Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia

Academic and Research Vice-rector

Task 2 - Writing assignment

1. General description of the course

Faculty or Vicerrectoría de Relaciones Internacionales

Academic Unit
Academic Level Professional, specialization, master
Academic Field Common basic interdisciplinary training
Course Name English IV
Course Code 90170
Course Type Methodological Can be re- yes ☐ No ☒
opened
Number of Credits 2

2. Description of the activity

Type of the Individu Collaborativ Number 5

☐ ☒
activity: al e of weeks
Intermediat
Moment of e, Unit: 2 -
Initial ☐ ☒ Final ☐
evaluation: Hypothetica
l situations
Delivery Environment: Monitoring
Evaluative score: 120
and Evaluation
th
Starting date: September 6 ,
Closing date: October 10th, 2019
2019
Competence to develop:
Write clear, detailed text related to the topic.
 Write a letter to United Nations Secretary-General 1;
 Talk about Effects of technology on the environment;
 Talk about past events;
 Use “If clauses” to express future meaning;
 Use “Wish” to express hypothetical situations;
 Give advice and recommendations.
Topics to develop:
Past events, conditionals, recommendations with “wish” and “hope”.
1
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the
United Nations. The Secretary-General serves as the chief administrative officer of the United Nations.
Steps, phases of the learning strategy to develop:
Central task - Writing assignment - Production
Phase 1: Students work in collaborative groups.
Phase 2: Students present a written text.
Phase 3: Students give feedback and reflection on the task.
Activities to carry out:

Dear Student,
You must take into account three aspects:

 Write a letter to the UN Secretary-General:

a) Express your opinion on the positive or negative effects
of technology on the environment;
b) Give recommendations on what you would improve or
change.

Dear student,
 You will develop this task in the Writing forum.
 At the end of this task, you will collect all the parts in a final
document.
 Follow each step, post all the activities in the forum and get
feedback from your partners and tutor.
 The final product must be sent individually. You construct
your final product through the process you develop
collaboratively.
Stage 1: Technology and its effects on environment (1 st week)

 Write about technological advancement and the effect on the

ecosystem.

- Text length: 100 words

- Write about: What do you think are negative or positive
effects of technology on the environment? How did it affect to
Climate Change in the last decades? Did it cause
environmental pollution or natural resources scarcity?
- You can use the following text as an example:

Stage 2: Technology and global warming (2nd week)

 Write a paragraph answering this question: What do you think will

happen if current trends of technology development and
consumerism continue? You can use the following vocabulary for
the text:

rd
Stage 3: What
According to…canI be done? (3
consider… week)
global warming… environmental
pollution… the impact of… degradation of lands… economic
Write your
 growth… advice on
poverty… how we can
developing contributepopulation
countries… to the improvement
growth… of
current environmental crisis. Use the following vocabulary for the
rapid urbanization… natural resources scarcity… If current trends
text:
continue… rising levels of consumption… etc…
Governments… United Nations (UN)… measures… take actions…
Stage 4: Write
sustainable a letter (4th policies…
development… week) climate policy… eco-friendly
technology… it is necessary… I recommend… I would… etc…
 According to the previous writing exercises, you will design a formal
letter addressed to the UN Secretary-Executive (200 words)
including the following steps:
 Use the following tool: https://goo.gl/wxXAZD
Example: https://goo.gl/AhQjia

Stage 5: Upload the final product in the Evaluation and

Monitoring Environment

Convert the letter to a PDF document and upload it in the Evaluation

and Monitoring Environment.

END OF THE TASK!

Environme
nt for the
Collaborative Learning
developme
nt
Collaborative:
Upload the Final Document in PDF or Word format in the
Products to Evaluation and Monitoring Environment.
deliver by
student  Each student must give feedback to one of his/her
partners.
 Each student is responsible for his/her process.

3. General guidelines for the collaborative work

Planning of Each student has to develop each step of the task and
activities for post the evidence in the forum.
the
development
of
collaborative
work
Roles to
perform by Each student must give feedback to one of his/her
the student partners.
in the Each student is responsible for his/her process.
collaborative
group
Roles and
responsibiliti The final product must be sent individually in the
es for the Evaluation and Monitoring Environment in a PDF or
delivery of Word document.
products
It is necessary to use the APA standards in order to
Use of
provide a bibliography of the sources cited in the
references
document.
Plagiarism According to Diccionario de la Real Academia Española
policy “Plagiarism is the action of substantially copying other
people's works, presenting them as own creation."
Therefore, plagiarism is a serious offense;
academically speaking it is equivalent to theft. A
student who plagiarizes does not take his education
seriously, and does not respect the intellectual work of
others.

There is no small plagiarism. Using any portion of

another person's work, without acknowledging the
author or source is plagiarism. Now, it is evident that
we all take some ideas from others when it comes to
presenting ours, and that our knowledge is based on
someone else’s knowledge. But when we rely on the
work of others, academic honesty requires that we
explicitly announce the fact that we are using an
external source, either by citing or by paraphrasing
(these terms will be defined below). When we cite or
paraphrase, we clearly identify our source, not only to
give recognition to its author, but also to allow the
reader to look up in a reference text.
 There are certain academic events in which it is not
acceptable to quote or paraphrase the work of others.
For instance, if a teacher assigns his or her students a
task in which they are clearly required to answer using
their own ideas and words, then the student should
not consider external sources regardless if they are
properly referenced.

4. Evaluation rubric
Evaluation rubric
Activity Individual Collaborative
☐ ☒
type: Activity Activity
Moment Intermediate
of the , Unit: 2 - Fina
Initial ☐ ☒ ☐
evaluatio Hypothetical l
n situations
Performance levels of the collaborative
Assessed Scor
activity
Aspect e
High score Media score Low score
Stage 1 Writes a note in Shows imprecise Doesn’t 15
the forum about sentences with upload the
technology and its an inconsistent activities
effects on the style; shows from stage
environment with some lack of 1.
a maximum of 70 control in
 words and using
time markers grammar.
from the unit.
(Up to 15 (Up to 7 (Up to 0
points) points) points)
Shows
Writes a
imprecise
paragraph about Doesn’t
sentences with
what will happen upload the
an inconsistent
if current trends activities
style; shows
Stage 2 of technology from stage 15
some lack of
development 2.
control in
continue.
grammar.
(Up to 15 (Up to 7 (Up to 0
points) points) points)
Shows imprecise
sentences with Doesn’t
Writes complex
an inconsistent upload the
sentences for
style; shows activities
giving
Stage 3 some lack of from stage 20
recommendations.
control in 3.
grammar.
(Up to 20 (Up to 10 (Up to 0
points) points) points)
Stage 4 Designs the letter Designs the letter Doesn’t 55
to UN Secretary – to UN Secretary design the
General; – General; letter to UN
The final product Develops some Secretary –
is a complete of the activities General.
evidence of the from the stage 1
process developed to 3; The final
in the forum; product doesn’t
The final product show a complete
has the three evidence of the
stages of the process
writing exercise developed in the
(talking about the forum.
past; expressing
the opinion; giving
recommendations.
 ).
(Up to 55 (Up to 30 (Up to 0
points) points) points)
Doesn’t
Uploads the upload the
final document final Doesn’t
in the document in deliver
Evaluation and the Evaluation the final
Stage 5 15
Monitoring and product.
Environment. Monitoring
Environment.
(Up to 15 (Up to 6 (Up to 0
points) points) points)
Final score 120