
formulate them as moves in the discussion.

7.3 Academic seminar strategies EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Role cards
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE
Start the discussion Introduce ideas from an Remind someone of a
by presenting article you have read point they made earlier,
facts, arguments or which are relevant to and try to get them to
opinions about the the discussion. take it further.
topic.

Remind someone of Admit that you Reformulate another

a point they made, are unsure about speaker’s point
and try to take the something, and ask for to check if you
idea further yourself. information. understood it.

Elicit ideas from Take the floor politely so Summarize the

someone who has you can make your own discussion and try
not contributed point in the discussion. to take it in a new
much to the direction.
discussion.

Start the discussion Introduce ideas from an Remind someone of a

by presenting article you have read point they made earlier,
facts, arguments or which are relevant to and try to get them to
opinions about the the discussion. take it further.
topic.

Remind someone of Admit that you Reformulate another

a point they made, are unsure about speaker’s point
and try to take the something, and ask for to check if you
idea further yourself. information. understood it.

Elicit ideas from Take the floor politely so Summarize the

someone who has you can make your own discussion and try
not contributed point in the discussion. to take it in a new
much to the direction.
discussion.

7.3 Academic seminar strategies EAP Essentials

Role cards © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
7.4: Mini-presentation skills
Teacher’s notes
Background
The main difficulties students face in giving presentations are likely to be choice of an appropriate
structure and content, anxiety about performance, and achieving clear and accurate delivery
which will be interesting for an audience. These exercises help to develop students’ confidence
in small steps, using a simple introduction to an academic presentation. If this is rehearsed so
that it becomes automatic, students’ anxiety about beginning their talk can be reduced.

Aims
s to model an appropriate introduction for a presentation
s to support students in working on appropriate delivery for a presentation

Material
Brief presentation prepared by the teacher about his or her academic institution, which might
form an introduction to an exhibition of the institution at an Education Fair in a country
targeted for recruitment. You should give your presentation a clear organization from
general to specific information. An example tasksheet is given for Heriot-Watt University
which you can adapt to suit your own institution.

Procedure
1 Elicit from the students the reasons why they chose to come to your institution, and what
aspects of it should be included in a recruitment presentation.
2 Students listen as you give the presentation, and note the main points of interest. You
may have to deliver it again to encourage them to concentrate on the organization, which
moves from general to specific ideas.
3 Once they have understood the presentation, students analyse the word stress of key
words in the presentation. These words will have received more prominence in your
delivery so students should not need your support for this task, but they might like to do
it in pairs or small groups. They can also discuss useful words or phrases they want to
pronounce clearly.
4 Individually, students prepare a parallel presentation of their former university campus in
order to convince their classmates that it would be a good place for a student exchange.
Once the students have prepared their presentations, the class is divided in half, with
the students in one half, the audience, seated at tables equally spaced around the room.
Individual presenters then move from one table to another, repeating their talk at timed
intervals of three minutes. The audience and presenters then change roles and repeat the
activity. At the end, there can be an evaluation task for plenary discussion, e.g., students
can decide which campus sounded most attractive for an exchange visit.

Follow-up
You can create mini-presentations about your role within your faculty or department, and
your main research or teaching interests. These can be used to analyse pauses or stress
and intonation patterns over longer sections of speech. Students can then prepare similar
presentations about themselves to use as the introduction to an academic talk, and practise
them until they can say them fluently. This reduces the need for spontaneous production at
the beginning of a talk when they are likely to be most nervous.

7.4 Mini-presentation skills EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Mini-presentation skills
Heriot-Watt University has an exhibition about the university at an Education Fair in a South-
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

East Asian country. The representative is giving a brief introductory presentation to a group of
visitors who are about to enter the exhibition.

Task 1

Comprehension and organization

Listen to this brief presentation. Take notes on the information below.

Student facilities mentioned:

Courses or faculties mentioned:

What are the three main topics?

How has the speaker organized the information about each topic?

Task 2

Identifying stress patterns in English words

Look at the words in bold in the transcript. Try to decide which stress pattern each word uses.
Add the word to the table in the correct column.

/. /.. ./. ./..

7.4 Mini-presentation skills EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Example transcript
[with example words for the exercise in bold]
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Heriot-Watt University is situated at the Riccarton campus on the western outskirts of the
city of Edinburgh. The main academic buildings are grouped around the student halls of
residence and student facilities such as the sports centre, bank and shops. There is also a
student refectory, near the main reception area. The buildings are surrounded by beautiful
landscaped grounds which incorporate a loch and natural woodlands.
The university consists of a number of faculties, which are known as schools: for example,
the School of Management and Languages, and the School of Mathematical and Computer
Sciences. The university is particularly known for research and courses in technical and
applied subjects, such as Petroleum Engineering and Actuarial Mathematics. It also has a
Sports Science centre and a Faculty of the Built Environment.
Students from all over the world come to Heriot-Watt to study at postgraduate or undergraduate
level, particularly from the Middle East and China. There are also students from Europe who
spend part of their university study as exchange students in various departments. Students
learn together through a combination of lectures, tutorials and seminars. However, private
study and reading also form an important part of the learning process.

Task 3

Find out for yourself

Find these names and write them together with the stress pattern.
1 The name of the school where you are studying

2 The subject you are studying

3 The name of the hall of residence where you are staying (or the street and district in the
town or city where you are living)

4 Any other useful words that you need people to understand when you speak to them

Task 4

Mini-presentation
Prepare a mini-presentation on the campus, facilities, types of study available, and any other
points of special interest at the college or university where you have studied previously. The
presentation should be aimed at convincing students to study there. It should be between two
and three minutes long.

7.4 Mini-presentation skills EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
7.5: Presentation titles
Teacher’s notes
Background
At the beginning of a talk, when students are likely to be nervous, they need to be able to
pronounce the title of their talk clearly and loudly. This communication game provides
practice in introducing the topic of a presentation in a clear and comprehensible way, using a
delivery that does not put a strain on the audience. It raises students’ awareness of the role of
the listener, as well as identifying areas of pronunciation which require work.

Aims
s to enable students to say the title of their presentation clearly for an audience
s to identify individual pronunciation weaknesses which impede understanding

Material
The following sentence fragments or similar, presented on an overhead projector for students
to copy and complete:
Today, I’m going to talk about… or My main research interest is…

Procedure
1 Students complete one of the sentence fragments with a complex noun phrase which
forms the title of their presentation, e.g., Today I’m going to talk about the importance of
brand management in the international luxury goods market. They practise saying this
quietly to themselves until they can do so without referring to the written sentence.
2 The class is divided into two or more teams of around six to eight students. Teams stand
at the back of the classroom, as far away from the board as possible. In turn, a student
from each team goes to the front to write on the board, while another student from the
team announces the title of their presentation at normal speed. The scribe writes it on the
board.
3 The teacher keeps the score and adds one point each time the scribe has to ask the speaker
to repeat the title. The opposing team can challenge if they think the presenter is speaking
at dictation speed rather than normal speed, and a penalty point can be given. Students
from alternate teams announce their presentations, with a different scribe each time, until
everyone has had a turn and the complete list of titles is on the board. The team with the
smallest number of points, i.e., the fewest repetitions, wins.

Follow-up
The list of titles can be discussed to identify which words and phrases caused difficulty for
the scribes and why. Appropriate pronunciation, stress and intonation for the title can be
provided by the teacher for students to practise. If students have included expressions, e.g.,
company names in a particular context, which are outside the general knowledge of the
listeners, these can be decoded and given a frame of reference for the audience. For example,
a student announced a talk on peegee which the scribe could not understand. This turned out
to be Proctor and Gamble (PG). As a result of the follow-up discussion, the student decided
to change the opening of his talk to I’m going to talk about the well-known international
company Proctor and Gamble, or PG as it is called in China.

7.5 Presentation titles EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8.1: Mystery graphs: an introduction to critical
thinking
Teacher’s notes
Background
This activity provides an easy introduction to critical thinking through presenting and
supporting ideas. Students simply have to guess what product is represented in constructed
sales graphs. This activity can come at any point early in a syllabus, but it is especially relevant
as an introduction to writing about trends in graphical data.

Aims
s to guess what a linear graph represents
s to make suggestions and support them

Material
Tasksheet with graphs representing the sales of any product that is in any way seasonal (two
examples are given here). This could also be displayed as a teacher’s visual.

Procedure
1 Elicit from the class what information companies collect about the sales of their products,
and how this can be presented in sales reports.
2 Present a copy of Graph A and ask groups to suggest a product which fits this sales
graph. Groups must be able to give reasons for their suggestions, and other groups may
challenge these reasons. Repeat with Graph B.

Cultural note: Graphs can be customized for specific cultural contexts reflecting festivals
or holidays, for example, or sales of products that vary over 24 hours, or sales in different
regions of a country can also be used.

Follow-up
s Groups can prepare their own mystery graph and challenge other groups to guess the
product.

s The key language used for describing sales trends, and for making and challenging
suggestions, can be explored.
Classroom material 8.4: Speculating why, involves further work on explaining trends.

KEY
Suggestions:
Graph A ice-cream, beer, sunscreen
Graph B chocolate (Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter Eggs) or greetings cards

8.1 Mystery graphs EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Mystery graphs
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Graph A: UK sales of (?)

J F M A M J J A S O N D

Graph B: UK sales of (?)

J F M A M J J A S O N D

8.1 Mystery graphs EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8.2: Good and bad examples: relevance in
academic explanation
Teacher’s notes
Background
There is something irrelevant in each of the, otherwise authentic, text extracts in the task.
Students have to think carefully before they can spot the irrelevant example. Then they replace
it with a relevant one of their own. The reading level of the material is higher intermediate, but
the same task design can be used with simpler reading content. This activity can be used in a
lesson which explores a classification, definitions or examples.

Aims
s to use critical thinking skills to detect irrelevant examples
s to suggest examples which are relevant

Material
A photocopiable tasksheet containing authentic extracts from a first year undergraduate business
studies course (there is a Hint section to help weaker students or to use as a first stage key)

Procedure
1 Ask the class What are the best ways to learn vocabulary?
Write on the board what students say to construct a sentence:
Important ways of learning English vocabulary include: reading newspapers, watching
films and …
Add an irrelevant example such as: eating chocolate.
2 Elicit and explain the terms ‘relevant’ and ‘irrelevant’. Explain that these ideas will be
used to complete the task.
3 The tasksheet can be completed by individuals, groups or pairs. Hand out the tasksheet.
Explain that the sentences come from real academic texts but a mistake has been added
to each for them to find. Briefly clarify any key vocabulary that might be unknown, such
as cash, but not vocabulary explained in the text, e.g., contingency plans. Offer the Hints
box separately, as needed.
4 Discuss students’ further suggestions in a plenary session.

KEY
Irrelevant example ✗ Relevant example ✓
1 a new car ✗ a chocolate bar ✓
2 physics ✗ psychology ✓
3 training programmes ✗ inflation ✓
4 a computer ✗ an e-mail ✓
5 showing changes in output ✗ converting an existing room into a computer suite ✓
6 prices ✗ land ✓

8.2 Good and bad examples EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
This task can be customized by collecting definitions from subject disciplines relevant to
specific classes. Definitions and examples are usually found in sections of textbooks where
a new concept is being introduced.
Students can make definitions with relevant examples from their own subject disciplines.
Some may even be able to insert irrelevant examples for others to find.
Key language and sentence patterns for exemplifying can be explored.

8.2 Good and bad examples EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet
a In the sentences below, one of the examples is not relevant. Cross out the irrelevant
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

example.

1 Cash is particularly useful for small purchases, such as a cup of coffee, a newspaper

or a new car.

2 Economics is one of a number of social sciences, e.g., politics, physics and sociology,

which are concerned with human activity and decision making.

3 In order to cope with emergencies, setbacks or uncertain futures, companies develop

contingency plans. Contingency plans deal with new situations resulting from

changes in factors which the company cannot control. Training programmes, new

government safety regulations and technological developments are all factors for

which companies draw up contingency plans.

4 The message is conveyed through a channel, which could be a note, a memo, a

computer, a report, a telephone call or a face-to-face meeting.

5 A Gantt chart is a planning and monitoring device showing the project broken down

by task in the form of a bar chart, showing the time to be taken for each task. A Gantt

chart could be useful, for example, in preparing an exhibition guide for publication,

organizing the move to new office premises, or showing changes in output.

6 Entrepreneur is the term used to describe an enterprising person who notices

opportunities and co-ordinates resources, such as prices, labour, and capital.

b Go back to the sentences and write in a more suitable example to replace the one you
crossed out.

8.2 Good and bad examples EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Hint: Select a relevant example from the

box below and write it above the one you
have crossed out on the tasksheet.

inflation e-mail psychology chocolate bar

converting an existing room into a computer suite land

8.2 Good and bad examples EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 8.3: What does the writer think? Identifying
writer’s stance in an academic text
Teacher’s notes
Background
This task uses an extract from an authentic academic text from an EAP course book* in
which the writer’s stance can be identified on two levels. The extract is a brief critical review
of research, and the writer’s attitude or stance is clear from the language used. The material
is more difficult than, and should therefore follow, Classroom material 1.2: Rich Aunty: an
introduction to writer’s stance. There are four aims, achieved in sequence. They can all be
achieved in a complete lesson or the class can return to the text in subsequent lessons for
subsequent aims.

Aims
s to identify a writer’s stance
s to explore evaluative language associated with stance in an authentic academic text
s to identify the criteria on which a writer bases the stance taken
s to understand how a writer uses stance to structure an argument

Material
A short extract from a longer article in a course book** (Tasksheet 1)
A gapped version of this extract as a student self-test (Tasksheet 2)
A table comparing good and bad research as described in the text (Tasksheet 3)

Procedure
1 Elicit and discuss what the students think is a large class, and what the effects of a large
class are on learning.
2 Present the two questions on the tasksheet. The text is 144 words. To encourage efficient
reading, set an initial time limit of one minute for the students to identify the writer’s
views on the two questions.
3 Allow more time if necessary for students to reread the text and discuss their answers.
4 Ask students to find how the writer shows stance. For example, they could highlight the
key words and phrases in the text in two different colours, one for positive and one for
negative evaluative language.
5 Students can test themselves on this language using the gapped text.

* Slaght, J. (2004) English for Academic Study: Reading Course Book Reading: Garnet Education
The extract can be used on its own but is part of a longer text and can be used to scaffold a task in the course book (see page 19,
Task 3, of course book), particularly with students who find the whole text difficult.

** Ehrenberg, D. et al. (2001) The influence of class size on academic achievement in Slaght, J. (2004) English for Academic Study
Reading: Source Book Reading: Garnet Education

8.3 What does the writer think? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
6 Ask students to read the text closely and list the criteria the writer uses to evaluate
research. Good students should then be able to construct a table comparing good and bad
research in terms of these criteria, similar to the photocopiable resource table. Weaker
students could be given the table, with only the criteria visible, and asked to complete the
good and bad columns.
7 This text demonstrates the moves argument/counter-argument in a text. Ask students to
mark the place where the argument (that many studies show that smaller classes benefit
students) ends and the counter-argument (they do not show anything because they are
poorly designed) begins.

KEY
1 Does the writer think most of the research on class size reduction is good or bad
research?
Bad
2 Does the writer think that research has established that reduction in class size helps
students to achieve well?
No

Sample exponents
The writer contrasts studies in the field. The language exponents are marked for positive or
negative evaluation.
positive: well-(designed) independent (evaluation)
notable exception distinguished
one of the greatest … in … history
negative: unfortunately poorly (designed)
too (brief/small/few) rarely (sufficiently random)

Criteria for evaluating research

(see table in photocopiable resources)

Argument structure
The change from argument to counter-argument is at this point:
danger of becoming underachievers. / Unfortunately, most of these studies were poorly
When writers present arguments and counter-arguments, and rebuttal of counter-argument,
they tend to end with the view that they agree with, as in this case.

Follow-up
Students could be asked to write, from memory, a summary of this brief critical review of
research on whether small class size benefits students. To help them, they could be allowed to
note and use five key words from the text.
Whenever possible, when an authentic text is put before the class, exploit it for evaluative
language and evidence of writer’s stance.

8.3 What does the writer think? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1
1 Does the writer think most of the research on class size reduction is good or bad research?
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Good / Bad
2 Does the writer think that research has established that reduction in class size helps students
to achieve well?
Yes / No

Basically, demographic shifts make it very difficult to assess the effect of reductions in pupil–teacher

ratios. Well-designed experiments attempt to cancel out the influence of those other factors by

randomly assigning students and teachers to different class sizes and by including a large sample.

Over the past 35 years, hundreds of studies and analyses of existing data have focused on class

size. Most found evidence that smaller classes benefit students, particularly at the youngest level,

and especially children in danger of becoming underachievers. Unfortunately, most of these

studies were poorly designed. Teacher and student assignments were rarely sufficiently random;

a number of studies were simply too brief or too small; and too few had independent evaluation.

The notable exception was the Tennessee study. The distinguished Harvard University statistician,

Frederick Mosteller, has called it ‘one of the greatest experiments in education in United States

history’.
144 words (Time for reading: one minute maximum)

8.3 What does the writer think? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Self-test
Put one word in each gap.

Basically, demographic shifts make it very difficult to assess the effect of reductions in pupil–

teacher ratios. ____ -designed experiments attempt to cancel out the influence of those other

factors by randomly assigning students and teachers to different class sizes and by including

a large sample. Over the past 35 years, hundreds of studies and analyses of existing data have

focused on class size. Most found evidence that smaller classes benefit students, particularly at the

youngest level, and especially children in danger of becoming underachievers. ______________,

most of these studies were ____________ designed. Teacher and student assignments were

_________ sufficiently random; a number of studies were simply _____ brief or _____ small;

and _____ few had independent evaluation. The notable ________ was the Tennessee study.

The __________ Harvard University statistician, Frederick Mosteller, has called it ‘one of the

_________ experiments in education in United States history’.

Predict your score ___/10 and then compare with your actual score.

8.3 What does the writer think? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 3: Criteria for evaluating research
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

good bad
1 Research design

a assigning teachers random not random

and students to
classes

b size of studies large small

long-term brief

2 Evaluation independent not independent

8.3 What does the writer think? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 3 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 8.4: Speculating why: explaining trends
Teacher’s notes
Background
Students have to speculate about reasons for the trends shown in two graphs, and suggest how
the trends will develop in the future. These activities are an extension of the critical thinking
required in 8.1: Mystery graphs.

Aims
s to apply students’ own knowledge to explain the trends shown in a graph
s to suggest and support ideas
s to practise using language for explaining change and reasons for change

Material
Two constructed graphs showing:
A Trends in cigarette smoking in a European country*
B Trends in TV viewing and cinema attendance in the UK**

Procedure
1 Set up a class discussion to share background knowledge of topic A or B. It is useful at this
stage for students to be seated with others from their own country so that they can confer.

A Elicit information about smoking trends in students’ own countries, e.g., Who in the
class smokes? When did people start smoking cigarettes in their country? Do more
men than women smoke? Do older people smoke more than younger people? Is this
habit declining? What are the reasons for an increase or decrease in smoking?

What do they know about smoking in the UK? Compare the level of tax on cigarettes
in the UK with that of students’ countries.

B Elicit information about watching TV in students’ own countries, e.g., How often do
they watch TV/go to the cinema? When did TV first come to their country? How
did it affect cinema attendance? What types of TV programme are most popular?
How many can remember video tapes, or has DVD taken over completely?
2 Give each student a copy of Graph A and ask them to identify points on the graph where
the trend changes, and draw a vertical line to the date on the x-axis. Put them into groups
to compare their answers.
3 Students in each group discuss the reasons for the changes in trends by trying to think
of factors relevant to the dates on the x-axis. The teacher can help groups with hints and
questions as appropriate, but the students should be left to struggle for a while. They
could send members to other groups to share information.
4 Lead feedback to the class by eliciting explanations from the groups for the trends shown.
Repeat the procedure for Graph B.

*Graph adapted from Glendinning, E. and Mantell, H. (1983) Write Ideas. Harlow: Longman.
**Graph adapted from Cooper, J. (1979) Think and Link. London: Edward Arnold.

8.4 Speculating why EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Note of caution: Students who plan to take the IELTS test should be warned that, in IELTS,
candidates are not supposed to speculate about reasons for trends or differences. However, this
kind of speculation is very important at university; it is expected in undergraduate writing, and
is fundamental to postgraduate writing.

KEY
Note that students may have other reasonable suggestions which can be accepted.
A Smoking trends in the UK
1939–1945 war in Europe / stress / hardship
free cigarettes for military personnel
popularity of films which glamorized cigarette smoking
post 1945 reduction in military forces / hence cigarettes no longer free
mid 1950s–mid 1970s incomes increased
two small blips, probably triggered by cigarette tax increases:
people gave up smoking but not permanently
late 1970s increase in health education information about the links between
smoking and fatal diseases, such as lung cancer
It is likely that the trend has continued downward since 2000. Smoking may decline even
more rapidly following increasingly restrictive government legislation against smoking, for
example, smoking in public spaces, such as restaurants and bars, is now banned in the UK.
B TV and cinema trends in the UK
1930s cinema was a very popular form of mass entertainment
1936 BBC began TV broadcasts, but stopped during World War II
people avoid cinema during periods of bombing raids
1939–1945 World War II (in Europe) people avoid cinema during periods of
bombing raids
1948 BBC resumed TV broadcasts but TVs were expensive and
unreliable
cinema attendance revived as peace time conditions were restored,
and with the return home of the military personnel
1953 BBC’s first live outside broadcast – coronation of Queen Elizabeth
II; sudden surge in TV purchases
late 1970s TV in virtually every home / several channels / colour TV
low levels of investment in cinemas and in film industry
1980s TV and video popular
investment in film-making increased
new multi-screen cinema complexes in most cities
1990s satellite and digital (‘interactive’) TV offered more channels
2000 DVD films replacing video; DVD games; online entertainment
increased incomes / more bars and restaurants / families spend
more evenings out of the home

8.4 Speculating why EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
Students could extrapolate graphs into the future, and justify their predictions.
The key language for suggesting reasons, especially with caution (hedging), could be
explored.
Students could write a report summarizing and explaining the trends shown in graphs A
and B. If students are preparing for university study, it is important to encourage students
who are writing a report not to describe in detail the trends depicted in graphs such as these.
The purpose of a graph is to present this information visually, and academic writers never
re-present the same information verbally as there is no point. They simply refer to the trends
and concentrate on exploring the reasons for them.
Other trends more related to students’ home countries could be used in the same way.

8.4 Speculating why EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Graph A: Smoking trends in the UK

Average number
of cigarettes smoked per
person per year

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980

8.4 Speculating why EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Graph B: TV and cinema trends in the UK
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Average number Average number

of hours watching TV of cinema visits
per person per day per month per person

6 6

5 5
cinema

4 4

3 3

2 2

TV
1 1

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

8.4 Speculating why EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 8.5: It’s in the genes: preparing to fit new
information into what is already known
Teacher’s notes
Background
This activity consists of two pre-reading tasks for two authentic reading texts which relate to
the debate about the effects of genetics and environment (the nature–nurture debate).
The first task involves thinking critically about different meanings for key items of vocabulary
that will appear in the texts.
The second is a classification task which activates students’ background knowledge, and
relates this to the new information that will come in the reading texts. It demonstrates the
important role of making links between familiar and new ideas, as discussed in Chapter 8:
Critical thinking.

Aims
s to prepare students to read a text by getting them to think about what they already know
about the topic

s to analyse meanings critically

Material
Tasksheet 1: two pre-reading tasks
Tasksheet 2: two reading tasks (A and B)*

Procedure
1 Elicit from the class what they know about genes. It is not necessary to have a longer lead-in
as the two tasks themselves are lead-ins to reading tasks.
2 Elicit meanings from the class for the terms nature and environment, and record them on
the board.

‘Environment’ is likely to be understood only as

the air, water, and land on Earth and around us

and is very similar to ‘nature’

everything in the physical world that is not controlled by humans
3 Do not introduce any other meanings, unless students present them at this stage. Ask if they
can explain any difference between the two words.
4 Task 1: Present the three sentences from the two authentic academic texts and ask students,
in groups, to sort the highlighted words and phrases into two groups (as instructed on the
photocopiable tasksheet for Task 1).

*Text A is from Atkinson et al. (1996) Hilgard’s Introduction to Psychology, 12th edn. in Slaght, J. (2004) English for Academic Study:
Reading. Source book. Garnet Education: Reading.
Text B is adapted from a second year undergraduate text on Marketing entitled Consumption and Identity, Heriot-Watt University
Management Programme.

8.5 It’s in the genes EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
5 During class feedback, ask students to compare the meanings of nature and environment
in these sentences with those they knew before. It is important for students to realize that
many words in academic English have more than one meaning.
6 Task 2: Ask students to classify the features in the box according to whether they
result from heredity, environment or both (as instructed on the photocopiable
tasksheet for Task 2).

KEY

Task 1
List 1 List 2
‘nature’ ‘nurture’
heredity environment
inheritance upbringing
genetic difference environment
genes

Task 2

eye colour H intelligence B* ability to swim E

first language / mother tongue E height B blood group H
ability to win an Olympic swimming medal B gender / sex H

* This is a controversial area of discussion, but most of the disagreement is about (a) what is meant
by intelligence and (b) what proportion is genetic and what proportion is environmental.

Follow-up
s Reading comprehension based on the authentic texts, e.g., jigsaw reading
s Exploitation of the texts for academic language (cause and effect, argument and research)
s An exploration of how the Jim Twins text is actually used on a course can be found in Case
study B, The Jim Twins: same topic, different approach, in Chapter 3: Course design.

8.5 It’s in the genes EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1: Pre-reading
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 1
Study the highlighted words and phrases in the following three sentences, and put them into
two lists according to their meaning.
i The question of whether heredity (‘nature’) or environment (‘nurture’) is more important
in determining the course of human development has been debated through the
centuries.
ii By studying separated twins, scientists can remove the influence of a common upbringing
in a family in studying the effects of inheritance and the environment with respect to
personality formation.
iii In twins that are genetically identical, one would expect that any differences in behaviour
would be due to the environment.
List 1 List 2

Task 2
In the box below are several variable characteristics of human beings. Put them into three
groups, according to whether they are determined by our heredity (H), by our background,
education and environment (E), or are influenced by both genes and environment (B).
Write the appropriate letters in the spaces provided.

eye colour intelligence ability to swim

first language / mother tongue height blood group
ability to win an Olympic swimming medal gender / sex

8.5 It’s in the genes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2: Reading
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

A Interaction between nature and nurture*

The question of whether heredity (‘nature’) or environment (‘nurture’) is more important in
determining the course of human development has been debated through the centuries. For
example, the seventeenth-century British philosopher John Locke rejected the prevailing
notion of his day that babies were miniature adults who arrived in the world fully equipped
with abilities and knowledge and who simply had to grow in order for these inherited
characteristics to appear. On the contrary, Locke believed that the mind of a newborn infant
is a ‘blank slate’ (tabula rasa). What gets written on this slate is what the baby experiences –
what he or she sees, hears, tastes, smells and feels. According to Locke, all knowledge comes
to us through our senses. It is provided by experience; no knowledge or ideas are built in ...
Today most psychologists agree not only that both nature and nurture play important roles
but that they interact continuously to guide development …

8.5 It’s in the genes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 B The ‘Jim Twins’
Social scientists are especially keen to study monozygotic (identical) twins which have been
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

separated from birth. As such twins are genetically identical, one would expect that any
differences in behaviour would be due to the environment. By studying separated twins,
scientists can remove the influence of a common upbringing in a family in studying the
effects of inheritance and the environment with respect to personality formation.
The ‘Jim Twins’, Jim Lewis and Jim Springer were twins who had been adopted from birth by
separate families. They first met in 1979 after they had been separated for thirty-nine years.
Apart from having the same first names, they had many other things in common, including
their wives’ first names and a number of vocational and consumption preferences. They each
drove Chevrolet cars, chain-smoked, had a preference for beer and had vacationed on the
same beach on the Florida Gulf Coast.
The study of the ‘Jim Twins’ seems to indicate that inherited characteristics play a key
role in determining identity and consumption behaviour. However, one must be cautious
in interpreting such findings. For example, just as the fact that both boys were called ‘Jim’
is not an effect of heredity, so it is not at all unusual for middle-aged men from the USA to
drive Chevrolets and drink beer.
Fascinating coincidences about their lives do not link in any conclusive way to any
contemporary theories about inheritance. In other research, twins have adopted quite
different behaviours, for example, one twin in the same study grew up to be a proficient
pianist in a non-musical family while her sister who was adopted by a piano teacher did not
take to the instrument.
(278 words)

8.5 It’s in the genes EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8.6: Seeing beyond the text: assumptions and
implications
Teacher’s notes
Background
These activities require students to look beyond the literal meaning of a text to identify hidden
assumptions about meaning in a claim, implications from information presented in a text, and
an underlying assumption in an argument.

Aims
s to recognize that the writer and reader can have different understandings of meaning in a
text

s to extend information by using what students know about the world

s to identify unstated information by using what students know about the world

Material
Three tasksheets for visual presentation or handouts
One set of suggestions (Teacher’s visual)

Procedure
Tasksheet 1: Doctors should be honest
1 Elicit from the class some statements that everyone can agree with.
2 Present Tasksheet 1: Doctors should be honest. Ask whether the whole class agrees with
this statement.
3 Ask students to work in groups to complete the sentence for b.
4 Elicit a list of possible meanings of honest.
5 Use the Teacher’s visual: Doctors should be honest suggestions to reveal and explore
possible meanings of honest.
6 Ask students to discuss in groups which interpretations of the statement they agree with.
What do they think the writer meant? Point out the ambiguity in the sentence (for example,
it could mean that doctors never tell lies or that they never steal money from their patients).
An academic writer needs to say what they mean, i.e., to specify meaning unambiguously.

Cultural awareness note: Prepare for any issues around the use of this example, e.g.,
‘government officials’.
Tasksheet 2: The international effects of global climate change
1 Start a discussion on the effects of climate change – what effects are evident now; what are
other likely effects in the future? They are unlikely to know the possibility outlined in the
text.
2 Distribute Tasksheet 2. Students discuss the question in groups.
3 Offer the key as appropriate.

8.6 Seeing beyond the text EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Tasksheet 3: Customs unions*
1 Elicit the possible meanings of a customs union – do not allow dictionaries at this stage –
and help the class by shaping the response with hints and clues. For example, it’s a union
between countries.
2 Distribute Tasksheet 3. Allow time for students to read the text. The text is difficult in
terms of language, but the task is achievable without fully understanding the text – in fact,
the task helps the student to see the main point of the text.
3 Direct students to the key sentence, which is highlighted.
4 Students should discuss the questions in pairs.

KEY
Tasksheet 1: Doctors should be honest
Suggestions (also available as visual)
The statement Doctors should be honest might mean any or all of the following:
1 Doctors should not take bribes.
2 Doctors should speak out against bad health policies from government.
3 Doctors should tell patients everything, even when the news is very bad.
4 Doctors should tell government officials about the health problems of their patients.
5 Doctors should tell insurance companies about the health problems of their patients.
Do the students agree with all or only some of these statements?
Tasksheet 2: The international effects of global climate change
Suggestions: fishing / shipping; there may be others
Tasksheet 3: Customs unions
1 up 2 beneficial

Follow-up
s Always take the opportunity to identify the key language in the texts that has helped
students to achieve the tasks. For example, Text 3 is rich in cause–effect and evaluative
language.

s Keep looking for assumptions and implications in reading texts when planning lessons
as these are rarely exploited in course books.

*Adapted from a first year undergraduate text on International Economics entitled International Economic Integration, Heriot-
Watt University Management Programme

8.6 Seeing beyond the text EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Doctors should be honest

a Doctors should be honest.
Do you agree with this statement?
b Complete the sentence below in as many different ways as you can.
A doctor who is honest should …

8.6 Seeing beyond the text EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Doctors should be honest

Suggestions
The statement Doctors should be honest
might mean any or all of the following:
1 Doctors should not take bribes.
2 Doctors should speak out against bad
health policies from government.
3 Doctors should tell patients everything,
even when the news is very bad.
4 Doctors should tell government officials
about the health problems of their
patients.
5 Doctors should tell insurance companies
about the health problems of their
patients.
Do you agree with all or only some of
these?

8.6 Seeing beyond the text EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

The international effects of global climate change

While the USA is suffering hurricanes, some South Pacific Islands are being claimed by rising
sea levels and Beijing has sandstorms, many people in Britain are enjoying the effects of
global warming. They have warmer weather in winter, longer summers, and the chance to
grow exotic fruits such as grapes. However, scientists are warning that conditions in the UK
could, in fact, get much colder.
The reason for this gloomy forecast is that the expected climate change is likely to alter the
world’s sea currents in ways that are at present difficult to foresee. The relatively warm sea
currents that surround the UK, keeping the worst of the continental winter at bay, could
swing away, leaving the citizens of Edinburgh to face winters resembling those of Moscow,
with which Edinburgh shares its latitude.

Question
The writer mentions that the world’s sea currents could alter, but does not mention any
international effects of this. Which industry or industries could be directly affected by this
change?

8.6 Seeing beyond the text EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 3
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Customs unions
What could also be argued is that the most beneficial aspect of a customs union is that,
with the enlargement of the market, there is an overall increase in the opportunities in the
market, which acts as a stimulus to the pace of change. It is a one-off injection into the
economy, which has long term if not permanent repercussions. It can have significant effects
on the rate of investment and on the level of research and development. Even if the short
run costs outweigh the benefits, i.e., trade diversion is greater than trade creation, the long
term benefits, some of which are not directly measurable, more than compensate the short
run costs.

Questions
1 Does the writer assume that the rate of investment and the level of research and
development will go up or down?
2 Is the main point of the text that customs unions are beneficial or harmful?

8.6 Seeing beyond the text EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 3 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 8.7: What’s wrong with these claims? Faulty
reasoning and counter argument
Teacher’s notes
Background
This group or class activity generally causes amusement at first. It presents some easily identified
faulty reasoning, but students find it very difficult to articulate what is wrong with the claims
so that they can counter-argue. The task was actually devised as scaffolding for an essay:
‘Statistics should be interpreted with caution as they can be misleading: they can both lie and
tell the truth; discuss’.* But it does not need to be linked to an essay.

Aims
s to identify and argue against faulty reasoning

Material
A visual of six claims which exemplify faulty reasoning
A visual of model answers

Procedure
1 Present the six statements and wait for a reaction – usually laughter.
2 Ask the students in groups to work out a response to show how the claims are based on
faulty reasoning. Assign claims to groups according to the time available.
3 Groups can compare written answers with each other and with the model answers –
written by an EAP class in the UK.

Follow-up
s Ask students to identify useful language for counter arguing from the model texts.
s Ask students to identify argument moves, such as claim and counter-argument, in
authentic academic texts. These are often found in textbooks where historical
discussions are outlined,** and in the discussion section of research reports.

*Pallant, A (2004) English for Academic Study: Writing. Course book, page 32. Garnet Education: Reading
**For example, see Classroom materials 8.5, Text A.

8.7 What’s wrong with these claims? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual 1
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

What’s wrong with these claims?

1 Bed is the most dangerous place in the
home: over 90% of people die in bed.
2 Air travel was much safer in the 1920s
than it is today. Many more people are
killed every year in plane crashes now
than in the early days of air travel.
3 Bread should be banned: more than 90
per cent of violent crimes in the UK are
committed within 24 hours of eating
bread.
4 Prison doesn’t stop crime: 35% of
prisoners commit another crime on
release.
5 Crimes are related to the number of
police in an area: the more police there
are, the more crimes there are.
6 Smoking increases your chance of
dying.

8.7 What’s wrong with these claims? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual 2
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Model answers
These are authentic suggested answers from an undergraduate
class.
1 This argument ignores the underlying assumption that all
people die. Just before people die, they get ill and usually
go to bed, so it follows that most people die in bed. However,
the bed could also be in a hospital and not at home.
The argument also compares things which are not similar
and therefore should not be compared: dying from
dangerous accidents or murder, and dying naturally.
2 The argument is based on an incorrect use of statistics/
numbers. Many more people fly now than in the 1920s.
In order to compare these two time periods, we need to
use proportion/percentages to express the data. We will
then see that a very small proportion of people die in plane
crashes now compared to the 1920s.
3 The problem with this argument has to do with correlation,
i.e., if two things happen together they are linked together.
In this case, the two events are not related. Eating bread is
very common so it is likely that most of the population will
have done this in a 24-hour period. However, most of the
population do not commit violent crimes.
4 This statement is too general. Prison doesn’t stop all crime
but it does stop some crime: 65% of people do not commit
a crime when they are released and the 35% who do re-
offend cannot do this while they are in prison.
5 This argument confuses cause and effect. If there are large
numbers of crimes (cause), more police will be drafted in
to solve them (effect).
6 This argument ignores the same underlying assumption
as 1, i.e., that everyone dies. Your chance of dying is 100%.
But smoking increases your chance of dying early/young.

8.7 What’s wrong with these claims? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8.8: Critical analysis: evaluating dictionaries
Teacher’s notes
Background
Critical analysis or critical evaluation is a very common type of assignment for undergraduate
students in English-medium university courses. This activity is a simulated critical analysis
based on evaluating a familiar classroom resource. It is best run over two lessons. First, the
students devise criteria to evaluate dictionaries, and then these are applied to the range of
dictionaries available to them. It can be used with most groups at most levels as the criteria
that emerge can vary in sophistication.

Aims
s to work through the necessary steps for critical analysis

Material
Teacher’s visual for the lead-in
A suitable range and number of dictionaries that are likely to be used by students in the class –
whether good or bad (it is useful to tell students in advance to bring these in for this lesson)

Procedure
1 Ask students what kind of assignments they think they will have to do at university (if
they are in-sessional, they can give an accurate list). Introduce the idea of a critical analysis
assignment through the student’s comment on the teacher’s visual. Explain that they are
going to do one too. However, the topic is not farm management – it is dictionaries.
2 Elicit or ask students to brainstorm what they think they want from a dictionary. These will
be the criteria for evaluation. Allow all reasonable suggestions.
3 Ask students to organize the suggestions into groups and subgroups. For example,
one class who did this had a category Convenience, which included price, size and
weight. Another useful criterion is a test to see if adequate information is given for
one or two key academic words that students can choose. Elicit whether any of the
criteria are more important than others.
4 Jointly with the class, collate the criteria, organized under suitable category headings with
the most important ones first, into a list for the whole class.
5 Next lesson, divide the class into groups of three or four, and let each choose one dictionary
to evaluate according to the criteria from the previous lesson.
6 Bring the groups together for a report back, and see if you can get a consensus about which
dictionaries are most useful and why.

Cultural note: Allow students to be co-researchers with you in this activity; too much
direction as to what is good or bad is counter-productive. Save your views for another time –
you might be surprised, for example, at how good electronic dictionaries are becoming.

Follow-up
s Ask groups or individuals to write up their critical analysis, using a model format from
a real student text. (Be careful as these vary from department to department.)

s Get students to suggest other subjects for this type of critical analysis.

8.8 Critical analysis EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Critical evaluation means looking for

good points and bad points weighing
them up that sort of thing. If you
critically analyse something you weigh
up its good and bad points and maybe
compare it to other similar things or
methods. Recently I had to do a critical
analysis of a conservation management
plan format. I had to say how easily this
format could be applied to a local farm.
Final year native English-speaking
student: BA Environmental
Conservation

Discuss how you would evaluate the

dictionaries that you regularly use.
What criteria would you use?

8.8 Critical analysis EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8.9: EAP pills: setting up and testing a
hypothesis
Teacher’s notes
Background
This activity simulates a research project. Can vocabulary learning be improved by taking
EAP pills? Students work together to design a test for a manufacturer’s claim. This task is
actually the most abstract and advanced of the thinking tasks – the basis of all research – but is
simple in terms of language and information load. Students usually complete it in 15 minutes
or so. Older students are generally much quicker than younger ones because they are already
familiar with the concepts and only have to re-present them in English. The outcome is an
outline experimental design. It is a fun way to introduce the topic of research or to start
preparing students for a small research project.

Aims
s to understand the concepts that underpin controlled experiments in science and social
science

s to clarify the language needed to discuss these concepts

Material
A pack of EAP pills, i.e., any tablets or sweets, e.g., throat sweets
Teacher’s visual of manufacturer’s advertising claim
Tasksheet showing suggested answer

Procedure
1 Elicit a general discussion of what helps you to study; move the discussion to vocabulary.
Do not pre-teach any key vocabulary, but let the students find it themselves, or supply it to
groups who are struggling.
2 At a suitable point, show the class your pack of EAP pills. Explain that the manufacturer
claims they help to boost academic vocabulary if taken once a day for two weeks. Present
the visual showing the manufacturer’s claim.
3 Ask the students in groups to discuss how they would test the claim, and ask them to write
their research design on a visual for class discussion. Alternatively, students could compare
their texts with the suggested key to identify any points they have missed.

Younger students sometimes miss the point and give shallow answers such as ‘analyse the
pills’. Probe such students with questions to lead them towards a better understanding of
what is involved in testing a hypothesis.

Follow-up
s Study the suggested answer for key language for research.
s Read about classic experiments in the subject disciplines relevant to the students, for
example, all Management students read about the Hawthorne experiments. Ask
students to find out at least one classic experiment in their field of study, and be
prepared to describe it in the next lesson. If they have not yet begun their university
studies, they can look in introductory text books on first-year reading lists.

8.9 EAP pills EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Teacher’s visual
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Boost your memory with

EAP pills
Take one of these every day
In just three weeks you’ll notice the
difference
Your EAP vocabulary will be improved
100%

Discuss how you would find out if this claim

is true.

8.9 EAP pills EAP Essentials

Teacher’s visual © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: EAP pills
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Suggested answer

You need:
s enough EAP pills for 15 people for the length of time specified by the manufacturer

s two reliable and valid EAP vocabulary tests, A and B

Procedure
1 Give all 30 volunteers Test A and divide them into two groups of 15, matched for grammar
test scores (you can do this by making sure each group has the same average score).
2 Give one group, E (experimental), the pills to take as instructed by the pharmaceutical
company and the other, C (control), no pills (or ‘placebos’ – check in your dictionary).
3 After the specified length of time, give Test B. Use statistics to find out if there is a
significant difference between the two groups.
Another possibility: instead of matching the two groups, assign people randomly to E
and C. Then measure their improvement between Tests A and B, and check whether
any difference between average improvement in E and average improvement in C is
statistically significant.

8.9 EAP pills EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8.10: Should teachers do your washing?
Controversial views in the classroom
Teacher’s notes
Background
In this activity, students simulate the moves in academic argument. They learn to anticipate
counter-arguments in order to rebut them.

Aims
s to understand and produce some simple moves in an argument

Material
Tasksheet showing controversial views

Procedure
1 Elicit from the whole class what they think could be done to help them study more
effectively. What do they think you could do to help – wash their clothes? Use their
reactions to illustrate the term controversial.
2 Divide the class into groups of five to seven. Each group selects a controversial view from
the list.

Half the group works together to find support for the view (the Fors), and the other half
works on support for a counter-argument against the view (the Againsts).

Go round suggesting ideas if necessary. The two halves of the group should not confer.
3 At a suitable point, the Fors present an argument for the view and the Againsts have
to counter with a relevant counter-argument. The Fors can then challenge the counter-
argument or go on to a different argument in support of the view. This can be done with
groups working simultaneously, or one by one in front of the class. However, it should be as
spontaneous as possible.
4 Monitor the exchanges for key language exponents.

Cultural note: How successful these particular items are at stimulating discussion depends
on the relationship between you and the students. You should feel free to change any or all
of the items to suit your situation.

KEY
1 is done here as an example.
For: If you don’t understand and you can’t answer the teacher’s questions, you can hide
behind the others. [argument]
Against: But working in groups lets you see lots of different ideas from different people, so
you learn more. [counter-argument]
For: But some of the ideas are no good. [rebuttal]
Against: But working in groups helps us to learn how to choose the good ideas for ourselves.
[counter-argument]

8.10 Should teachers do your washing? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
The whole group could review and write down the best exchanges on a visual. You can then
get the whole class to help you to shape the exchanges into the moves in an argument text.

Model
1 Working in groups is bad because it encourages weak students to let the others do the
work.
For
Working in groups is bad. It encourages weak students to let the others do the work because
if you don’t understand and you can’t answer the teacher’s questions, you can hide behind
the others. Although working in groups lets you see lots of different ideas from different
people, some of the ideas are no good.
Against
Although working in groups can encourage weak students to let the others do the work, this
method of working lets you see lots of different ideas from different people, so you learn
more. It is true that some of the ideas are no good, but working in groups helps us to learn
how to choose the good ideas for ourselves.

8.10 Should teachers do your washing? EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Controversial views
Your group should select a controversial view.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Then half the group should give arguments in support of each of these claims (the Fors), and
the other group should give arguments against each of these claims (the Againsts)
1 Working in groups is bad because it encourages weak students to let the others do the
work.
2 The Internet provides students with valuable information for their degree studies.
3 Students need to study away from their home country to really understand what
international means.
4 Students would not waste their time playing computer games if they were not allowed to
have computers in their rooms.
5 Students would have more time to study if the teachers did their washing for them.
6 It is an important part of a university teacher’s responsibility to report regularly on each
student’s progress to the parents.
7 Students who go home at weekends do not spend enough time on their studies. They
should only go home for national holidays.
8 It would help students to improve their speaking skills if teachers had their lunch with
them.

8.10 Should teachers do your washing? EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
8.11: Smoking twins: Exploiting a text for
critical thinking tasks
Teacher’s notes
Background
These materials are a suggested answer to Task 12 in Chapter 8: Critical thinking.

Aims
s to exploit a text for critical thinking tasks

Material
Photocopiable tasksheet 1: Pre-reading task
Photocopiable tasksheet 2: Reading
Photocopiable tasksheet 3: Critical thinking tasks
Photocopiable key

Procedure
1 If you know the class well, ask the smokers in the class to confess. Is there a gender/age
difference in smokers in their countries? Give the pre-reading Task 1b from Classroom
materials 8.5, It’s in the genes. This asks students to reflect on and organize their own
relevant knowledge.

UÊ />ÎÅiiÌÊ£]Ê>Ê«Ài‡Ài>`ˆ˜}ÊÌ>ÎÊ̜Ê>V̈Û>Ìiʎ˜œÜi`}iʈ˜ÊÀi>̈œ˜Ê̜Ê̅iÊÌiÝÌ°
2 Elicit what students know about the effects of smoking. They are unlikely to know the
effect examined in the text. Distribute the text Smoking Twins, and allow one minute for
them to find the effect discussed in the research.
3 Give out Tasksheet 3 for students to complete individually or in pairs or groups. Ask them
to read the text closely to complete:
UÊ />Îʣ]Ê܅ˆV…Ê>ÎÃÊÃÌÕ`i˜ÌÃÊ̜Ê}ˆÛiÊ>ÊÀi>ܘʈ˜Ê̅iˆÀʜܘÊܜÀ`Ã
UÊ />ÎÊÓ]Ê̜ÊiÝ«>ˆ˜Ê>˜Ê՘ÃÌ>Ìi`ʈ“«ˆV>̈œ˜ÊœÀÊ>ÃÃՓ«Ìˆœ˜Êˆ˜Ê̅iÊÌiÝÌ
UÊ />ÎÊÎ]Ê̜Ê̅ˆ˜ŽÊœvʜ̅iÀÊ«œÃÈLiÊÀi>ܘÃÊvœÀÊ̅iÊÀiÃՏÌÃ
UÊ />ÎÊ{]Ê̜ʈ`i˜ÌˆvÞÊ>Ê«ÀœLi“Ê܈̅Ê̅iÊiۈ`i˜ViʜÀÊÜÕÀViʜvʈ˜vœÀ“>̈œ˜
4 The class should compare their ideas before studying the key and clarifying the suggested
answers.

8.11 Smoking twins EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Suggested answers

Tasksheet 1

eye colour H intelligence B* first language / mother tongue E

height B blood group H ability to swim E
ability to win an Olympic swimming medal B gender / sex H

*This is a controversial area of discussion, but most of the disagreement is about (a)
what is meant by intelligence and (b) what proportion is genetic and what proportion is
environmental.

Tasksheet 3

Task 1
Identical twins have exactly the same genes. This means that any differences between them,
for example, skin thickness, are caused by environmental factors such as lifestyle, and not
by differences inherited from parents. Identical twins allow the researcher to control for
genetic difference.

Task 2
If we assume that females are concerned not to look older than they are, they will be more
likely to give up smoking if they know that smoking makes them look older. This could be
the basis for an advertising campaign.
The writer also implies/assumes that women are more vain than men.

Task 3
There are many possibilities including: diet, amount of exercise, alcohol consumption, type
of job, urban or rural location, whether married or single.

Task 4
It is not clear in the text whether smoking was the only difference between the twins. For
example, perhaps smokers take less exercise because they get out of breath quickly, and it is
lack of exercise that makes their skin look older. It is possible that smokers are more health-
conscious and eat healthier food than non-smokers. However, the researchers did have an
explanation that directly linked smoking to skin condition in terms of the blood supply to
the skin, and this strengthens their conclusion.

8.11 Smoking twins EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 1: Pre-reading task
In the box below are several variable characteristics of human beings. Put them into three
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

groups, according to whether they are determined by our heredity (H), by our background,
education and environment (E), or are influenced by both genes and environment (B). Write
the appropriate letters in the spaces provided.

eye colour intelligence ability to swim

first language / mother tongue height blood group
ability to win an Olympic swimming medal gender / sex

8.11 Smoking twins EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 1 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 2: Reading
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Smoking twins
Doctors at a teaching hospital in London in the early 90s set out to investigate the health
effects of different lifestyles, such as choosing to smoke or not to smoke, on skin, bones and
joints. The best way to control for the effects of genetic difference is to use identical twins,
because in this type the twins have exactly the same genes. The researchers gathered data
from 25 pairs of identical twins who had agreed to take part in the survey. In each pair of
twins, there was one smoker and one non-smoker.
The twins underwent skin thickness tests using ultrasound. In addition, photographs were
taken showing microscopic details of the skin surface. In the results, the smokers had
considerably thinner, drier and less supple or elastic skin than their non-smoking twins. The
results demonstrated conclusively that smoking has an aging effect on the skin. The experts
who carried out the research believe that chemicals released in the body when a person
smokes break down skin tissue. The blood supply to the skin is also known to be affected
by smoking and the reduced blood supply leads to the destruction of tissue in the top layer
of skin.
The effect of these changes on the appearance of the skin can be a noticeably more aged
look with more obvious wrinkles. In the UK, where male smoking is in decline but female
smoking is still increasing, this new finding could have implications for future government
anti-smoking campaigns.
(250 words)

8.11 Smoking twins EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 2 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet 3: Critical thinking tasks
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Task 2

Giving reasons
Explain in one or two sentences why identical twins were used in this survey.

Task 3

Explaining implications
What do you think are the implications mentioned in the last paragraph, reprinted here?
Write one or two sentences.
The effect of these changes on the appearance of the skin can be a noticeably more aged
look with more obvious wrinkles. In the UK, where male smoking is in decline but female
smoking is still increasing, this new finding could have implications for future government
anti-smoking campaigns.

Task 4

Presenting your own/alternative ideas

Suggest factors other than smoking that could have contributed to the results.

Task 5

Evaluating
In the text you have read, there is a problem in drawing the conclusion about the effect of
smoking from the evidence found. Can you say what it is?

8.11 Smoking twins EAP Essentials

Tasksheet 3 © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
9.1: Self-access quiz: Am I an independent
learner?
Teacher’s notes
Background
This short quiz is part of an introduction to a self-access centre, but can also be used in class
to raise awareness of learning independently. It is designed to be fairly light-hearted, and the
design follows that of the type of quiz often found in magazines, for example, ‘How ambitious/
health-conscious/superstitious are you?’

Aims
s to raise awareness of what independent learning means
s to share an independent learner agenda
s to stimulate reflection on learning strategies
s to find out roughly how autonomous a student is

Material
The quiz tasksheet and self-scoring key

Procedure
The quiz is designed for students to use entirely on their own. It can be given during a
self-access centre induction session, or as part of an EAP induction pack. It has also been
adapted for an induction unit for a distance-learning foundation English course. It should
be followed up in a tutorial session once the students have started to use the centre. The
questions and suggestions can be the beginning of a reflective dialogue between teacher and
students.

Follow-up
The quiz can be used in class to introduce a number of independent learning strategies in
lessons in which students will be able to experience them.

9.1 Self-access quiz EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Quiz
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Am I an independent learner? Circle the right answer: yes / no.

Read each question and choose the best answer for you by circling the appropriate letter or
using a tick (✓) in the table below. Don’t write anything on the questions. Choose only one
answer for each question. When you have finished all the questions, check your answers in the
key, and add up your total score.

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7
a a a a a a a
b b b b b b b
c c c c c c c
d d d d d d d

You may use a dictionary if necessary, to help you to understand the questions.
Q1 In the skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, my level of English …
a is different for different skills.
b is beginner/elementary.
c I don’t know, and I’d like a teacher to tell me.
d is really bad.
Q2 My weakest/worst skills are ...
a everything.
b I don’t know, and I’d like my teacher to tell me.
c Listening and Speaking.
d Reading and Writing.
Q3 When I do English exercises which have the answers in the book ...
a I check my answers with the correct answers, sometimes during the exercise, and
always at the end of the exercise.
b I wait until I get to the end of the book before I check my answers.
c I do not want to know the answers; I just want to do the exercises.
d I prefer a teacher to mark my answers.
Q4 When I need to find the meaning of a word ...
a I prefer to ask a teacher.
b I use an English-only Learners’ dictionary which gives examples and sentences.
c I use a bilingual dictionary (English into my language).
d I use both b and c.

9.1 Self-access quiz EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Q5 When I have finished an English exercise and my score is almost 100% (e.g., 19/20),
this means:
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a I am good at English.
b I can do more English exercises at this level.
c I should ask a teacher what to do next.
d I should try something more difficult.
Q6 When I have finished an English exercise and my score is very low (e.g., 2/20), this
means:
a I should check my mistakes carefully.
b I should find a similar exercise at an easier level.
c both a and b.
d I should ask a teacher what to do next.
Q7 If I am trying to learn new words and I can’t remember them …
a I should go for a coffee and try again later.
b I should sleep with the list of words under my pillow.
c I should try a different way to learn them.
d I should just try harder.
Now check your total score, using the self-scoring key.

9.1 Self-access quiz EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Self-scoring key
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7
a=3 a=1 a=3 a=0 a=1 a=2 a=2
b=2 b=0 b=0 b=3 b=0 b=2 b=0
c=0 c=3 c=0 c=1 c=0 c=3 c=3
d=1 d=3 d=0 d=3 d=3 d=1 d=1

What does my score mean?

Less than 10 You have been depending on a lot of help from a teacher when you don’t need
to. But don’t worry, you can improve! The self-access centre can help you to become more
independent. Be careful to follow our advice, and you will find that you improve by yourself.
11 to 16 You are quite independent in some ways, but you still tend to rely heavily on a
teacher’s advice. Most students are just like you. To get the most benefit from the self-access
centre, think about your whole approach to learning, and be flexible. Think about and plan
what you do carefully, go over your mistakes carefully, and think about what they show. Think
for yourself! We will remind you about these important things as you work in the centre.
17–21 You know how to be an independent learner. You should be able to use the self-access
centre very effectively and efficiently to improve your English. Occasionally, you might need
help or advice. Use the hints and notes in the materials, and ask a tutor when you need
help.

Thinking about your learning

Did you guess whether you were an independent learner correctly before you started the
quiz? Look back to see.
Nobody can really teach you English: you have to learn it.
Look at your answers again, and read the scoring system below to understand what each
answer shows about you.

What do my answers show about me as a learner?

Q1 If you answered:
a=3 You have started to think about your English as a set of different skills.
b=2 You are underestimating yourself because you need to be at least lower
intermediate to understand this quiz. Be more confident in yourself.
c=0 As an adult learner, you should be able to say something about your skills
yourself without a teacher.
d=1 Your confidence is really low! See b above.
Q2 If you answered:
a=1 You are not prioritizing your needs, i.e., thinking about what you need to
work on most.
b=0 As an adult learner, you should have an idea of what skills need the most work
(see Question 1). It is probably something you hate doing, but start now!

9.1 Self-access quiz EAP Essentials

Self-scoring key (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 c=3 You have started to prioritize your needs.
d=3 You have started to prioritize your needs.
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Q3 If you answered:
a=3 You know that you need feedback on your work, and that you can get this
quickly. This helps you work efficiently at your own speed.
b=0 This means that you don’t learn what is correct or incorrect well because
the answers come too long after you have done the exercise.
c=0 This means that you never learn what is correct or incorrect.
d=0 Does this mean you don’t trust yourself to be honest?
Q4 If you answered:
a=0 It’s difficult, even for a teacher, to give you everything you need to know
about a word. What do you do when you don’t have a teacher?
b=3 If you do this, you don’t waste time, and you work well on your own. This
type of dictionary helps you to use words properly, not just catch some of
the meaning.
c=1 Although you are working independently, you may not be getting enough
vocabulary information from your dictionary to use the word properly in
English.
d=3 This is an excellent strategy, especially when you are not confident enough
yet to use only an English dictionary. You can get the meaning in your own
language, and also find out how to use the word properly.
Q5 If you answered:
a=1 You are only ‘good’ at the level of the exercise!
b=0 Don’t waste your time! You should try something more difficult.
c=0 Think for yourself! Work on something you need more.
d=3 Yes, it’s important not to waste time on work which teaches you nothing. You
need an exercise in which you make some mistakes; mistakes teach you a lot.
Q6 If you answered:
a=2 Yes, see what you can learn from your mistakes.
b=2 Yes, this will give you what you need at your level.
c=3 This is a combination of two good learning strategies.
d=1 You should be able to work out what to do yourself but, if you are really
worried, it is OK to find a teacher to help if you can.
Q7 If you answered:
a=2 Sometimes a coffee break helps your concentration.
b=0 This really does not work!
c=3 Good. Be flexible and try different ways of learning. You will meet many
different ways of learning in this course.
d=1 It sounds good, but it isn’t. Students who say I will work harder, and who
keep trying to learn in the same way, never succeed. You need to change
your way of learning.

9.1 Self-access quiz EAP Essentials

Self-scoring key (2of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 9.2: Correction code and error log
Teacher’s notes
Background
This is a typical EAP teacher’s correction code, together with an error log. Most teachers
use one during the supervising/facilitating stages of giving feedback on writing. A correction
code and error log can be adapted for use by students at all levels. The ones presented here
have been used mainly for pre-sessional, foundation, and in-sessional work. The contents
will change constantly as the teacher and the students change their focus. It is important that
correction codes do not focus too much on surface features at the expense of text organization
and purpose, cohesion and meaning.

Aims
s to raise awareness of the criteria used to assess writing
s to provide a basis for self-correction and proofreading
s to provide a focus for individual and class reflective discussion with the teacher*
s to provide a way of noticing patterns in a student’s errors, and also longer-term
improvement

Material
A correction code (tasksheet), to be used by the teacher when checking all kinds of student
writing for feedback, and by students when correcting their work. It includes an exercise to
help students to learn the meaning of the code in terms of error types. For this purpose, it
is better to use items from texts generated by the class if possible, in order to make learning
more personally relevant.
A personal error log, to show the frequency of different error types. This log, usually printed
on the back of the correction code, is completed and kept by students.

Procedure
1 The documents and the principles on which they are based should be introduced
at an early stage in the course, ideally before the first piece of marked writing is
returned. At this stage, the students need to learn the code by first learning how to
apply it themselves, using a task similar to the one given, but with a text from the
class to make the exercise more relevant.
2 The code should become so familiar that it can be used in board work. It is important
that the correction code does not take the place of other important types of feedback,
such as feedback on task achievement. It also needs to be flexible, and adapted to
suit the teacher, the students, and their specific focus; therefore it will change as the
course proceeds.
3 Students should be encouraged to use the error log, firstly to remind them of their
most frequent proofreading errors, and, secondly, to focus on weak areas in their
writing as part of a regular review process.

*See Chapter 9: Student autonomy for an explanation of reflective discussion

9.2 Correction code and error log EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
4 As students become more independent, they can negotiate the nature of teacher
feedback, and the correction code will change accordingly.

KEY
The corrected sentence reads:
Most people believe that working in groups is good and there is some evidence to support
this opinion.

9.2 Correction code and error log EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Writing correction code
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Symbol Meaning Symbol Meaning

WW wrong word, think of s/pl singular or plural?
another word

NNS not native speaker: the art wrong use of article

meaning is clear but it (e.g., the, a, some, no
is foreign usage (check article)
collocation)

WC wrong word class, think vbts wrong verb tense

of another word in the
same family

style too informal, not s→v subject–verb

academic, inappropriate agreement (often
for purpose add s for he, she, it in
simple present)

?M meaning unclear sp check spelling

[] not necessary, miss this caps problem with capitals

out

WO change the word order punct punctuation problem

(. ,)

L information is not linked ^ word or words missing

properly (usually wrong
linking word)

Coh. cohesion poor (e.g., Rep. unnecessary repetition

wrong pronoun of information
reference or which is in
the wrong place)

O organization of ideas is ✓ this is very good

wrong (try general to
specific or given to new
information)
Para poor paragraph ✓✓ this is excellent
organization

Irr. information irrelevant to

task/purpose of text

Task 1
Cover the key and try to mark the text, using the correction code in the same way that a
teacher would.
Whereare, most of people believe that working in group is good There are some views to
support this opinion.

9.2 Correction code and error log EAP Essentials

Tasksheet © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 KEY
sp / L ✓ s/pl
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Whereare, most [of] people believe that working in group is good

punct WW ✓
There are some views to support this opinion.

9.2 Correction code and error log EAP Essentials

Key © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Error log
Checklist of errors in writing Name ……………………………………
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Date ……………………………………

Writing 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Number
of words
WW

NNS

WC

s/pl

vbts

s→v

sp

caps

punct

style

?M

[]

WO

Coh.

Irr.

Rep.

art

Para

✓ or ✓✓

Total errors

I need to
work on …

Adapted, with thanks, from the error log used by Kenneth Anderson and Tony Lynch at the Institute for Applied Language
Studies, University of Edinburgh.

9.2 Correction code and error log EAP Essentials

Error log © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
10.1: Applying assessment criteria
Teacher’s notes
Background
These exercises help students to understand how their coursework will be assessed, by giving
them the assessment descriptors that will be used to grade their work, and showing how these
have been applied to essays written by former students. Students can then evaluate their own
work. An important aspect of this exercise is the opportunity for discussion of assessment
descriptors and their application with peers and with the teacher.

Aims
s to familiarize students with the criteria and standards used to grade their work
s to provide an opportunity to apply these criteria and standards to sample essays
s to examine feedback from a teacher which is linked to the assessment criteria

Material
Student writing in response to a specific question or topic, e.g., an exam question or a piece
of writing set for homework.
Assessment descriptors for evaluating student writing (an example set is given but you
should use the descriptors for your institution). Examples of writing, in response to a similar
question, done by former students, which can be used to practise applying the descriptors.

Procedure
1 In small groups, students discuss the following questions:
UÊ œÜÊ`œÊޜÕÊ̅ˆ˜ŽÊޜÕÀÊÜÀˆÌÌi˜ÊܜÀŽÊŜՏ`ÊLiÊ>ÃÃiÃÃi`¶
UÊ 7…>ÌÊ>ëiVÌÃÊŜՏ`Ê̅iÊÌi>V…iÀÊVœ˜Ãˆ`iÀʈ˜ÊœÀ`iÀÊ̜Ê}ˆÛiÊޜÕÊÕÃivՏÊvii`L>VŽ¶
UÊ 7…ˆV…ÊœvÊ̅iÃiÊ>ëiVÌÃÊ܈ÊLiʓœÃÌʈ“«œÀÌ>˜ÌÊvœÀÊ>ÃÃiÃÓi˜Ìʜ˜Ê՘ˆÛiÀÈÌÞÊVœÕÀÃiö
Students will usually identify the main categories of task achievement, organization and
language, but will often be able to give more detail for language, e.g., grammar and
vocabulary, than for the other aspects. They may also consider language to be more
important at university than either organization or task achievement, although there is
likely to be some discussion about this.
ÓÊ >˜`ʜÕÌÊ̅iÊ>ÃÃiÃÓi˜ÌÊ`iÃVÀˆ«ÌœÀÃÊÕÃi`ÊLÞÊޜÕÀʈ˜Ã̈ÌṎœ˜Ê­œÀÊ̅iÊiÝ>“«iÊÃiÌÊ«ÀœÛˆ`i`Ê
on the tasksheet Assessment criteria for student writing pages), and ask students to
decide the weighting for the criteria by assigning maximum marks to each criterion, and
deciding the marks for each level. A typical distribution of marks might be 30% for each
of the first three criteria, and 10% for presentation, with marks distributed evenly across
the levels.
3 Give students some sample essays on a topic similar to one they have written. Choose
essays with a range of grades. Ask students to use the assessment descriptors to grade
these pieces, and to discuss their reasons for giving the grades, based on the descriptions
of standards in the descriptors.
4 Tell students what grades were given to the essays by teachers, and discuss any differences
in the grades they assigned, or any difficulties they had in giving grades. In particular,
you can comment on the greater weighting given to task achievement and organization
compared to language which would be given by university lecturers.

10.1 Applying assessment criteria EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (1 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
Follow-up
Students evaluate their own writing, using the assessment descriptors, and predict their
grade. They then compare this with the teacher’s feedback on their writing, which is linked
to the level statements in the descriptors.

10.1 Applying assessment criteria EAP Essentials

Teacher’s notes (2 of 2) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Tasksheet: Assessment criteria for student writing
The following criteria will be applied when assessing your written work. Decide how
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

important you consider each of the four criteria to be by allocating the maximum number
of marks (out of 100) for each one. Then, in the column to the left of the descriptions of
standards for each criterion, decide how many marks (out of the maximum) should be given
for each level.

1 Task achievement (maximum number of marks ________)

This concerns the main issues to be discussed, as well as the ability to establish a clear focus
on the essay question or the task set. It also includes consideration of the length.

Fully answers all aspects of the task in sufficient depth.

Answers the task in sufficient depth to cover the main points.

The main points are discussed, but there may be some unnecessary or
irrelevant ideas.

Not all aspects of the task are covered or not in enough depth.

Misses the topic entirely or is much shorter than the required length.

2 Structure and organization (maximum number of marks ________)

This relates to the overall structure of the essay, and the presence of an introduction and
conclusion, as well as the division and linking of paragraphs.

There is a suitable introduction and conclusion. The sequence of

paragraphs enhances understanding of the points being made.
Paragraphs follow a general to specific structure. Understanding of
the text is enhanced by the use of sentence linking devices, including
summarizing noun phrases.

There is an introduction and conclusion. The sequence of paragraphs

contributes to an understanding of the points being made. Most
paragraphs follow a general to specific structure. The use of sentence
linking devices, including summarizing noun phrases, largely helps the
reader to understand the text.

There is an introduction and conclusion although they may be rather

brief. The sequence of paragraphs may show some weaknesses.
Some paragraphs follow a general to specific structure. Sentence
linking devices, including summarizing noun phrases, are sometimes
used incorrectly, leading to misunderstanding.
There may not be a suitable introduction or conclusion. Attempts to
sequence the paragraphs are evident but insufficient. There is a general
lack of structure in paragraphs. Sentence linking devices, including
summarizing noun phrases, are incorrectly or rarely used, making it
difficult for the reader to follow the ideas or understand the text.

The essay is unstructured, or structured in a way that prevents

understanding. Very few sentence linking devices appear, and these
are usually used incorrectly.

10.1 Applying assessment criteria EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (1 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 3 Language (maximum number of marks ________)
This relates to the use of functional language and accuracy in grammar.
PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

Mistakes are not significant. A wide range of functional language

is used which is appropriate for the essay question. Vocabulary is
appropriate throughout. Appropriate academic style is used.

Occasional mistakes occur, which do not prevent understanding. A

good range of functional language is used which is appropriate for the
question. Vocabulary is mostly appropriate throughout. Academic style
is used for most of the essay.
Repeated mistakes occur which sometimes prevent understanding.
Some functional language is used. Vocabulary is not always appropriate,
and the style is sometimes not academic.
There are a large number of very serious mistakes. Meaning is often
unclear. There is only limited use of functional language. Vocabulary
and style are frequently inappropriate.

The student has very little control over grammar and vocabulary, and is
unable to make the meaning clear to a reader; or the language is clearly
not the student’s own.

4 Presentation (maximum number of marks ________)

This concerns the overall appearance of the essay: layout, spacing, coversheet with accurate
information, spelling and punctuation.

The essay is extremely well presented and easy to read with no

mistakes in spelling or punctuation.

The essay is well presented and easy to read with only a few mistakes
in spelling or punctuation.

This essay is readable, but mistakes in spelling and punctuation

interfere with the smooth flow of reading.

Mistakes in spelling and punctuation make it difficult to understand the

points being made.

The essay is poorly presented, e.g., with no cover page, and basic
word processing tools, such as spell and grammar checkers, have not
been used.

10.1 Applying assessment criteria EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (2 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.
 Percentages and grades are matched to evidence of learning outcomes in the table below.

Assessment Evidence of learning outcomes

PHOTOCOPIABLE RESOURCE

grades
A = 70%–80% Has fulfilled all, or the majority of, the specified learning
outcomes to an excellent standard, and will experience few
difficulties with the demands of a degree programme. Has near-
native speaker fluency.
B = 60%–69% Has fulfilled all, or the majority of, the specified learning
outcomes to a proficient standard, and will cope well with the
demands of a degree programme.
C = 50%–59% Has fulfilled the majority of the specified learning outcomes to a
competent standard, and is able to cope with the demands of a
degree programme.
D = 40%–49% Has fulfilled the specified learning outcomes to the minimum
acceptable level, but is unlikely to be able to cope with the
demands of a degree programme and should continue to study
academic English.

E = 35–39% Has fulfilled the specified learning outcomes to the minimum

acceptable level for the award of credit points, but will not be
able to cope with the demands of a degree programme.

F = 25–34% Has fulfilled almost none of the specified learning outcomes,

even at the minimum acceptable level.

10.1 Applying assessment criteria EAP Essentials

Tasksheet (3 of 3) © 2008 Garnet Publishing Ltd.