ENG 102 Academic Reading and Writing Updated 30th September

Course Title: Academic Reading & Writing
Course Code: ENG-102

Instructor: ________________________________
College: ___________________________________
Academic Year: 2021-2022
Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 1

Table of Contents
Unit # 1 Basic Grammar Skills ..................................................................................................... 4
Discourse Markers (Reference Handout # 1.1) ........................................................................... 4
Exercises to Practice Discourse Markers................................................................................. 5
Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences............................................................................... 8
What is a sentence? (Reference Handout # 1.2) .......................................................................... 8
Exercises .................................................................................................................................. 8
Clauses (Reference Handout # 1.3) ............................................................................................. 9
Compound Sentence (Reference Handout # 1.4) ........................................................................ 9
Complex Sentences (Reference Handout # 1.5) ........................................................................ 10
Unit # 1: Checking of Learning & Review................................................................................ 11
Unit # 2 Academic Reading Skills .............................................................................................. 14
Reading Strategies (Reference Handout # 2.1) ......................................................................... 14
Previewing (Reference Handout # 2.2) ..................................................................................... 15
Previewing Exercises............................................................................................................. 15
Making Inferences (Reference Handout # 2.3) ......................................................................... 17
Separating Fact from Inference ............................................................................................. 17
Exercises to Differentiate between facts and Inferences ....................................................... 18
Reinforcing Other Reading Strategies: Exercises (Reference Handout # 2.4) .......................... 21
Reading Text # 1 ................................................................................................................... 21
Reading Text # 2 ................................................................................................................... 23
Unit # 3 Avoiding Plagiarism...................................................................................................... 25
Strategy # 1: Paraphrasing (Reference Handout # 3.1) ............................................................. 25
Paraphrasing Samples ............................................................................................................ 25
Paraphrasing Activity ............................................................................................................ 26
Paraphrasing: Practice Exercises ........................................................................................... 27
Avoiding Plagiarism Strategy # 2.............................................................................................. 28
Summarizing (Reference Handout # 3.2) .................................................................................. 28
Summary Samples ..................................................................................................................... 29
Summary Sample # 1: “The Northern Lights” ...................................................................... 29
Summary Sample # 2: Miss Brill .......................................................................................... 30
Summarizing: Practice Exercise # 1 ...................................................................................... 33
Summarizing: Practice Exercise # 2 ...................................................................................... 34
Avoiding Plagiarism: Combining Paraphrasing and Summarizing ........................................... 35
Sample Passage # 1 ............................................................................................................... 35
Sample Passage # 2 ............................................................................................................... 37
Unit # 4 Academic Writing ......................................................................................................... 39
Difference between Academic and Non-Academic Texts (Reference Handout # 4.1) ............. 39
Non-Academic Texts (Reference handout # 4.2) ...................................................................... 40
Newspaper Articles ............................................................................................................... 40
Blog Samples ......................................................................................................................... 41
Academic Texts (Reference Handout # 4.3) ............................................................................. 45
Research Paper ...................................................................................................................... 45
Unit # 5 Expository Essays ......................................................................................................... 54
Cause and Effect Essay (Reference Handout # 5.1) .................................................................. 54
Sample Essays on Cause-and-Effect ......................................................................................... 56
Sample Essay # 1: Taming the Anger Monster by Anne Davidson ...................................... 56
Sample Essay # 2: The Truth Behind Lying.......................................................................... 61
Sample Essay # 3 ................................................................................................................... 63
Compare and Contrast Essay (Reference Handout # 5.2) ......................................................... 65
Sample Essays on Compare-and-Contrast................................................................................. 68
Sample Essay # 1: A Vote for McDonald’s .......................................................................... 68
Sample Essay # 2: Studying: Then and Now ........................................................................ 69
Sample Essay # 3 ................................................................................................................... 71
Unit # 6 Reports ........................................................................................................................... 72
Components of reports (Reference Handout # 6.1) ................................................................... 72
Report Samples.......................................................................................................................... 73
Report Sample # 1 ................................................................................................................. 73
Checklists for Peer & Tutor Reviews ........................................................................................ 76
Checklist for Evaluating Paraphrasing ...................................................................................... 76
Checklist for Evaluating Summaries ......................................................................................... 76
Checklist for Peer Evaluation of Essays .................................................................................... 77

Unit # 1 Basic Grammar Skills
Discourse Markers (Reference Handout # 1.1)
Use Conjunctions and Other Linking Words to devise good and effective sentences in your
academic essays and texts. Here is a reasonably complete list of logical turns and links also
known as or called discourse markers.
Continuity/adding Contrast Conditionality Time frequency Logical order
(also, and, besides, (against, If (after, afterward, (finally, first,

furthermore, in although, but, by at the same time, first of all,
addition, in the contrast, before, during last, last of all,
same way, conversely, this time, earlier, less obviously,
likewise, despite, eventually, more
however, in importantly,
moreover, not only contrast, instead, later, meanwhile, primarily,
… but also, now,
similarly, too) nevertheless, subsequently, second,
nonetheless, on then; at times, second of all)
the contrary, on frequently, often,
the other hand, once, once again,
otherwise, still, sometimes,
though, yet)
rarely)
Illustrating/Exam Reality check Cause and Consequence Conclusion

ple effect
(for example, for (actually, (as, because, (accordingly, as a (all in all, and
instance, in apparently, for, for this result, as this so, as a
particular) indeed, in fact, reason, since) suggests, by this general rule,
ostensibly, means, finally,
supposedly, to consequently, generally, in
be sure) hence, here, in brief, in
conclusion, in
this manner, so, fine, in
then, thereby,
therefore, thus) other words,
in short, in
sum, in the
end, so, then,
to conclude, to
sum up)

Exercises to Practice Discourse Markers
Exercise # 1
Take a look at the following two paragraphs and decide which one is more effective.
Paragraph 1
I have several good reasons for not going to work today. I was stung several times in the foot by
bees while walking in my yard last night. I cannot get my shoe on. My son is staying home from
school. He has a bad cold. The computer is being repaired at work. I won’t be able to get much
done anyhow.
Paragraph 2
I have several good reasons for not going to work today. First, I was stung several times in the foot
by bees while walking in my yard last night. As a result, I cannot get my shoe on. Also, my son is
staying home from school because he has a bad cold. Finally, the computer is being repaired at
work, so I won’t be able to get much done anyhow.
After you have decided which one is more effective, figure out why. What is the difference between
them?
Exercise # 2
Revise the following paragraph to improve its transitions. In some places, this will mean
adding a transitional expression; in other places, you may need to change or delete one that
is already there.
A word of caution. Too many transitional expressions can make your writing seem cluttered
and cumbersome. Don’t insert a transitional expression unless it really makes the writing
clearer. In the following passage, only a few are needed. Don’t overdo it.
The trouble with American foreign policy is that it sees the world as if it were a Hollywood
Western. This means that we act as if all the people in the world fit into two groups- good guys and
bad guys. The world is not like that. Most people are a combination of good and bad and mainly
want to be left alone with a reasonable chance for a decent life. Our cowboy mentality means that
too often we see violence as the only solution to problem. When some of our citizens are taken
hostage, there are always many voices crying out for a military raid to rescue them. Like those
heroes of the Hollywood Western, we think courage requires that we speak very little. If we sat
down with those “bad” guys and talked over our differences, we might look “weak.” Perhaps
American foreign policy would be improved if our leaders would watch a few musicals.

Exercise # 3
Fill the gaps in the passage below using discourse markers listed here.
consequently moreover while In spite of on the contrary
for example certainly nevertheless as a result In my view
THE VALUE OF BEAUTY
(1) __________, beautiful things are necessary in our lives, helping to make our environment more
comfortable and relaxing. Objects of beauty can be found everywhere: (2) __________ paintings,
furniture or even kitchen appliances. In fact, it’s (3) __________ true that some people spend
thousands of pounds on creating the most beautiful kitchen in their home. There’s no doubt that
life would be very dull and meaningless without beautiful things around us. (4) __________ many
people might think paintings are an expensive waste of money, just imagine what it would be like
if there were bare walls in our public buildings, or in our homes. (5) __________, what is beautiful
to one person will be ugly to another so it is important that we choose our own pieces of art or
furniture. Nowadays, however, many people employ an interior designer to decorate their homes.
This is (6) __________ of having very little time to spare – people work harder than ever and then
have to pay other people to do work in their homes. (7) __________ these designers being able to
produce delightful results, probably better than the clients could do themselves, the designs and
pieces chosen may not truly reflect what the client believes is beautiful. (8) __________, these
clients may not particularly like the finished product and you would expect them to complain
bitterly about it because they have spent so much money. (9) __________, they tend to keep silent
because they are too embarrassed to admit it. (10) __________ it is very important to remember
that beauty is very subjective and, therefore, if you like something you should buy it, whether it
matches the rest of the décor or not!
Exercise # 4
Fill the gaps in the passage below using discourse markers listed here.
in the same way in this respect instead of although nor
on the one hand on the other however increasingly neither

hand

Computers: A Dream or a Nightmare?
Within a few years, we have come to regard computers as an indispensable part of everyday life.
We see them. In operation, in almost every office and they are __________ common in the home.
While this has been a great advantage for some people because it has made their work easier, it has
been a nightmare for others, who have had difficulty in learning new skills. ________, while some
parents believe that their children can learn faster with computers, others worry that they will
become totally dependent on them before they have learnt to read, write and count for themselves.
_________________, the benefits computers have brought are obvious. Above all they save space
and time. Vast quantities of data can be kept economically on disks and reproduced at any time
____________ filling rows of filing cabinets, and there are hundreds of time-consuming tasks that
can now be performed very simply. In a minute or two, a typist can now edit and retype a letter; in
a few seconds, a bank can check how much a customer has in an account in another city.
______________, ___________, there are also disadvantages. Computers do make mistakes
__________they are always the result of a human error. We read of people receiving gas bills for
millions of pounds because the computer has been badly programmed or an operator has pressed
the wrong key. The trouble is that computers do not recognise such errors so there is a danger that
the next generation may be taught to rely on them absolutely before they have learnt the basic skills
necessary to work out problems for themselves.
_____________, computers are __________a dream _______a nightmare. They are admirable
tools that improve the quality of life but, like all tools, they must be used sensibly. We must never
forget that human beings provided them with the information they contain so we cannot trust them
until we know enough to recognize when it is inaccurate. On balance the greatest risk comes at the
national level; the advice given by a government computer could lead to disaster.

Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences
What is a sentence? (Reference Handout # 1.2)

 A sentence must contain both a subject and a verb and express a complete thought.
 A subject is who or what is doing the action.
 The verb is the action. The verb is also called the predicate.
Exercises
Exercise # 1
Read each item below carefully. If it is a complete sentence, place brackets around it; if it is
not, leave it alone. The first one is done for you.
1. (My dog barked)

2. The woman in the trench coat and green hat.
3. Prices are going up.
4. Some of the names on the list of candidates.
5. Most of the people at my office.
6. My next-door neighbor and her young child.
7. The radio was blaring.
8. The soup is ready.
9. Most of the men in my class.
10. The chipped cup is an antique.
The following exercise will allow you to discover another essential ingredient in a complete
sentence.
Exercise # 2
Read each item below carefully. If it is a complete sentence, place brackets around it; if it is
not, leave it along. The first one is done for you.
1. Complete sentence: (I opened the store at eight o’clock.)

Incomplete sentence: opened the store at eight o’clock.
2. I never expected to win the whole thing.
3. Some of the schools opened two hours late.
4. Slowly hid the evidence under her bed.
5. My car overheated.
6. Reggie believes in himself.
7. Listed the names of all the students in my class.
8. Edward and three of his children.
9. We’re rowing a small boat across the lake.
10. Had a wonderful time at the ocean.

Clauses (Reference Handout # 1.3)
 A main (independent) clause contains a subject and predicate and can stand alone Ex.
Houston plays baseball.
 A subordinate (dependent) clause contains a subject and predicate but is not a complete
thought; it begins with a subordinating conjunction. Ex. Because we won the game.
There is a fairly small group of words that, when placed at the beginning of an independent clause,
make it incomplete. These words are subordinate conjunctions, but some people call them
“busters.” They include the following
After Now that

Although Once
As Provided that
As if Since
As long as So long as
As soon as So that
As though Than
As though Though
Because Unless
Before Until
Even if When
Even though Whenever
If Where
In case that Whereas
In order that Whether
Like While
No matter how
Compound Sentence (Reference Handout # 1.4)

A compound sentence contains two main clauses joined by a comma and a coordinating
conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) also known as (FANBOYS) or a semi-colon.
For example, I forgot my keys, but an extra set is hidden under the flowerpot.
Birds fly, and snakes crawl.
Exercise # 3
In the following, place brackets around all independent clauses. Each item may contain no
independent clauses, one independent clause, or more than one independent clause.
1. The snow is melting, and the days are getting longer.

2. We came in first, and Parkville came in second.
3. I walked into the kitchen and started making dinner.
4. Don’t forget your lunch tomorrow.
5. Her dog ran to the back of the yard and started barking.
6. Jeremy expected an A, but she got a B.
7. The garbage was overturned, the bag was ripped open, and chicken bones were spread all
over the kitchen floor.
8. I am going to the library, and Anita is going to meet me there.
9. She has the notes from our biology class, and I have the study questions from psych.
10. The manager picked up the phone and started swearing at the customer on the other end.
Complex Sentences (Reference Handout # 1.5)
A complex sentence contains a main clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Exercise # 4
In the following, place bracket around all the independent clauses.
1. Birds fly, and snakes crawl.

2. If it rains on Saturday or Sunday
3. He sent me a package by TCS.
4. My uncle and his new wife.
5. When the play ended, she rushed up to the stage.
6. Since I learned Chinese, I have not found anyone else to talk to.
7. Until I get a raise, I cannot afford a new car.
8. Pervez gave blood when the bloodmobile visited his school.
9. After the game is over, Roseann will meet us at the Pizza Hut.
10. If this sweater goes on sale, I am going to buy it.
11. Whenever the final paper is due in Ms. Aliza’s class.
12. Before you order a new raincoat from that catalogue, let me show you something.
Compound-Complex Sentences (Reference Handout # 1.6)
 A compound-complex sentence contains two independent clauses and at least one

dependent clause.
 This is the most sophisticated type of sentence you can use.
Ex. Though Jack prefers watching comedy films, he rented the latest spy thriller, and he enjoyed it
very much.
Exercise # 5
Identify the type of sentence
1. Our coach will host a pizza party when we win our first game.
2. Kainat and Wajiha went to the movies.
3. Jamil grilled burgers, and Hassan made a salad.
4. Since I made the honor roll, my parents let me have a friend spend the night.
5. Before Ali called me, she called her mom, and her mom asked her to babysit her brother.
6. After Maryam added up all the sales, she discovered that the lemonade stand was 32 rupees
short.
7. The clown frightened the little girl, and she ran off screaming.
8. My aunt enjoyed taking the hayride with you.

9. Jabeen waited for the train, but the train was late.
10. After they left on the bus, Maryam and Saman realized that Joe was waiting at the train
station.
Unit # 1: Checking of Learning & Review

Read the following professional essay. Then answer the questions that follow.
How to Do Well on a Job Interview by Glenda Davis
Ask a random selection of people for a listing of their least favorite activities, and right up there
with “getting my teeth drilled” is likely to be “going to a job interview.” The job interview is often
regarded as a confusing, humiliating, and nerve-racking experience. First of all, you have to wait
for your appointment in an outer room, often trapped there with other people applying for the same
job. You sit nervously, trying not to think about the fact that only one of you may be hired. Then
you are called into the interviewer’s office. Faced with a complete stranger, you have to try to act
both cool and friendly as you are asked all sorts of questions. Some questions are personal: “What
is your greatest weakness?” Others are confusing: “Why should we hire you?” The interview
probably takes about twenty minutes but seems like two hours. Finally, you go home and wait for
days and even weeks. If you get the job, great. But if you don’t, you’re rarely given any reason
why.
The job-interview “game” may not be much fun, but it is a game you can win if you play it right.
The name of the game is standing out of the crowd—in a positive way. If you go to the interview
in a Bozo the Clown suit, you’ll stand out of the crowd, all right, but not in a way that is likely to
get you hired. Here are guidelines to help you play the interview game to win: Present yourself as
a winner. Instantly, the way you dress, speak, and move gives the interviewer more information
about you than you would think possible.
You doubt that this is true? Consider this: a professional job recruiter, meeting a series of job
applicants, was asked to signal the moment he decided not to hire each applicant. The thumbs-
down decision was often made in less than forty-five seconds—even before the applicant thought
the interview had begun. How can you keep from becoming a victim of an instant “no” decision?
• Dress appropriately. This means business clothing: usually a suit and tie or a conservative dress
or skirt suit. Don’t wear casual student clothing. On the other hand, don’t overdress: you’re going
to a job interview, not a party. If you’re not sure what’s considered appropriate business attire, do
some spying before the interview. Walk past your prospective place of employment at lunch or
quitting time and check out how the employees are dressed. Your goal is to look as though you
would fit in with that group of people.
• Pay attention to your grooming. Untidy hair, body odor, dandruff, unshined shoes, a hanging hem,
stains on your tie, excessive makeup or cologne, a sloppy job of shaving—if the interviewer notices
any of these, your prospect of being hired takes a probably fatal hit.
• Look alert, poised, and friendly. When that interviewer looks into the waiting room and calls your
name, he or she is getting a first impression of your behavior. If you’re slouched in your chair,
dozing or lost in the pages of a magazine; if you look up with an annoyed “Huh?”; if you get up

slowly and wander over with your hands in your pockets, he or she will not be favorably impressed.
What will earn you points is rising promptly and walking briskly toward the interviewer. Smiling
and looking directly at that person, extend your hand to shake his or hers, saying, “I’m Lesley
Brown. Thank you for seeing me today.”
• Expect to make a little small talk. This is not a waste of time; it is the interviewer’s way of
checking your ability to be politely sociable, and it is your opportunity to cement the good
impression you’ve already made. The key is to follow the interviewer’s lead. If he or she wants to
chat about the weather for a few minutes, do so. But don’t drag it out; as soon as you get a signal
that it’s time to talk about the job, be ready to get down to business. Be ready for the interviewer’s
questions. The same questions come up again and again in many job interviews. You should plan
ahead for all these questions! Think carefully about each question, outline your answer, and
memorize each outline.
Then practice reciting the answers to yourself. Only in this way are you going to be prepared. Here
are common questions, what they really mean, and how to answer them:
• “Tell me about yourself.” This question is raised to see how organized you are. The wrong way
to answer it is to launch into a wandering, disjointed response or—worse yet—to demand
defensively, “What do you want to know?” or “What do you mean?” When this question comes
up, you should be prepared to give a brief summary of your life and work experience—where you
grew up, where your family lives now, where you went to school, what jobs you’ve had, and how
you happen to be here now looking for the challenge of a new job.
• “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” In talking about your strong points, mention traits
that will serve you well in this particular job. If you are well organized, a creative problem-solver,
a good team member, or a quick learner, be ready to describe specific ways those strengths have
served you in the past. Don’t make the mistake of saying, “I don’t have any real weaknesses.”
You’ll come across as more believable if you admit a flaw—but make it one that an employer might
actually like. For instance, admit that you are a workaholic or a perfectionist.
• “Why should we hire you?” Remember that it is up to you to convince the interviewer that you’re
the man or woman for this job. If you just sit there and hope that the interviewer will magically
discern your good qualities, you are likely to be disappointed. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself. Tell
the recruiter that from your research you have learned that the interviewer’s company is one you
would like to work for, and that you believe the company’s needs and your skills is a great match.
• “Why did you leave your last job?” This may seem like a great opportunity to cry on the
interviewer’s shoulder about what a jerk your last boss was or how unappreciated you were. It is
not. The experts agree: never badmouth anyone when you are asked this question. Say that you left
in order to seek greater responsibilities or challenges. Be positive, not negative. No matter how
justified you may feel about hating your last job or boss, if you give voice to those feelings in an
interview, you’re going to make the interviewer suspect that you’re a whiner and hard to work with.
• “Do you have any questions?” This is the time to stress one last time how interested you are in
this particular job. Ask a question or two about specific aspects of the job, pointing out again how
well your talents and the company’s needs are matched. Even if you’re dying to know how much

the job pays and how much vacation you get, don’t ask. There will be time enough to cover those
questions after you’ve been offered the job. Today, your task is to demonstrate what a good
employee you would be.
Send a thank-you note. Once you’ve gotten past the interview, there is one more chance for you to
make a fine impression. As soon as you can—certainly no more than one or two days after the
interview—write a note of thanks to your interviewer. In it, briefly remind him or her of when you
came in and what job you applied for. As well as thanking the interviewer for seeing you, reaffirm
your interest in the job and mention again why you think you are the best candidate for it. Make
the note courteous, businesslike, and brief—just a paragraph or two. If the interviewer is wavering
between several equally qualified candidates, such a note could tip the scales in your favor. No
amount of preparation is going to make interviewing for a job your favorite activity. But if you go
in well-prepared and with a positive attitude, your potential employer can’t help thinking highly of
you. And the day will come when you are the one who wins the job.
Post-reading Activities
1. Work in groups and choose one paragraph to identify whether sentences used in the paragraph
are simple, complex or compound.
2. Identify transitional words or signals used in the essay and pick three of those transitional
words to make sentences on your own.

Unit # 2 Academic Reading Skills
Reading Strategies (Reference Handout # 2.1)
Reading Strategy Description of Reading Strategy

Paraphrasing/Summarizing The reader rephrases content using different words but retains the
same sense.
Anticipating/Predicting The reader predicts what content will occur in succeeding portions of
the text.
Using Titles The reader uses titles/headings to guess the contents of the text.
Employing Context Clues The reader uses clues in the text in order to make predictions or
increase understanding. The reader uses lexical or syntactic context to
determine word meaning.
Analyzing The reader analyses word structure, grammatical structures,
expressions, texts format, or author’s argument and strategies to
determine the meanings of these words/sentences/expressions and text
overall.
Word Division The reader divides the words into parts to make them comprehensible.
Using Illustrations The reader uses textbook aids such as glossaries, appendices, and
indexes to aid comprehension.
Rereading The reader rereads parts of a text several times in order to facilitate
comprehension.
Reading for The reader can identify topic sentences, thesis statements, stated and
Information/Scanning implied main ideas, major and supporting details.
Using Prior Knowledge The reader uses prior knowledge such as context, textual, and
linguistics schema to make sense of text.
Guessing/Hypothesizing The reader guesses the general meaning of a word by using context
clues.
Associating The reader creates an association between new material and what is
already known.
Distinguishing Information The reader recognizes what is important and not important and can
skip those words or information.
Recognizing Genre The reader recognizes the type of text/genre.
Recognizing Connectors The reader recognizes connectors as they are used by the writer to
continue ideas/themes.
Monitoring The reader self-monitors their own understanding of
text/pacing/pronunciation/of words.
Reacting to Text The reader can react to a text and express opinions about the text and
textual characteristics or features.
Judging Evidence The reader can evaluate logical evidence or arguments in a text.
Distinguishing Fact and The reader can distinguish between fact and opinion and can
Opinion understand how this contributes to a text.
Interpreting Text The reader draws a conclusion about the text in terms of theme,
author’s message or interpretation of text.
Source: Singhal, M. (2005). Teaching Reading to Adult Second language Learners: Theoretical Foundations, Pedagogical Applications,
and Current Issues. United States: The Reading Matric Inc.

Previewing (Reference Handout # 2.2)
Previewing is a rapid kind of reading that allows you to get a general sense of what a passage,
article, or book is about and how it is organized. Your eyes scan quickly over the page looking for
answers to general questions about the material.
Previewing an Article or an Essay
In previewing an article or essay, you look at most of the first paragraph, the first sentence of each
paragraph, and the concluding sentences. You should ask yourself questions like the ones below.
Previewing questions for an article or essay
 What is it about? What is the title? What do I already know about this?
 What kind of text is this? Is it a description? An explanation? An argument? A narrative
(history)?
 Is the text divided into parts? How is it organized?
 Are there any maps, numbers, italicized words, or names in the text?
Previewing Exercises
Exercise # 1
Preview this essay quickly, reading only the underlined parts. After previewing, answer the
questions that follow. Your teacher will time you or you can time yourself for two or three minutes.
How Dictionaries Are Made by S. I. Hayakawa
It is widely believed that every word has a correct meaning that we learn these meanings principally
from teachers and grammarians (except that most of the time we don't bother to, so that we
ordinarily speak "sloppy English"), and that dictionaries and grammars are the supreme authority
in matters of meaning and usage. [...] Few people ask by what authority the writers of dictionaries
and grammars say what they say.
Let us see how dictionaries are made and how the editors arrive at definitions. What follows applies,
incidentally, only to those dictionary offices where first-hand, original research goes on—not those
in which editors simply copy existing dictionaries. The task of writing a dictionary begins with the
reading of vast amounts of the literature of the period or subject that the dictionary is to cover. As
the editors read, they copy on cards every interesting or rare word, every unusual or peculiar
occurrence of a common word, a large number of common words in their ordinary uses, and also
the sentences in which each of these words appears, thus:
pail
The dairy pails bring home increase

of milk Keats, Endvmion 1, 44-45
That is to say, the context of each word is collected, along with the word itself. For a really
big job of dictionary writing, such as the Oxford English Dictionary (usually bound in about
twenty-five volumes) millions of such cards are collected, and the task of editing occupies
decades. As the cards are collected, they are alphabetized and sorted. When the sorting is

completed, there will be for each word anywhere from two to three to several hundred illustrative
quotations, each on its card.
To define a word, then, the dictionary editor places before him the stack of cards illustrating
that word: each of the cards represents an actual use of the word by a writer of some literary or
historical importance. He reads the cards carefully, discards some, rereads the rest, and divides
up the stack according to what he thinks are the several senses of the word. Finally, he writes
his definitions, following the hard-and-fast rule that each definition must be based on what the
quotations in front of him reveal about the meaning of the word. The editor cannot be influenced
by what he thinks a given word ought to mean. He must work according to the cards or not at all.
The writing of a dictionary, therefore, is not a task of setting up authoritative statements

about the "true meanings" of words, but a task of recording, to the best of one's ability, what various
words have meant to authors in the distant or immediate past. The writer of a dictionary is a historian, not a
lawgiver. [...] To regard the dictionary as an "authority," therefore, is to credit the dictionary writer
with gifts of prophecy which neither he nor anyone else possesses. In choosing our words when
we speak or write, we can be guided by the historical record afforded us by the dictionary, but we
cannot be bound by it. because new situations, new experiences, new inventions, new feelings,
are always compelling us to give new uses to old words. Looking under a "hood," we should
ordinarily have found, five hundred years ago, a monk; today, we find a motorcar engine.
(Source: S. I. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action, 2nd Edition. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World,
Inc., 1939)
Answer the following questions without looking back at the essay. Notice how much you are
able to remember from just a few minutes of previewing!
1. What is this essay about?

2. What kind of text is this (i.e., description, explanation, argument, narrative)?
3. Where do dictionary meanings come from?
4. What is the role of a dictionary writer?
5. Do words keep the same meaning forever?
6. Write any words, phrases, or numbers you noticed?
Exercise # 2
Preview another extracted passage with adaptations from a chapter called Society: The
Basics for three minutes. Then answer the questions that follow.
Social Isolation
For obvious ethical reasons, researchers cannot subject human beings to experimental isolation.
But research on the effects of social isolation has been conducted on nonhuman primates.
Research with monkeys in this regard, for instance, is of significant importance. Psychologists
Harry and Margaret Harlow (1962) observed rhesus monkeys whose behavior is in some ways
surprisingly similar to that of human beings in various conditions of social isolation. They found
that complete isolation (with adequate nutrition) for a period of even six months was sufficient to
cause developmental disturbances. When reintroduced to others of their kind, thesemonkeys were
anxious, fearful, and defenseless against aggression.

The Harlows also placed infant rhesus monkeys in cages with an artificial 'mother' constructed of
wire mesh and a wooden head and the nipple of a feeding tube where the breast would be. These
monkeys, too, were subsequently unable to interact with others. But when they covered the artificial
'mother' with soft terry cloth, the infant monkeys clung to it, thereby deriving some emotional
benefit, which reduced developmental harm. The experiment revealed the profound importance of
the simple act of cradling as part of parent-infant interaction.
Finally, the Harlows discovered that, when socially isolated for shorter periods of time (about three
months), infant monkeys eventually regained normal emotional patterns after rejoining others. But
they concluded that longer-term isolation causes irreversible emotional and behavioral damage.
All the evidence points to the crucial role of social experience in personality development. Human
beings are resilient creatures, sometimes able to recover from even the crushing experience of
prolonged isolation. But there may well be a point—precisely when is unclear from the small
number of cases studied—at which isolation in infancy results in damage, including a reduced
capacity for language, that cannot be fully repaired.
(Source: J. J. Macionis, Society: The Basics, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998)
Answer the following questions without looking back at the passage.

1. What is the title of this section?
2. What is it about?
3. What words, phrases, or numbers do you remember from your preview?
Making Inferences (Reference Handout # 2.3)

Good readers make inferences as they read. That is, in addition to reading the words, they use their
imagination and their knowledge about the world to fill in facts and ideas that are not stated in the
text. This is sometimes called "reading between the lines."
It is often necessary to read between the lines because a writer cannot include all the possible
information about a topic or situation. Writers leave out information that they think readers will
know already or will be able to guess.
Separating Fact from Inference

In many kinds of writing, the author presents facts about a situation or topic and also makes
inferences from those facts.
Facts are statements of information that can be verified.
For example:
Chile is considered one of the most conservative Catholic countries in South America.
On January 15, 2006, Chileans elected their first woman president, the Socialist Michelle Bachelet,
with 53.5 percent of their votes. She is a former defense minister, a doctor, a single mother and a
non-Catholic.
Her father, a general in the army, was killed in 1973 under the military dictatorship of Pinochet.
Her election campaign was based on promises of social and economic reform aimed at more
equality.

Inferences are educated guesses that are based on facts.
For example:
1. People in Chile are not as conservative as generally thought.

2. People in Chile want changes in their society and economy.
3. President Bachelet's background and experience should help her understand the problems
in Chile.
4. The fact that she served as defense minister may have reassured conservatives afraid of
radical change.
5. The fact that her father was killed under Pinochet probably raised her standing among
leftists.
Exercises to Differentiate between facts and Inferences

Exercise # 1
Preview the passage. Then read it and underline the facts. Working with another student,
answer the questions that follow.
A New Pesticide in India
1 In two states in India, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh, farmers have discovered a new
kind of pesticide.' Instead of paying large sums of money to international chemical
companies for chemical pesticides, they are spraying their cotton and chili pepper fields
with Coca-Cola.
2 In the past month there have been reports of hundreds of farmers spraying cola on their
fields. Thousands of others are expected to make the switch to cola from the usual
pesticides as word spreads about the new spray. A farmer in Andhra Pradesh interviewed
by a local newspaper said he was very satisfied with his new cola spray, which he applied
this year to several acres of cotton. He observed that the insects on his cotton plants
began to die soon after he sprayed his fields with cola.
3 Local agriculture officials would not comment on this new development, except to note
that the cola spray cost considerably less than the pesticides produced by Montsanto,
Shell and Dow Chemical. The Coca-Cola Company already is in legal difficulties in
Andhra Pradesh state, where it has been accused of taking water away from farmers for
its bottling plants. So far, representatives of the Coca-Cola Company have refused to
comment on the new use of their product. It is not known if or how sales of the soft
drinks have been affected, though it is likely that the company may try to profit from this
new market.
(Source: Adapted from "Things grow better with Coke." The Guardian Weekly, November 5-11, 2004)
1. What facts are included in the first paragraph?
2. What can you infer about the cost of pesticides in India?

3. What facts are included in the second paragraph?
4. What can you infer about the cola spray?
5. What facts are included in the third paragraph?
6. What can you infer about the economic situation of the farmers in Andhra Pradesh?
7. What can you infer about the Coca-Cola Company in India?
Exercise # 2
Preview the passage. Then read it and underline the facts. Working with another student,
answer the questions that follow.
Mysterious "Piano Man" Puzzles British Doctors
1 The photograph shows a tall, blond young man holding what looks like a musical score.' His
eyes scared, his shoulders rounded and slightly turned away, he appeared to avoid contact
with the camera.
2 Found several weeks ago on a windy road beside the sea on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent,
England, he was dripping wet and apparently very disturbed. He would not answer
questions or speak with anyone. He was wearing a black suit and a white shirt, but since
all the labels had been mysteriously cut out from his clothes, authorities had no way of
even identifying his nationality. Since then he has continued to remain silent, refusing or
unable to give information about who he is or where he comes from. He was taken to the
accident and emergency department at the Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, but
later was moved to the psychiatric clinic in Dartford, where he continues to baffle' doctors.
3 A spokesman for the hospital says that the first clue to his identity came when someone in
the hospital had the idea of leaving him with a piece of paper and pencils and he drew a
detailed sketch of a grand piano. Hospital staff then took him to the hospital's chapel, which
contains a piano.
4 He sat down immediately at the piano and began to play, appearing calm and relaxed for
the first time since he had been found. According to reports from the hospital, he is also a
good musician and a pleasure to listen to, even if he tends to play rather melancholy' music.
One staff member identified a piece from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, but acknowledged
that she was not an expert in classical music.
5 According to a social worker assigned to the case, the young man is shy in the extreme and
avoids any kind of social interaction. Though interpreters in various northern and central
European languages have been called to the hospital to visit him, he has failed to respond
to any of them. His photograph has been circulated in newspapers around the world,
prompting hundreds of phone calls to the Missing Persons Bureau. However, none of these
has provided useful information about his identity.

6 There is, of course, the delicate question of whether the man is really in need of
psychiatric care or just pretending to be ill. Doctors at the hospital say that they have no
reason not to take him seriously and they have a duty to care for him as long as he needs
it.
1. What has the writer inferred from the photograph of the "Piano Man"?
2. What can you infer from the fact that he was wearing a black suit and a white shirt?
3. What can you infer about the fact that the labels had been cut out of his clothes?
4. What can you infer from the fact that the police brought him to the hospital?
5. What did the hospital staff infer from his drawing of a piano?
6. What can you infer from the description of the way he played the piano?
7. What have people at the hospital inferred about his nationality?
8. What can you infer from the doctors' reported statements in the last statement?

Reinforcing Other Reading Strategies: Exercises (Reference Handout # 2.4)
Reading Text # 1
This essay argues the use of school uniforms. Discuss the Preview Questions with a classmate.
Then read the example essay and answer the questions that follow.
Preview Questions
1. Did you wear a uniform when you went to school?

2. Some people believe that children are too materialistic these days. For example, they
may be too interested in wearing brand name clothes and shoes. What is your opinion?
During Reading Strategies
As you go along reading this passage, apply the following strategies to comprehend the text.
1. Identify topic sentences of each paragraph.

2. Summarize each paragraph after processing the information.
3. Make marginal notes.
4. Guess the meaning of new words.
Essay: The School Uniform Question
1 Individualism is a fundamental part of society in many countries. Most people believe in

the right to express their own opinion without fear of punishment. This value, however, is
coming under fire in an unlikely place-the public school classroom. The issue is school
uniforms. Should public school students be allowed to make individual decisions about
clothing, or should all students be required to wear a uniform? School uniforms are the
better choice for three reasons.
2 First, wearing school uniforms would help make students’ lives simpler. They would no
longer have to decide what to wear every morning, sometimes trying on outfit after outfit
in an effort to choose. Uniforms would not only save time but also would eliminate the
stress often associated with this chore.
3 Second, school uniforms influence students to act responsibly in groups and as individuals.
Uniforms give students the message that school is a special place for learning. In addition,
uniforms create a feeling of unity among students. For example, when students do
something as a group, such as attend meetings in the auditorium or eat lunch in the
cafeteria, the fact that they all wear the same uniform gives them a sense of community.
Even more important, statistics show the positive effects that school uniforms have on
violence and truancy. According to a recent survey in a large school district in Florida,
incidents of school violence dropped by 50 percent, attendance and test scores improved,
and student suspensions declined approximately 30 percent after school uniforms were
introduced.
4 Finally, school uniforms would help make all the students feel equal. Students’ standards
of living differ greatly from family to family, and some people are well-off while others
are not. People sometimes forget that school is a place to get an education, not to promote

fashion show: Implementing mandatory school uniforms would make all the students look
the same regardless of their financial status. School uniforms would promote pride and
help to raise the self-esteem of students who cannot afford to wear expensive clothing.
5 Opponents of mandatory uniforms say that students who wear school uniforms cannot
express their individuality. This point has some merit on the surface. However, as stated
previously, school is a place to learn, not to flaunt wealth and fashion. Society must decide
if individual expression through clothing is more valuable than improved educational
performance. It is important to remember that school uniforms would be worn only during
school hours. Students can express their individuality in the way that they dress outside of
the classroom.
6 In conclusion, there are many well-documented benefits of implementing mandatory

school uniforms for students. Studies show that students learn better and act more
responsibly when they wear uniforms. Public schools should require uniforms in order to
benefit both the students and society as a whole.
Post-Reading
1. The topic of this essay is school uniforms. What is the hook in the first paragraph?
2. What is the thesis statement?
3. Paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 each give a reason for requiring school uniforms. These reasons can be
found in the topic sentence of each paragraph. What are the reasons?
Paragraph 2: -------------------------------
Paragraph 3: -------------------------------
Paragraph 4: -------------------------------
4. In Paragraph 4, what supporting information does the writer give to show that uniforms make
students equal?
5. Which paragraph presents a counterargument-an argument that is contrary to, or the opposite of
the writer’s opinion? ______ What is the counterargument?
6. The writer gives a refutation of the counterargument by showing that it is invalid. What is the
writer’s refutation?
7. Write the sentence from the concluding paragraph that restates the thesis.
8. Reread the concluding paragraph. What is the writer’s opinion about this issue?

Reading Text # 2
Discuss the Preview Questions with a classmate. Then read the essay and answer the questions that
follow.
Preview Questions
1. Have you ever had trouble getting from one place to another while traveling? Where were
you going? What happened that made this travel difficult?
2. Can everyday people be considered heroes? What do you consider to be a heroic act?
While Reading Strategies
As you go along reading this passage, apply the following strategies to comprehend the text.
1. Identify topic sentences of each paragraph.

2. Summarize each paragraph after processing the information.
3. Make marginal notes.
4. Guess the meaning of new words.
Frustration at the Airport
1 I had never been more anxious in my life. I had just spent the last three endless hours trying
to get to the airport so that I could travel home. Now, as I watched the bus driver set my
luggage on the airport sidewalk, I realized that my frustration had only just begun.
2 This was my first visit to the international terminal of the airport, and nothing was familiar.
I could not make sense of any of the signs. Where was the check-in counter? Where should
I take my luggage? I had no idea where the immigration line was. I began to panic. What
time was it? Where was my plane? I had to find help because I could not be late!
3 I tried to ask a passing businessman for help, but my words all came out wrong. He just
scowled and walked away. What had happened? I had been in this country for a whole
semester, and I could not even remember how to ask for directions. This was awful!
Another bus arrived at the terminal, and the passengers came out carrying all sorts of
luggage. Here was my chance! I could follow them to the right place, and I would not have
to say a word.
4 I dragged my enormous suitcase behind me and followed the group. We finally reached
the elevators. Oh, no! They all fit in it, but there was not enough room for me. I watched
in despair as the elevator doors closed. I had no idea what to do next. I got on the elevator
when it returned and gazed at all the buttons. Which one could it be? I pressed button 3.
The elevator slowly climbed up to the third floor and jerked to a stop. A high, squeaking
noise announced the opening of the doors, and I looked around timidly.
5 Tears formed in my eyes as I saw the deserted lobby and realized that I would miss my
plane. Just then an elderly airport employee shuffled around the corner. He saw that I was
lost and asked if he could help. He gave me his handkerchief to dry my eyes as I related
my predicament. He smiled kindly, and led me down a long hallway. We walked up some

stairs, turned a corner, and, at last, there was customs! He led me past all the lines of people
and pushed my luggage to the inspection counter.
6 When I turned to thank him for all his help, he was gone. I will never know that kind man’s
name, but I will always remember his unexpected courtesy. He helped me when I needed
it the most. I can only hope that one day I will be able to do the same for another traveler
who is suffering through a terrible journey.
Post-Reading
1. What is the narrative hook? ________________________

2. Do you think the hook is effective? In other words, did it grab your attention? Why, or why
not?
3. Where is the setting of this story?
4. What is the theme, or the basic idea, of “Frustration at the Airport”?
5. What do you think the mood of the story is? What feeling or atmosphere does the writer
create?
6. List the characters in this essay.
7. Describe in a chronological order what exactly happens?
8. Does the story end with a moral, prediction, or revelation? Write the final sentence here.

Unit # 3 Avoiding Plagiarism
Strategy # 1: Paraphrasing (Reference Handout # 3.1)
This section is on how to include other people’s work in your essay, but by using your own words,
rather than directly quoting them. You use paraphrasing (indirect quoting) more than (direct)
quoting for the following reasons: Firstly, changing the original often means it fits into your
paragraph better; secondly, it shows you actually understand the information.
To paraphrase someone else’s research, change the words, the grammar and the order, but keep the
meaning and retain the length.
Some words of advice: Always use references when paraphrasing particular information as
otherwise you are actually plagiarizing; take your time on this section as it is probably the one that
needs the most practice.
Retrieved and adapted from: Powell, E. (2015). The Essay Writing Kit. Sage Publication.
Paraphrasing Samples
Paraphrasing sample # 1
Original
Sleep scientist have found that traditional remedies for insomnia, such as counting sheep, are
ineffective. Instead, they have found that imagining a pleasant scene is likely to put to sleep quickly.
The research team divided 50 insomnia sufferers into three groups. One group imagined watching
a waterfall, while another group tried sheep counting. A third group was given no special
instructions about going to sleep. It was found that the group thinking of waterfalls fell asleep 20
minutes quicker. Mechanical tasks like counting sheep are apparently too boring to make people
sleepy. There are many practical applications for research into insomnia. About one in ten people
are thought to suffer from severe insomnia. It is calculated that the cost of insomnia for the
American economy may be $35 billion a year.
Paraphrased Version
Findings by sleep researchers suggest that established cures for insomnia, for instance counting
sheep, do not work, though visualizing an attractive view may significantly encourage sleep. 50
insomniacs were split into three groups by Oxford university scientists. The first thought of water
falling, and the second attempted to count sheep. A third group was not specially instructed. The
findings show that the group thinking of waterfalls went to sleep faster. It appears that repetitive
situations are not effective, because they are too tedious. The research has multiple uses, since 10%
of the population is believed to have difficulty sleeping, and the cost of insomnia for the American
economy has been calculated at around $35 billion annually.

Paraphrasing sample # 2
Original
Before the last century no human had visited Antarctica, and even today the vast continent has a
winter population of less 200 people. However, a recent report from a New Zealand government
agency outlines the scales of pollution problem in the ice and snow. Although untouched compared
with other regions in the world, the bitter cold of Antarctica means that the normal process of decay
is prevented. As a result some research stations are surrounded by the rubbish of nearly 60 years’
operations.
Despite popular belief, the polar continent is really a desert with less precipitation than the Sahara.
In the past, snowfall slowly covered the waste left behind like beer cans or dead ponies, but now,
possibly due to global warming the ice is thinning and these are being exposed. Over 10 years ago
the counties using Antarctica agreed a treaty on waste disposal under which everything is taken to
be taken home, and this is slowly improving the situation. However, the scientists do not want
everything removed. The remains of very early expeditions at the beginning of the twentieth
century have acquired historical value and will be preserved.
Paraphrased Version
Antarctica was unexplored until the 20th century, and still has a tiny population in relation to its
size. Yet it suffers from various pollution problems which have been described in a report by a New
Zealand government agency. The low temperatures there impede the usual pattern of decay, though
compared with most parts of the world it remains in pristine conditions. Some long-established
scientific bases have large piles of garbage around them.
Few people realize that Antarctica has very little precipitation, so that in the current context of
global warming the ice tends to reveal the rubbish that previously was slowly being buried under
snow. For more than a decade the nations involved in Antarctica research have respected an
agreement to repatriate their garbage, and this should gradually solve the problem. Bu there are a
few items that will not be cleared up, since they belonged to the early period of exploration and
have now acquired historic interest.
Source: Adams, D. P. (1987). Connections: a guide to the basics of writing. Little Brown.
Paraphrasing Activity
The Original Passage
Here is the original source an author might use in a paper:
“Differentiation as an instructional approach promotes a balance between a student’s style and a

student’s ability. Differentiated instruction provides the student with options for processing and
internalizing the content, and for constructing new learning in order to progress academically.”
Questions/tasks
1. Which one of the following do you think is the example of acceptable and unacceptable
paraphrasing?
2. Identify and discuss with your peers and instructor the reasons why and how.

Example # 1:
Differentiation is a way to encourage equality between the approach and talent of the student
(Thompson, 2009). This type of instruction gives students different ways to deal with and grasp
information and for establishing new learning to move on in education (Thompson, 2009).
Example # 2:
Teachers use differentiated instruction to help students learn, allowing the teacher to cater lessons
to the way each student learns and each student's skill (Thompson, 2009).
Retrieved and adapted from Walden University’s Website.
Paraphrasing: Practice Exercises
Directions
On a separate piece of paper, Paraphrase each of the following passages. Try not to look back at
the original passage.
1. “The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat,
and it exerts tremendous control on our climate,” [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. “The cold
ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its
upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this
regulating system is now threatened by human activity.” From “Captain Cousteau,” Audubon (May
1990):17.
2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke
because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when
organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it.
Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke,
Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the
twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or
anything else, America’s break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental
Guide (1989): 25.
3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half
of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce
the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions
the head. From “Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers,” Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.
4. Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of
all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of
oranges as essential to a still life. “The Casbah Gate” depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa,
which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan’s palace. With scrubby coats of ivory,
aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse gets the
essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits
and surveys those who pass through the gate. From Peter Plagens, “Bright Lights.” Newsweek (26
March 1990): 50.
5. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it’s
unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world’s tallest building. The
question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed

a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel
claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building. From Ron Bachman,
“Reaching for the Sky.” Dial (May 1990): 15.
Retrieved and adapted from Purdue Writing Lab.
Avoiding Plagiarism Strategy # 2
Summarizing (Reference Handout # 3.2)

In academic writing you often have to summarize part of a book or journal article. It is one of three
ways of using another writer's work in your own (the other two being quotation and paraphrase).
Your summary may be just one or two sentences, to explain the main idea of the article or compare
it with another text, or it might be much longer, up to 50% of the original. This section explains the
steps in writing a summary, as well as giving some useful language for summary writing.
Steps in writing a summary
You cannot just read a text and produce a summary. If you do so, you will likely miss many of the
main points, and include unnecessary detail. You may also fail to paraphrase appropriately, leading
to a charge of plagiarism. In order to write an effective summary, you need to follow certain steps.
This begins with skimming the text to get an overall idea. After this, you should read more carefully
and highlight the main points and supporting points (but ignore supporting examples and details).
After this you will take notes, in your own words. You are then ready to write the summary itself.
When this is done your task is not, as you should check the summary to make sure you have
included all the main points and have a reference to the source. The following points outline the
steps in writing a summary.
Skim: Skim the text, paying special attention to any headings or subheadings.
Highlight: Read the text again more carefully, underlining/ highlighting important information.
Check any unknown words needed to understand the main points.
Note-taking: Make notes of the main points and supporting points (not supporting examples or
details). Remember to use your own words so that you can paraphrase and avoid plagiarism.
Writing: Write the summary using your notes. Make sure you do not add anything which does not
appear in the original (e.g. your own comments).
Checking: Check the summary to make sure you have covered all the main points. Make sure you
have included a Reference to the source.
Language for summary writing
Although most of the language in the summary will depend on the content, there are some formulaic
phrases which can be used in a summary to help to make it clearer. These can be divided into three
types: the frame, which begins the summary; reminder phrases, which are used throughout the
summary; and transition signals, which are used in certain parts of the summary.
The frame
The frame is the main idea of the article. This is usually included in the first sentence, with a
reference to the author and the main idea or argument of the text. You will also need to use a
reporting verb. Some examples of frames are shown below, for an article titled "The Global

Warming Crisis" by F. Brown, published in 2014. These use the Harvard style of referencing, but
can be adapted to other styles.
 According to Brown (2014), ...

 Brown's (2014) article on global warming discusses...
 Brown (2014), in his article "The Global Warming Crisis", argues that...
Reminder phrases
It is useful to remind the reader, especially in a longer summary, that you are summarizing another
text. This is done by using reminder phrases such as the ones shown below. Using these also helps
to avoid plagiarism, as these phrases include a reference to the source, thus making clear that the
ideas are not your own (a mistake many beginning academic writers make is to just include a
reference at the beginning, but if the summary is long, this is not enough).
 The author goes on to say that...

 The article further states that...
 The author further states that...
 (Author's last name) also states/ maintains/ argues/ believes that...
 (Author's last name) concludes that...
Note: In the last two examples, it is enough to include the author's name without the year (if using
the Harvard or APA style of referencing, which require a year) as you have already given the year
earlier in the summary, in the frame, and you do not need to repeat the year throughout the
summary.
Transition signals
Pay attention to the organization of the original text, and use appropriate transition signals when
organizing the ideas in your summary. For example, you may need comparison and contrast signals,
cause and effect signals, classification signals, and so on.
Retrieved from EAPFoundation.
Summary Samples
Summary Sample # 1: “The Northern Lights”
Original Text
There are times when the night sky glows with bands of color. The bands may begin as cloud shapes
and then spread into a great arc across the entire sky. They may fall in folds like a curtain drawn
across the heavens. The lights usually grow brighter, then suddenly dim. During this time the sky
glows with pale yellow, pink, green, violet, blue, and red. These lights are called the Aurora
Borealis. Some people call them the Northern Lights. Scientists have been watching them for
hundreds of years. They are not quite sure what causes them. In ancient times people were afraid
of the Lights. They imagined that they saw fiery dragons in the sky. Some even concluded that the
heavens were on fire.
Summary

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are bands of color in the night sky. Ancient People
thought that these lights were dragon on fire, and even modern scientists are not sure what they are.
Retrieved from samples provided by Long Beach City College.
Summary Sample # 2: Miss Brill

Read the short story given below and then its summary to discuss in class.
1 Although it was so brilliantly fine - the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of
light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques - Miss Brill was glad that she had
decided on her fur. The air was motionless, but when you opened your mouth there was
just a faint chill, like a chill from a glass of iced water before you sip, and now and again
a leaf came drifting - from nowhere, from the sky. Miss Brill put up her hand and touched
her fur. Dear little thing! It was nice to feel it again. She had taken it out of its box that
afternoon, shaken out the moth-powder, given it a good brush, and rubbed the life back
into the dim little eyes. "What has been happening to me?" said the sad little eyes. Oh, how
sweet it was to see them snap at her again from the red eiderdown! ... But the nose, which
was of some black composition, wasn't at all firm. It must have had a knock, somehow.
Never mind - a little dab of black sealing-wax when the time came - when it was absolutely
necessary ... Little rogue! Yes, she really felt like that about it. Little rogue biting its tail
just by her left ear. She could have taken it off and laid it on her lap and stroked it. She felt
a tingling in her hands and arms, but that came from walking, she supposed. And when she
breathed, something light and sad - no, not sad, exactly - something gentle seemed to move
in her bosom.
2 There were a number of people out this afternoon, far more than last Sunday. And the band
sounded louder and gayer. That was because the Season had begun. For although the band
played all the year round on Sundays, out of season it was never the same. It was like
someone playing with only the family to listen; it didn't care how it played if there weren't
any strangers present. Wasn't the conductor wearing a new coat, too? She was sure it was
new. He scraped with his foot and flapped his arms like a rooster about to crow, and the
bandsmen sitting in the green rotunda blew out their cheeks and glared at the music. Now
there came a little "flutey" bit - very pretty! - a little chain of bright drops. She was sure it
would be repeated. It was; she lifted her head and smiled.
3 Only two people shared her "special" seat: a fine old man in a velvet coat, his hands clasped
over a huge carved walking-stick, and a big old woman, sitting upright, with a roll of
knitting on her embroidered apron. They did not speak. This was disappointing, for Miss
Brill always looked forward to the conversation. She had become really quite expert, she
thought, at listening as though she didn't listen, at sitting in other people's lives just for a
minute while they talked round her.
4 She glanced, sideways, at the old couple. Perhaps they would go soon. Last Sunday, too,
hadn't been as interesting as usual. An Englishman and his wife, he wearing a dreadful
Panama hat and she button boots. And she'd gone on the whole time about how she ought
to wear spectacles; she knew she needed them; but that it was no good getting any; they'd
be sure to break and they'd never keep on. And he'd been so patient. He'd suggested
everything - gold rims, the kind that curved round your ears, little pads inside the bridge.
No, nothing would please her. "They'll always be sliding down my nose!" Miss Brill had
wanted to shake her.

5 The old people sat on the bench, still as statues. Never mind, there was always the crowd
to watch. To and fro, in front of the flower-beds and the band rotunda, the couples and
groups paraded, stopped to talk, to greet, to buy a handful of flowers from the old beggar
who had his tray fixed to the railings. Little children ran among them, swooping and
laughing; little boys with big white silk bows under their chins, little girls, little French
dolls, dressed up in velvet and lace. And sometimes a tiny staggerer came suddenly rocking
into the open from under the trees, stopped, stared, as suddenly sat down "flop," until its
small high-stepping mother, like a young hen, rushed scolding to its rescue. Other people
sat on the benches and green chairs, but they were nearly always the same, Sunday after
Sunday, and - Miss Brill had often noticed - there was something funny about nearly all of
them. They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as
though they'd just come from dark little rooms or even - even cupboards!
6 Behind the rotunda the slender trees with yellow leaves down drooping, and through them
just a line of sea, and beyond the blue sky with gold-veined clouds.
7 Tum-tum-tum tiddle-um! tiddle-um! tum tiddley-um tum ta! blew the band.
8 Two young girls in red came by and two young soldiers in blue met them, and they laughed
and paired and went off arm-in-arm. Two peasant women with funny straw hats passed,
gravely, leading beautiful smoke-coloured donkeys. A cold, pale nun hurried by. A
beautiful woman came along and dropped her bunch of violets, and a little boy ran after to
hand them to her, and she took them and threw them away as if they'd been poisoned. Dear
me! Miss Brill didn't know whether to admire that or not! And now an ermine toque and a
gentleman in grey met just in front of her. He was tall, stiff, dignified, and she was wearing
the ermine toque she'd bought when her hair was yellow. Now everything, her hair, her
face, even her eyes, was the same colour as the shabby ermine, and her hand, in its cleaned
glove, lifted to dab her lips, was a tiny yellowish paw. Oh, she was so pleased to see him -
delighted! She rather thought they were going to meet that afternoon. She described where
she'd been - everywhere, here, there, along by the sea. The day was so charming - didn't he
agree? And wouldn't he, perhaps? ... But he shook his head, lighted a cigarette, slowly
breathed a great deep puff into her face, and even while she was still talking and laughing,
flicked the match away and walked on. The ermine toque was alone; she smiled more
brightly than ever. But even the band seemed to know what she was feeling and played
more softly, played tenderly, and the drum beat, "The Brute! The Brute!" over and over.
What would she do? What was going to happen now? But as Miss Brill wondered, the
ermine toque turned, raised her hand as though she'd seen someone else, much nicer, just
over there, and pattered away. And the band changed again and played more quickly, more
gayly than ever, and the old couple on Miss Brill's seat got up and marched away, and such
a funny old man with long whiskers hobbled along in time to the music and was nearly
knocked over by four girls walking abreast.
9 Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it
all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play. Who could believe the sky at the back
wasn't painted? But it wasn't till a little brown dog trotted on solemn and then slowly trotted
off, like a little "theatre" dog, a little dog that had been drugged, that Miss Brill discovered
what it was that made it so exciting. They were all on the stage. They weren't only the
audience, not only looking on; they were acting. Even she had a part and came every
Sunday. No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn't been there; she was part of
the performance after all. How strange she'd never thought of it like that before! And yet it
explained why she made such a point of starting from home at just the same time each
week - so as not to be late for the performance - and it also explained why she had quite a

queer, shy feeling at telling her English pupils how she spent her Sunday afternoons. No
wonder! Miss Brill nearly laughed out loud. She was on the stage. She thought of the old
invalid gentleman to whom she read the newspaper four afternoons a week while he slept
in the garden. She had got quite used to the frail head on the cotton pillow, the hollowed
eyes, the open mouth and the high pinched nose. If he'd been dead she mightn't have noticed
for weeks; she wouldn't have minded. But suddenly he knew he was having the paper read
to him by an actress! "An actress!" The old head lifted; two points of light quivered in the
old eyes. "An actress - are ye?" And Miss Brill smoothed the newspaper as though it were
the manuscript of her part and said gently; "Yes, I have been an actress for a long time."
10 The band had been having a rest. Now they started again. And what they played was warm,
sunny, yet there was just a faint chill - a something, what was it? - not sadness - no, not
sadness - a something that made you want to sing. The tune lifted, lifted, the light shone;
and it seemed to Miss Brill that in another moment all of them, all the whole company,
would begin singing. The young ones, the laughing ones who were moving together, they
would begin, and the men's voices, very resolute and brave, would join them. And then she
too, she too, and the others on the benches - they would come in with a kind of
accompaniment - something low, that scarcely rose or fell, something so beautiful - moving
... And Miss Brill's eyes filled with tears and she looked smiling at all the other members
of the company. Yes, we understand, we understand, she thought - though what they
understood she didn't know.
11 Just at that moment a boy and girl came and sat down where the old couple had been. They
were beautifully dressed; they were in love. The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived
from his father's yacht. And still soundlessly singing, still with that trembling smile, Miss
Brill prepared to listen.
12 "No, not now," said the girl. "Not here, I can't."
13 "But why? Because of that stupid old thing at the end there?" asked the boy. "Why does
she come here at all - who wants her? Why doesn't she keep her silly old mug at home?"
14 "It's her fu-ur which is so funny," giggled the girl. "It's exactly like a fried whiting."
15 "Ah, be off with you!" said the boy in an angry whisper. Then: "Tell me, ma petite chere"
16 "No, not here," said the girl. "Not yet."
17 On her way home she usually bought a slice of honey-cake at the baker's. It was her Sunday
treat. Sometimes there was an almond in her slice, sometimes not. It made a great
difference. If there was an almond it was like carrying home a tiny present - a surprise -
something that might very well not have been there. She hurried on the almond Sundays
and struck the match for the kettle in quite a dashing way.
18 But to-day she passed the baker's by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room - her
room like a cupboard - and sat down on the red eiderdown. She sat there for a long time.
The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly,
without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something
crying.
Summary

“Miss Brill” is the story of an old woman told brilliantly and realistically, balancing thoughts and
emotions that sustain her late solitary life amidst all the bustle of modern life. Miss Brill is a regular
visitor on Sundays to the Jardins Publiques (the Public Gardens) of a small French suburb where
she sits and watches all sorts of people come and go. She listens to the band playing, loves to watch
people and guess what keeps them going, and enjoys contemplating the world as a great stage upon
which actors perform. She finds herself to be another actor among the so many she sees, or at least
herself as ‘part of the performance after all.’ One Sunday Miss Brill puts on her fur and goes to the
Public Gardens as usual.
The evening ends with her sudden realization that she is old and lonely, a realization brought to her
by a conversation she overhears between a boy and a girl, presumably lovers, who comment on her
unwelcome presence in their vicinity. Miss Brill is sad and depressed as she returns home, not
stopping by as usual to buy her Sunday delicacy, a slice of honey-cake. She retires to her dark
room, puts the fur back into the box and imagines that she has heard something cry.”
Retrieved from ThoughtCo.com
Summarizing: Practice Exercise # 1

Directions
Read each paragraph. Highlight or underline necessary information. Write your summary.
1. The English were not the first Europeans to land their ships on American soil. The Vikings had
discovered North America in the 11th century. Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492 for Spain,
and the French began expeditions to the New World in 1524. But the first English presence in North
America is important because the thirteen English colonies that would later be established
eventually became the country now known as the United States of America.
2. In April of 1585 Sir Walter Raleigh, under the authority of Queen Elizabeth of England, sent an
expedition of seven ships carrying 600 men, half of them soldiers, to found an English colony in
North America. The colony was to be used to establish an English presence in the New World as
well as a base from which English privateers, or pirates, could attack and plunder Spanish treasure
fleets. Raleigh’s cousin, Sir Richard Grenville, led the expedition.
3. In July of that year the bulk of the fleet reached a small island off the coast of Virginia that was
called Roanoke. After building a small fort on the north side of the island, the colonists initiated
relations with a Native American tribe that lived on the island, the Aquascogoc. These natives
showed little interest in building relations with the English colonists, and they soon parted
company. After this encounter, however, the English noticed that one of their silver cups had gone
missing, and they attributed its disappearance to the Aquascogoc. Grenville, the English captain,
was furious. He believed that the Aquascogoc had stolen the silver cup. Whether or not this was
true, angry exchanges followed and soon the English burned the Aquascogoc village. The English
held their fort against the subsequent attacks of the natives.
4. Despite their success in battle, the colonists had a miserable time because they were mainly
soldiers and adventurers, not farmers. They were hungry. They missed the comforts of England,
such as soft feather beds and dainty foods. Also, they had expected to find gold and silver on the
island, and were disappointed when they found none. Grenville soon tired of these conditions and
set out on his ship to plunder Spanish treasure fleets and return to England. The colony was
gradually abandoned.
5. In 1587 Sir Walter Raleigh dispatched a further expedition of three ships and 150 colonists, led
by John White, to Roanoke. This time the expedition included women and children, including
White’s pregnant daughter, Elenora. Shortly after they reached Roanoke, Elenora delivered a child

whom they named Virginia. Virginia was the first English person born in America. But the English
soon ran into more trouble with the Native Americans. A colonist named George Howe was killed
by natives while searching for crabs alone on the beach. The colonists were scared. They persuaded
White to sail back to England to ask Sir Walter Raleigh for help. White left behind 114 colonists,
including his daughter Elenora and Granddaughter Virginia.
6. Unfortunately for White and the colonists, England was preparing for a naval war with Spain.
All shipping from English ports was ceased. It took White three years to get his relief expedition
back to Roanoke. When he returned in August of 1590, White found no sign of his daughter,
granddaughter, or anyone else. They found three letters, “CRO,” carved on a tree and the full word,
“CROATOAN,” on a nearby post. Possibly this referred to the Croatoan Island, which was nearby.
White searched long and anxiously, but failed to find them.
7. No further trace of the lost colony has ever been found. Sir Walter Raleigh himself searched for
the colonists in 1595, and he sent another search-party in 1602, but nothing came of either attempt.
To this day no one knows for certain what happened to the colonists.
Retrieved from Ereading Worksheets.
Summarizing: Practice Exercise # 2

Directions
Answer the questions given below the following passage to practice summary writing.
The National Trust
1 The National Trust really means what it says. It is an as sociation of men and women
who seek to preserve places of historic interest and natural beauty; it is not a
Government department, sustained by compulsory taxes, but a charity in the legal
sense, depending for its existence on the voluntary support of the public. How it
grew up is a story that throws a revealing sidelight on how things get done in Britain.
Although it started as long ago as the mid-nineties and has, since the last war, been
growing more and more effective, its exact position in the social and economic life of
the nation is still widely misunderstood.
2 Average citizens, deafened by the laments of well-meaning people who cry havoc at any
and every proposal to pull down a building or to build on an open space, are
inclined to take a plague-on-both-your-houses line. They suspect that many of the
preservers are unreasonable. On the other hand, they are equally suspicious of the
crocodile tears of official and unofficial despoilers. Their instinct is sound. Much cant
is talked about preservation; vandalism, sometimes commercial, sometimes
bureaucratic, is rampant throughout the land. That is why the role of the National Trust
has become increasingly significant. Before it takes properties, urban or rural, under
its aegis, it screens them in a civilized and businesslike manner. The case for saving them
from change or destruction has to be made out not merely on grounds of sentimental
nostalgia, but because genuine historic or aesthetic values are at stake.
3 Two men and a woman began it. Canon Rawnsley, whose heart was in the Lake
District, Sir Robert Hunter, a solicitor who loved the Surrey open spaces, and Miss
Octavia Hill, that indefatigable doer of practical good works, were the founders in 1895.
Their embryo Trust was first incorporated under license of the Board of Trade as a
public company, not trading for profit, with power to acquire and preserve for the
nation places of historic interest or natural beauty. Their first property was a small
stretch of cliff overlooking the Barmouth estuary in North Wales, and to this was soon
added the fourteenth-century timber-framed Clergy House at Alfriston in Sussex. The
pattern had been set.
(from Graded Comprehension for Advanced Students by D. Fisher and J. Day)
Questions
1. What is the National Trust? How did it start and grow up? (70—75 words).
2. Why has the role of the National Trust become increasingly significant? (50—55 words)
Avoiding Plagiarism: Combining Paraphrasing and Summarizing
Sample Passage # 1
The following is a sample essay you can use to demonstrate quoting, paraphrasing, and
summarizing. Examples of each task are provided at the end of the essay for further reference.
Here is the citation for Sipher’s essay:
Sipher, Roger. “So That Nobody Has to Go to School If They Don’t Want To.” The New York
Times, 19 Dec. 1977, p. 31.
So That Nobody Has To Go To School If They Don’t Want To by Roger Sipher
1 A decline in standardized test scores is but the most recent indicator that American
education is in trouble.
2 One reason for the crisis is that present mandatory-attendance laws force many to attend
school, who have no wish to be there. Such children have little desire to learn and are so
antagonistic to school that neither they nor more highly motivated students receive the
quality education that is the birthright of every American.
3 The solution to this problem is simple: Abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow
only those who are committed to getting an education to attend.
4 This will not end public education. Contrary to conventional belief, legislators enacted
compulsory-attendance laws to legalize what already existed. William Landes and Lewis
Solomon, economists, found little evidence that mandatory-attendance laws increased the
number of children in school. They found, too, that school systems have never effectively
enforced such laws, usually because of the expense involved.
5 There is no contradiction between the assertion that compulsory attendance has had little
effect on the number of children attending school and the argument that repeal would be a

positive step toward improving education. Most parents want a high school education for
their children. Unfortunately, compulsory attendance hampers the ability of public school
officials to enforce legitimate educational and disciplinary policies and thereby make the
education a good one.
6 Private schools have no such problem. They can fail or dismiss students, knowing such
students can attend public school. Without compulsory attendance, public schools would
be freer to oust students whose academic or personal behavior undermines the educational
mission of the institution.
7 Has not the noble experiment of a formal education for everyone failed? While we pay
homage to the homily, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” We
have pretended it is not true in education.
8 Ask high school teachers if recalcitrant students learn anything of value. Ask teachers if
these students do any homework. Quite the contrary, these students know they will be
passed from grade to grade until they are old enough to quit or until, as is more likely, they
receive a high school diploma. At the point when students could legally quit, most choose
to remain since they know they are likely to be allowed to graduate whether they do
acceptable work or not.
9 Abolition of archaic attendance laws would produce enormous dividends.
10 First, it would alert everyone that school is a serious place where one goes to learn. Schools
are neither day-care centers nor indoor street corners. Young people who resist learning
should stay away; indeed, an end to compulsory schooling would require them to stay
away.
11 Second, students opposed to learning would not be able to pollute the educational
atmosphere for those who want to learn. Teachers could stop policing recalcitrant students
and start educating.
12 Third, grades would show what they are supposed to: how well a student is learning.
Parents could again read report cards and know if their children were making progress.
13 Fourth, public esteem for schools would increase. People would stop regarding them as
way stations for adolescents and start thinking of them as institutions for educating
America’s youth.
14 Fifth, elementary schools would change because students would find out early they had
better learn something or risk flunking out later. Elementary teachers would no longer have
to pass their failures on to junior high and high school.
15 Sixth, the cost of enforcing compulsory education would be eliminated. Despite

enforcement efforts, nearly 15 percent of the school-age children in our largest cities are
almost permanently absent from school.

16 Communities could use these savings to support institutions to deal with young people not
in school. If, in the long run, these institutions prove more costly, at least we would not
confuse their mission with that of schools.
17 Schools should be for education. At present, they are only tangentially so. They have
attempted to serve an all-encompassing social function, trying to be all things to all people.
In the process they have failed miserably at what they were originally formed to
accomplish.
Review of Strategies: Summary, Paraphrase, and Quotation
Example summary: Roger Sipher makes his case for getting rid of compulsory-attendance laws
in primary and secondary schools with six arguments. These fall into three groups—first that
education is for those who want to learn and by including those that don’t want to learn, everyone
suffers. Second, that grades would be reflective of effort and elementary school teachers wouldn’t
feel compelled to pass failing students. Third, that schools would both save money and save face
with the elimination of compulsory- attendance laws.
Example paraphrase of the essay’s conclusion: Roger Sipher concludes his essay by insisting
that schools have failed to fulfill their primary duty of education because they try to fill multiple
social functions (par.17).
Example quotation: According to Roger Sipher, a solution to the perceived crisis of American
education is to “abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to
getting an education to attend” (par. 3).
Retrieved from: Purdue Writing Lab
Sample Passage # 2
Examples of Paraphrasing, Summarizing and Plagiarism
Note that the examples below use MLA style for in-text citation.
The Original Passage

“Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse
quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should
appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact
transcribing of source materials while taking notes.
Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed., 1976, pp. 46-47.”
A Legitimate Paraphrase
In research papers, students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a
desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize
the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).
An Acceptable Summary

Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount
of
quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).
A Plagiarized Version
Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them
in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of
directly quoted material. So, it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while
taking notes.
Retrieved from Purdue Writing Lab.

Unit # 4 Academic Writing
Difference between Academic and Non-Academic Texts (Reference Handout # 4.1)
Academic Non-academic
Reader academics family and friends
content serious thought conversational
Style complex sentences mostly simple and

showing considerable compound sentences
variety in construction joined by conjunctions
such as and or but
Organisation clear and well planned less likely to be as clear

and as organised
Grammar likely to be error free may not always use

complete sentences
vocabulary technical and academic use of short forms, idioms

language used accurately and slang
Read the sentences and tick either F (formal) or I (informal) after each sentence. Make notes on
which features helped you reach your decision.
Sentences F I Notes
I couldn't finish the interviews on time.
The initial tests were completed and the results analysed by June
2002.
I'd like to start by drawing your attention to previous research in

this area.
In the 1990s, some researchers started to point out the problems

with this theory.
He agreed with me that this procedure didn't make much sense.
We'll repeat the test sometime next year.
While it is still too early to draw firm conclusions from the data,
preliminary analysis suggests the following trends are present.
In addition, the research attempts to answer two further related

questions.

Non-Academic Texts (Reference handout # 4.2)
Newspaper Articles
Haider Ali makes history by winning Pakistan’s first-ever gold medal at Tokyo Paralympics
1 Athlete Haider Ali made history on Friday by winning a gold medal in the discus throw
competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics Games, becoming the first Pakistani to do so.
Ali achieved a 55.26 metre throw at his fifth attempt out of a total of six to score the best
distance— almost 3m longer than Ukraine’s MykolaZhabnyak who scored 52.43m to
come in second place,, according to Radio Pakistan. Brazilian Joao Victor Teixeira de
Souza Silva won bronze with a throw of 51.86m.
2 The official Paralympics Games accounted posted on Twitter that the attempt was a
“personal Best” for Ali. Celebrating his win, the athlete said the gold medal would be
“very important” for para-sports in Pakistan since others would be able to see what can
be achieved through hard work.
3 “I hope to be a role model for other people that have a disability [and who] don’t compete
in sports to take part in para-sports,” he said.
4 Punjab Sports Minister RaiTaimoor Khan Bhatti said Ali had made the entire nation
proud by winning the gold medal. He announced a reward of Rs2.5 million for the
Olympian, saying it would be given to him by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar at a
ceremony upon his return.
5 The United States Embassy in Islamabad also congratulated him for the win and said he
was “used to creating history.” Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry
thanked the athlete for his win on Twitter. “We are proud of you,” he tweeted.
6 Ali — who hails from Gujranwala — suffers from cerebral palsy. This is not the first
time he has won a medal at the Paralympics. However, his previous medals were for long
jump. He won a bronze medal at the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016 and a silver medal at
the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008.
Retrieved from Dawn News Website.
MDCAT crisis
Editorial
1 THE 2021 MDCAT exams are over. Based on their performance, approximately 20,000
top performers will make their way to public and private medical and dental colleges. But
much like last year’s test, MDCAT 2021 has triggered a controversy that refuses to die
down. Students have been protesting that some topics in the exam were not in their
syllabus. They have also said that the MDCAT was not held on a single day which gave
an unfair advantage to some students, who presumably had more time to revise. And they

have criticised the testing conditions complaining of defective internet facilities. The
students have approached the Pakistan Medical Commission, which conducts the now
centralised MDCAT, with their grievances. The PMC has sought to respond with detailed
explanations by, for instance, asserting that the testing system operates on “a wireless
local area network” and not on “live open internet”. It also insists that the test was
“within the prescribed syllabus”, and has said that a “post-exam analysis” will be
conducted and remedial steps taken if required.
2 The students’ charges cannot be taken lightly. Many have felt that they have been
deprived of fair marks and that their choice of pre-medical subjects has now jeopardised
their career path. An independent probe is therefore needed to assess what exactly went
wrong and to address genuine concerns. However, it is also necessary to go beyond the
immediate controversy. For years, students in the country have been exposed to an
educational setting where rote learning takes precedence over critical thinking. Facts are
taught and theories learned. Nevertheless, the extent to which the students have
understood a concept does not depend on memorisation alone. No doubt rote learning has
its advantages. But of what use is it if students are unable to apply the concepts learned to
correctly answer tricky questions? The PMC mentions that 30pc of the MCQs in the
MDCAT were “application-based”. That presents a dilemma for our educational
authorities: should the exam be restructured or should classroom learning be revamped?
Taken from Dawn News Website.
Questions/Tasks
1. Identify two transitional signals in the article titled Haider Ali makes history by winning
Pakistan’s first-ever gold medal at Tokyo Paralympics, and make two sentences using
each.
2. Differentiate between facts and opinions or inferences of the editorial, and discuss in
class with your peers its features as an example of non-academic text.
3. Find out the definition of editorial from internet and write the answer in less than 40
words in your notebooks. Then look for some newspaper online, and read its editorial to
summarize in a sentence or two.
Blog Samples
Blog Sample # 1
A teacher recently asked me for a list of writing rules I use as a professional editor. Grammatical
mistakes aside, I find myself making the same edits consistently. In case you too want to clean up
your writing – or your students – I’ve listed below the rules I use as a writer and editor. Some of
these are stylistic, but assuming a somewhat formal context, they tend to universally apply. I hope
you find them helpful!

1. Never use a big word when a simpler one will suffice. To do otherwise is loquacious.
2. Never use many words when one will suffice. Using one fitting word is not pretentious but
concise.
3. Always prioritize clarity over tone. To attempt to sound smart at the expense of the reader is
unkind.
4. Always choose the most precise and accurate word.
5. Remove prepositional phrases whenever possible.
6. Only use “be verbs” when discussing states of being. Typically, “is” is used because the
subject isn’t specified. See what I did there?
7. Unless your reader knows you, do not begin a composition with the word “I.” The reader
doesn’t yet care.
8. Do not use the same subject multiple sentences in a row.
9. Vary your sentence structure.
10. Use adjectives sparingly.
11. Never use absolutes.
12. Always learn the rules before you break them.
Retrieved from Circe Institute
Questions/Tasks
1. What do you think can possibly be the title of this blog?

2. Identify at least five difficult words while reading the text and contextually try to infer
their meanings. Share and then match your meanings with peer who is sitting next to you
and see if yours are the same. Where there is a difference, ask your instructor for
facilitation and consult the dictionary. Then make one sentence using each word that you
had identified.
3. Identify the features making this blog a non-academic text.
4. List at least five rules of writing in your own words after reading this blog.
5. What does the author mean when he/she says, “always learn the rules before you break
them”? Describe it in your own words in writing and then discuss in class.

Blog Sample # 2
1 When was the last time you got lost? Lost while traveling through town? Lost in a store?
Lost in a book?
2 Lost in an activity? When was the last time you allowed yourself to get lost?
3 My parents used to make fun of me as a college student and afterward when I visited
them at the beach.
4 Since I was coming from a different starting point, I was responsible for finding my own
way to the beach. This was before the current availability and accuracy of GPS devices,
and, for some reason, I could never seem to get to the beach by using the same way
twice. Inevitably, I would miss a turn somewhere and then just find my way – I knew that
as long as I stayed heading south and east, I would eventually hit the coast; from that
point it was just a matter of deciding whether I needed to go north or south to get to
where my parents were. I was able to see some unique sites on the back roads I ended up
traveling, going through towns that barely made a map, seeing fields in various stages of
growth, finding beautiful buildings or scenes unexpectedly.
5 When was the last time you allowed yourself to get lost?
6 Perhaps I was directionally challenged because when I was growing up, if we were in the
car for more than 10 minutes, I was lost – lost in a book. When I first started to drive
around town as a 15-year-old beginning driver, I had no idea where to go – road names
had no meaning to me. I had spent my childhood reading every moment that I was sitting
still. I went from a 14-year-old child lost in a book to a 15-year-old driver lost in a
moderately-sized town.
7 When was the last time you allowed yourself to get lost? If not while traveling
somewhere, what about lost in a book? Lost in a moment of fun and spontaneity?
8 When was the last time you allowed your children to get lost?
9 Let’s think about what is lost by never getting lost.
10 When we are never lost, we never get away from it all. Remember when you were last
immersed in an amazing movie, so much so that you managed to go over 2-hours without
checking your phone or email? When we are always connected, we never truly take a
break and get away from it all.
11 When we are never lost, we lose creativity. When we get lost (physically or in an idea),
we start making maps and images in our head, engaging a cognitive function that is
becoming harder and harder to engage.

12 When we are never lost, we fail to try new things. When we are physically lost, we end
up seeing new towns or trying new restaurants. When we get lost in a store, we find new
songs or books or clothes that we like. When we allow ourselves to get away from the
known, we learn new interests and ideas.
13 When we are never lost, we lose space for God. In the quiet, still moments, God often
speaks the loudest. God spoke to Elijah (1 Kings 19) not as a rushing wind, not in the
earthquake, not in the first, but in a gentle whisper. If we are constantly rushing around
within our plan, do we ever give space for us to hear God?
14 When we are never lost, we lose empathy. Being lost is uncomfortable. Not knowing
where you are, not knowing what is expected, feeling out of place. This is what the
middle grades years feel like! Yet a adults, we forget what it is like to not be in our
element and can lose empathy for those who are outside of their element. Whether it be
because of age, cultural/economic differences, life experiences, whatever – when we
remember what it is like to be lost, we will have greater empathy for those who are
feeling lost around us.
15 When we are never lost, we lose the beauty around us. When we feel lost, we look at our
surroundings differently. Or, more importantly, when we are not lost, we do not look at
what is around us. Can you drive to work some mornings only to wonder how you do not
recall a significant portion of your drive? Whether it is lost in a book, or lost in a car, or
lost in a store, we will be more likely to notice things when we are paying attention, as
opposed to on auto-pilot. Get lost so that you can pay attention to the details that you will
miss on autopilot.
16 I encourage you to not only find time to get lost but make sure that your child(ren) have
plenty of time to get lost as well.
Retrieved from Circe Institute.
Questions/Tasks
1. What do you think can possibly be the title of this blog?

2. Identify the features of this blog as an example of non-academic text.
3. What does the author of this blog mean by getting lost in this specific context?
4. Where does the author use the term cognitive function, and what do you think is its
meaning?
5. How does the author conclude this blog? Write it in your own words.

Academic Texts (Reference Handout # 4.3)
Research Paper
www.sciedu.ca/ijba International Journal of Business Administration Vol. 6, No. 1; 2015
The Impact of Social Media on the Academic Development of School

Tarek A. El-Badawy1 & Yasmin Hashem1
Abstract
Today, it is crucial to determine the impact of social media on the academic performance of students.
Technology is booming rapidly from year to year, and the younger generations are the ones caught in this
rapid change. Questionnaires were distributed through Facebook and E-mails, to find out whether students’
academic performance is impacted by social media or not. The findings demonstrate that there is no
relationship between social media and academic performance; this is clearly projected in their overall grade
average.
Keywords: social media, education, younger generation, academic development, Egypt
1. Introduction
Mike Moran, Jeff Seaman and Hester Tinti-Kane, for a long period of time believed that the term
social media does not have a clear definition, however, when one platform emerged, that gave
people an opportunity to be content creators, controllers and transparent users, to a great extent.
Once this content is shared, it becomes a conversation, because all users who have accounts on
social media platforms can interact with all posts (Moran, Seaman and Tinti-Kane, 2011). Social
Networking is “the act of engagement,” while social media is the tool used to communicate with
mass audience (Hartshorn, 2010). Social Media is the platform that gives individuals the
opportunity to interact, using two way communications; meaning, that anyone who has online
accounts can share their opinions with other social media users.
There are two types of social media users; digital natives and digital immigrants. Digital natives
are the ones who were born after 1980, they came to this world when the digital media existed.
However, digital immigrants are the ones who were born before 1980 and adapted their lives to
digital media (AntonSon and Christopher, 2014). Social media platforms vary from Web blogs, to
micro-sharing platforms, to lifestreams to social networks and much more (AntonSon and
Christopher, 2014).
The younger generation discussed in this research paper are school students between the ages of 12
to 19 years old. A few of the platforms they use are Facebook, YouTube, Google, and many others
that will be discussed in the findings of this research. The younger generation are the individuals
that will lead our world in the future, they must be well educated to be able to impact this world
and make Egypt a better country on the road to success. Therefore, research must be conducted
about the different things they are exposed to, that may effect them negatively or positively. This
research aims to asses the frequency at which the students are social networking, and whether it
has any effect on their academic performance. If there is an impact on their academic performance,
in what way does it effect it. All these questions will be answered through this research paper.

Social media has been utilised in so many different ways throughout the years. Egypt is known to
be one of the heavy users of social media, specifically Facebook. It dominates 25% of the total
MENA region, having almost 11 million users, even though the penetration rate is only about 13%.
In the first six months of the year 2012, Egypt had an additional 1,608,420 users on Facebook,
which is the highest number in the MENA region. Luke Richards stated that 46% of Egyptian social
media users believe that social media has great influence in empowering them to change their
country (Richards, 2012). According to Dr. Anthony Curtis, in 2014, there is about 1.28 billion
Facebook users and 255 million Twitter users, 55 million of the Facebook users and 3.7 million of
the Twitter users are from the Arab world (Curtis, 2013).
This research aims at measuring the impact of social media on the younger generation’s academic
performance; therefore, this paper is structured in the following order: the literature review
outlining previous research conducted on university students and high-school students outside of
Egypt. Following with the research methodology and the results obtained from the distribution of
the questionnaires; followed by the discussion that will answer the suggested hypotheses of the
paper. The final part will be the conclusion and the limitations of this study.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Social Media and Its Uses
Paul Kirschner and Aryn Karpinski define Facebook and other social network sites as an online
directory that allows people to find their friends, family and colleagues through looking them up
on social network sites (Kirschner and Karpinsk, 2010). Curtis states that teens all over the world
are starting to lose interest in the use of Facebook and are using Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram
(Curtis, 2013).
Victoria Rideout states that, among the younger generation, the time they spend on social media,
what she calls ‘entertainment media’ is “more than twice the average amount of time spent in school
each year.” (Rideout, 2012, p.5) She also adds that an American child spends on average seven and
a half hours a day just for having fun on the media, not only that, but they multi-task, between all
the different media they use. For example, they can be listening to music, sending a tweet and also
posting on Facebook. Rideout says, that since social media is seven days a week, unlike school or
having a full-time job, over the years the amount of time one could spend over the internet “has
exploded” (Rideout, 2012, p. 5).
Abelardo Pardo believes that technology offers a platform for innovation, and allows its users to
express their opinions about how they feel towards the information being published. He adds that,
social media is also a platform that allows students to interact with one another, with their teachers
and communities that share their same education. Pardo also states that these types of interaction
are “an essential part of how humans learn.” (Pardo, 2013, p. 45)
Kirschner and Karpinski, discuss Wim Veen’s new term, “Homo Zappiens”, which refers to the
learners of the new generation, and the new way they use to learn. This new way is known as “meta-
cognitive skills,” meaning they learn on their own without the need for instructions, it is also called
“discover-based learning.” They also add that, the younger generation shares an unclear bond with
technology since their birth, leading them to multi-task. They note that 46% of the younger

generations who access the internet use it to help them with their school assignments (Kirschner
and Karpinski, 2010).
June Ahn discusses in her research a theory called ‘Signalling Theory’, this theory refers to how
individuals on social network sites present themselves, and develop their identities and build trust
with others. She also adds that, by having many friends on the different platforms, this causes the
individual to lose the trust of their friends because they start adding people they do not know, to
show others how popular they are (Ahn, 2011b).
2.2 Social Media’s Effect on Academic Performance
Kaveri Subrahmanyam and Patricia Greenfield state that using online communication has both
negative and positive effects, because there are harmful ways in which the internet could be used.
They also state that nowadays, schools are trying their best to control how students use digital
media on school grounds (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 2008). In some schools, leaders believe
that social media has a positive impact on the development of the students’ education. In other
schools, leaders have banned the access of social network sites, because they fear the students’
interaction on them, although, they know the positive impact social media has on the students’
education (Ahn, 2010). Ahn also states that the examples of the media platforms the younger
generation use are: YouTube, to share and stream videos, and Facebook, to have a complete identity
online, and a network of friends. Ahn says, researchers look at the profiles of the social media users
as part of the process needed for the students to develop their identity (Ahn, 2010).
Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe and Kathleen Clarke-Pearson believe that there are negative impacts
caused by social media, which include accessing inappropriate content and not “understanding
online privacy.” They also say that, there is online harassment and cyberbullying, which is mostly
caused by risks of peer to peer engagement (O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, 2011).
Rideout, has interviewed teachers, to find out their opinions regarding the effect entertainment
media has on the students’ academic performance; 71% of the teachers believe it has negatively
impacted the students’ attention span; 58% of teachers believe that social media has negatively
impacted their writing skills, due to their regular use of slang language and word abbreviations.
The rest of the teachers believed it impacted both their face-to-face communication skills and their
critical thinking skills (Rideout, 2012). She quotes a middle school math teacher who said, “The
instant rewards of video games have made activities that require depth of commitment much harder
for the kids.” (Rideout, 2012, p. 8) Rideout adds that the positive impact caused by the students’
use of the entertainment media according to the teachers she interviewed is their reading skills, it
improved 46%, their math skills improved 54%, their writing skills improved 39% and their science
skills improved 51%. More of the positive impacts caused by entertainment media in the opinion
of 63% of the teachers is their ability to look-up information and find it, and another 34% of the
teachers believe it improved their skills in “multi-tasking effectively” (Rideout, 2012).
According to O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, in the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are a
couple of benefits to social media use. They believe one of the most important benefits of social
media is that it enhances how an individual understands himself by engaging with others, and
becoming creative through blogging. This leads to better outcomes in their individual school work.
Another important benefit according to O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson, is the fact that using social
media gives students the opportunity to improve their learning, since they have the chance to share

knowledge with one another and conduct group projects more efficiently (O’Keeffe and Clarke-
Pearson, 2011).
Victor Lavy and Edith Sand’s research was conducted in a Tel Aviv School to determine the effect
of the types of friends on social media platforms of middle-school students. They divided the types
of friends into categories. “Reciprocal friends” which are friends that have something in common
with each other, such as academics and interests. A second group was the “non-reciprocal friends”,
those who turned down the “friendship offer” of another student. They found that students with
reciprocal friends in their class had a significant positive effect on three of their test scores; Hebrew,
Math and English. On the other hand, students that had no common friends showed that there was
a negative effect on the same three test scores. This tells us that if students are in contact with
friends who share the same interests, goals and education on social media, then they are more likely
to help each other in performing well in their studies, due to motivation and other factors (Lavy,
2012).
A new term regarding education has been introduced by Jeff Cain and Katherine Chretien and this
term is known as ‘interprofessional education’. It means that, instead of each individual learning
on his/her own, different individuals come together to share the piece of knowledge they have with
others. This leads to improved outcomes as they learn from each other’s experiences. This was first
introduced amongst the health departments (Cain and Chretien, 2013). Therefore, there is an
opportunity to make use of it within the students. This can be achieved by utilising social media to
create study groups on Facebook, Skype, Blogs or any medium that allows multi contact
conversations and allowing them to share their assignments, asking their peers questions they don’t
understand.
According to Napoleon Egedegbe, the result that different researchers and scholars have reached
regarding the impact of social media on the academic performance of students is that there is no
impact (Egedegbe, 2013). On the other hand, Dr. Patient Rambe states that social media gives
different drawbacks and opportunities that distinctively enable and disable possibilities of having
face-to-face interaction, as it liberates them from this obligation to the availability of everything
online. He also adds that Facebook as a learning environment has given the opportunity to have
multiple representations of students voices and has created an “educative and aesthetic space.”
Taking into consideration the opposing side, Facebook’s learning environment has caused
limitations of individuals to realise their “self-interests” (Rambe, 2011).
Sanzhar Naizabekov concluded that social media causes procrastination as a result of its distracting
nature. It would take an individual who uses social media much more time than it would take a
focused individual to finish a task. Through procrastination emerges the second negative impact,
which is lack of motivation, because using social media with studying develops negative attitude
towards their individual work at school (Naizabekov, 2012).
3. Research Methods
This research aims to find the impact of social media on the academic performance of the younger
generation in Egypt. Questionnaires were distributed through the social media platform, Facebook
and emails, amongst a sample of students aged 12-19.

The sample consisted of 110 male and female students aged 12-19, which are in grades 7 to 12.
They are from different socioeconomic classes and the types of school programs varied between
IG, American, French, German and National. The research also has a mini-comparison between
the students frequency of using the following social media platforms: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter,
Snapchat, Google, and Instagram. A Likert Scale was used where the respondents were asked to
rate them from 1-6, according to the level they use the platform most; one being the most and six
being the least.
The questionnaires consisted of questions regarding the number of hours they use social media per
day and for what they use social media for. Other questions included the number of hours they
study per day, whether they use social media to study or not, and if they do, how do they use it to
study and which platforms they use.
The data obtained was analyzed in several ways, with grouping the students with similar answers
together, then applying the cross tabulation method to measure the impact and effect of two things,
first the frequency of the students usage of social media daily, against their overall grade average,
and also the number of hours they spend daily on studying with the hours spent on social media.
4. Findings and Discussion
There was a total of 110 responses received. The demographics were 68% females and 32% males.
The majority of the respondents were between 16 and 17 years old and they made up 72% of the
respondents. The rest of the 28% were 14, 15, 18 and 19 years old. This means the majority were
from grades 11 and 12, which are 85% of the respondents.
The respondents were asked to mention their overall grade range at school. 61% of the respondents
were between the 90-100% grade range, 20% were of the 80-90% grade range and 9% were of the
70-80% grade range, leaving 10% of the grade range 70% and below.
When it came to looking at which platforms students use mostly, 41% mostly used Facebook and
32% used Google. The least platform that was used was SnapChat since 40% of the respondents
voted for it the least. The other platforms were, Instagram 27% used most frequent. Twitter and
YouTube, their level of usage was a three out of five, as observed by the scores on the Likert Scale
used in the questionnaire.
They were also asked to mention whether they use social media to study or not and how they use
social media to study. 92% of the respondents use the internet to study. Others students stated
clearly, that they use social media platforms with their math homework since they can Google
equations. Therefore, most of them use social media in a positive way, which helps them do better
at school.
The respondents were also asked to mention the number of hours they spend daily on social media
and studying; the results were quite surprising. 50% of the respondents spend 1-3 hours studying a
day and 33% spent that same amount of time on social media per day. From this it is clear that the
respondents do not study more often than they browse social media, and the overall grade averages
of the majority is quite high.

Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between the number of hours the students spend daily on social
media networks versus their overall grade range in school. Looking at the results, it is clear that the
number of students within the grade range of 90%-100% are 67 in total, which is almost 61% of
the total respondents. Looking deeper into the bar graph, it is clear that among the 67 students, the
majority of them spend between one to three hours a day, three to six hours a day and more than
six hours a day on social media. A minority of them spend less than an hour a day on social media.
Moving on to the grade range of 80%-90%, there are a total of 22 students, which is about 20% of
the respondents. They are also distributed throughout the four categories of number of hours spent
daily on social media. The majority spend between one to three hours on social media, and the
second half spend between three to six hours and more than six hours daily on social media.
A Chi Square analysis was conducted to find out whether the differences are significant or not
between, the overall grade average, the frequency of using social media and studying daily.
Assuming that the significant level is .05 or 5%, and for the first analysis our Null Hypothesis will
be ‘the frequency of using social media, impacts the students overall grade average in school’.
Table 1. Frequency of social media usage and the number overall grade average of the students
Table 1 illustrates the Chi Square analysis conducted, between the frequency of social media usage
and their overall grade range average, take a look at the note written underneath the table, there is
a violation since 74.3% have an expected count less than 5, and this percentage must not exceed
20%. So, the ‘Likelihood Ratio’ will be considered, which has a significant level of 0.000, which
is less than 0.05, therefore the null hypothesis will be rejected.
Table 2. Frequency of social media usage and the number of hours studied per day

Table 2 is another Chi Square analysis conducted, between the use of social media and the number
of hours spent daily on studying. The null hypothesis in this case is that ‘the usage of social media,
effects the number of ours the students study daily; looking at the Chi Square analysis, it is shown
again, that, there is a violation regarding the expected count, so the ‘Likelihood Ratio’ will be
considered, and the significant level is 0.000, therefore, the null hypothesis will be rejected. The
students use of social media does not affect the number of hours they study daily.
According to the above findings, it contradicts what Sanzhar Naizabekov has said, that social media
causes procrastination as a result of its distracting nature (Naizabekov, 2012). In this research’s
case, there is no significant relationship between using social media and the students’ academic
performance. On the other hand, the results of this research, somehow agrees with the conclusion
stated by Napoleon Egedegbe, that, there is no impact either positive or negative, by using social
media, on the academic performance of students (Egedegbe, 2013).
5. Conclusion
June Ahn stated, “emerging studies find that youth spend a considerable portion of their daily life
interacting through social media.” (Ahn, 2011b, p. 1435) According to this study, it is a true
statement given that the majority of the Egyptian students spend between one to more than six
hours daily on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Google.
As noticed in the discussion, whether the students spend less than one hour on social media or more
than six hours on social media, or even the average amount of time which is between one to three
and three to six hours a day, students still share the same grade range average. 61% of the
respondents have the highest grade ranges which is 90%-100% and they varied between all four
time ranges on social media per day. By this, it is safe to conclude that there is no negative impact
from the use of social media on the academic performance of the school students, and it is proven
by the Chi Square analysis, which resulted with no significant relationship or difference between
both the frequency of using social media with the overall grade average; and with the number of
hours spent daily on studying.
The objective of this research was to find out the type of impact that is caused by social media on
the students’ academic performance, why this impact is caused, and how. After conducting the
research, it is clear that social media does not impact school students academic performance in any
way because although they spend hours on social media, they still manage to find time to study,
and achieve good grades.

6. Limitations
The first limitation of this research is the small range of respondents that were contacted to test the
effects of social media on Egyptian youth. As a result of the small range, these generalisations
cannot be made to the whole of Egypt. Another limitation of this study was that not much research
has been done regarding the impact of social media on the academic performance of the young
generation. It was difficult to find a starting point to build on as the majority of the studies
conducted regarding the impact of social media was done either on university students’ academic
performance, or the effects it causes psychologically, and even these were not conducted in Egypt.
A third limitation to this study was having a short-period of time to conduct the research. A result
of this, is that the generalization of there being no relationship between the use of social media on
the academic performance of school students, is not 100% accurate.
References
Ahn, J. (2010). The Influence Of Social Networking Sites on High School Students’ Social and
Academic Development. Diss. Faculty of the USC Graduate School University of Southern
California.
Ahn, J. (2011a). Digital Divides and Social Network Sites: Which Students Participate in Social
Media? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 45(2), 147-63.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/EC.45.2.b
Ahn, J. (2011b). The Effect of Social Network Sites on Adolescents' Social and Academic
Development: Current Theories and Controversies. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology, 62(8), 1435-445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.21540
AntonSon, M., & Christopher, W. (2008). Corporate Social Media Facilitating Better and Faster
Change Management. Goteborgs Universitet Handelshogskolan.
Cain, J., & Katherine, C. (2013). Exploring Social Media’s Potential in Interprofessional
Education. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education, 3(2), 1-7.
Print.
Curtis, A. (2013). The Brief History of Social Media. The Brief History of Social Media.
Egedegbe, N. (2013). The Effect of Social Networking Sites on Students' Academic

Performance in Girne American University, North Cyprus.
Hartshorn, S. (2010). 5 Differences Between Social Media and Social Networking. Social Media
Today.
Kirschner, P., & Aryn, K. (2010). Facebook® and Academic Performance. Computers in Human
Behavior, 26(6), 1237-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2010.03.024
Lavy, V., & Sand, E. (2012). The Friends Factor: How Students’ Social Networks Affect Their
Academic Achievement and Well-Being? The National Bureau of Economic Research.
Hebrew University, University of Warwick, CEPR, and NBER.

Moran, M., Seaman, J., & Tinti-Kane, H. (2011). Teaching, Learning, and Sharing: How
Today’s Higher Education Faculty Use Social Media, p. 1-32.
Naizabekov, S. (2012). Negative Impact of Social Networking Sites on Academic Performance

of Students. Academia.edu.
O'Keeffe, G., & Kathleen, C. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and
Families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 799-805. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054
Pardo, A. (2013). Social learning graphs: combining social network graphs and analytics to
represent learning experiences. Int. J. Social Media and Interactive Learning
Environments, 1(1), 43-58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJSMILE.2013.051652
Rambe, P. (2011). Exploring the Impacts of Social Networking Sites on Academic Relations in
the University. Journal of Information Technology Education, 10, 271-93.
Richards Richards, L. (2012, August 8). Stats: Social media growth and impact across the
Middle East.
Rideout, V. (2012). Children, Teens, and Entertainment Media: The View From The Classroom.
Commensense.
Subrahmanyam, K., & Patricia, G. (2008). Online Communication and Adolescent

Relationships. The Future of Children, 18(1), 119-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/foc.0.0006
Trend Staff, Digital. (2014). The History of Social Networking. Digital Trends.
Veen, W. (2006). Homo Zappiens and the Need for New Education Systems. Homo Zappiens
and the Need for New Education Systems Wim Veen.
Questions/Tasks
1. Identify the components of research articles used in this research study.
2. Identify the features making this research an academic text. Explain how is this different from
non-academic texts that you studied earlier?
3. Share your understanding of this research study by summarizing its gist in minimum 1 and
maximum 3 paragraphs.

Unit # 5 Expository Essays
Cause and Effect Essay (Reference Handout # 5.1)
A cause and effect essay looks at the reasons (or causes) for something, then discusses the results
(or effects). For this reason, cause and effect essays are sometimes referred to as reason and result
essays. They are one of the most common forms of organisation in academic writing. Sometimes
the whole essay will be cause and effect, though sometimes this may be only part of the whole
essay. It is also possible, especially for short exam essays, that only the causes or the effects, not
both, are discussed. See the examples below:
 Discuss the causes and effects of global warming ['cause and effect' essay]
 Explain the high death rate in Chernobyl ['causes' only essay]
 Discuss the WTO and its effects on the Chinese economy ['effects' only essay]
Structure
There are two main ways to structure a cause and effect essay. These are similar to the ways to
structure problem-solution essays, namely using a block or a chain structure. For
the block structure, all of the causes are listed first, and all of the effects are listed afterwards. For
the chain structure, each cause is followed immediately by the effect. Usually that effect will then
be the cause of the next effect, which is why this structure is called 'chain'. Both types of structure
have their merits. The former is generally clearer, especially for shorter essays, while the latter
ensures that any effects you present relate directly to the causes you have given.
The two types of structure, block and chain, are shown in the diagram below.
Block
Introduction
Cause 1
Cause 2
...
Transition sentence/paragraph
Effect 1
Effect 2
...
Conclusion

Chain
Introduction
Cause 1
&
Effect of Cause 1
Cause 2
&
Effect of Cause 2
Cause 3
&
Effect of Cause 3
...
Conclusion
Cause and Effect Structure Words
Cause and effect structure words are transition signals which show the cause and effect relationships. It is
important to be clear which is the cause (or reason) and which is the effect (or result), and to use the correct
transition word or phrase. Remember that a cause happens first, and the effect happens later.
Below are some common cause and effect structure words. X is used to indicate a cause, while Y is used to
indicate the effect.
Cause
 The first cause of (Y) is (X)

 The next reason is (X)
 Because of (X), (Y)
 As a result of (X), (Y)
 As a consequence of (X), (Y)
 because/since/as (X)
 to result from (X)
 (X) results in (Y)
 to be the result of (X)
 (Y) is due to (X)
 Owing to (X), (Y)
 (Y) is because of (X)
 (Y) is the effect of (X)
 (Y) is the consequence of (X)

Examples
 Worsening pollution levels in cities are due to the increased use of cars.
 Because of the increased use of cars, pollution levels in cities are worsening.
 As a result of the increased use of cars, pollution levels in cities are worsening.
 The effect of the increased use of cars is a worsening of pollution levels in cities.
Effect
 The first effect of (X) is (Y)

 Another result of (X) is (Y)
 As a result, (Y)
 As a consequence, (Y)
 Consequently (Y)
 Therefore, (Y)
 Thus (Y)
 Hence (Y)
 (X) results in (Y)
 (X) causes (Y)
 (X) has an effect on (Y)
 (X) affects (Y)
 (X) is one of the causes of (Y)
 (X) is the reason for (Y)
Examples
 Cars are used increasingly for urban transport. As a consequence, pollution levels in cities are
worsening.
 Increased use of cars for urban transport adversely affects pollution levels in cities.
 Increased use of cars for urban transport is one of the causes of worsening pollution levels in cities.
Retrieved from EAP Foundation.
Sample Essays on Cause-and-Effect
Sample Essay # 1: Taming the Anger Monster by Anne Davidson
1 Laura Houser remembers the day with embarrassment. “My mother was visiting from Illinois,” she
says. “We’d gone out to lunch and done some shopping. On our way home, we stopped at an
intersection. When the light changed, the guy ahead of us was looking at a map or something and
didn’t move right away. I leaned on my horn and automatically yelled—well, what I generally yell
at people who make me wait. I didn’t even think about what I was doing. One moment I was talking
and laughing with my mother, and the next I was shouting curses at a stranger. Mom’s jaw just
dropped. She said, ‘Well, I guess you’ve been living in the city too long.’ That’s when I realized
that my anger was out of control.”

2 Laura has plenty of company. Here are a few examples plucked from the headlines of recent
newspapers:
• Amtrak’s Washington–New York train: When a woman begins to use her cell phone in a
designated “quiet car,” her seatmate grabs the phone and smashes it against the wall.
• Reading, Mass.: Arguing over rough play at their ten-year-old sons’ hockey practice, two fathers
begin throwing punches. One of the dads beats the other to death.
• Westport, Conn.: Two supermarket shoppers get into a fistfight over who should be first in a just-
opened checkout line.
Reading these stories and countless others like them which happen daily, it’s hard to escape the
conclusion that we are one angry society. An entire vocabulary has grown up to describe situations
of out-of-control fury: road rage, sideline rage, computer rage, biker rage, air rage. Bookstore
shelves are filled with authors’ advice on how to deal with our anger. Court-ordered anger
management classes have become commonplace, and anger-management workshops are advertised
in local newspapers.
3 Human beings have always experienced anger, of course. But in earlier, more civil decades, public
displays of anger were unusual to the point of being aberrant. Today, however, whether in petty or
deadly forms, episodes of unrepressed rage have become part of our daily landscape.
4 What has happened to us? Are we that much angrier than we used to be? Have we lost all inhibitions
about expressing our anger? Are we, as a society, literally losing our ability to control our tempers?
Why Are We So Angry?
5 According to Sybil Evans, a conflict-resolution expert in New York City, there are three
components to blame for our societal bad behavior: time, technology and tension.
6 What’s eating up our time? To begin with, Americans work longer hours and are rewarded with
less vacation time than people in any other industrial society. Over an average year, for example,
most British employees work 250 hours less than most Americans; most Germans work a full 500
hours less. And most Europeans are given four to six weeks’ vacation every year, compared to the
average American’s two weeks. To make matters worse, many Americans face long stressful
commutes at the beginning and end of each long workday.
7 Once we Americans finally get home from work, our busy day is rarely done. We are involved in
community activities; our children participate in sports, school programs, and extracurricular
activities; and our houses, yards and cars cry out for maintenance. To make matters worse, we are
reluctant to use the little bit of leisure time we do have to catch up on our sleep. Compared with
Americans of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most of us are chronically sleep
deprived.
8 While our ancestors typically slept nine-and-a-half hours a night, many of us feel lucky to get seven.
We’re critical of “lazy” people who sleep longer, and we associate naps with toddlerhood. (In doing
so, we ignore the example of successful people including Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, and

Napoleon, all of whom were devoted to their afternoon naps.) The bottom line: we are time-
challenged and just plain tired—and tired people are cranky people. We’re ready to blow—to snap
at the slow-moving cashier, to tap the bumper of the slowpoke ahead of us, or to do something far
worse.
9 Technology is also to blame for the bad behavior so widespread in culture. Amazing gadgets were
supposed to make our lives easier—but have they? Sure, technology has its positive aspects. It is a
blessing, for instance, to have a cell phone on hand when your car breaks down far from home or
to be able to “instant message” a friend on the other side of the globe. But the downsides are many.
Cell phones, pagers, fax machines, handheld computers and the like have robbed many of us of
what was once valuable downtime. Now we’re always available to take that urgent call or act on
that last-minute demand. Then there is the endless pressure of feeling we need to keep up with our
gadgets’ latest technological developments.
10 For example, it’s not sufficient to use your cell phone for phone calls. Now you must learn to use
the phone for text-messaging and downloading games. It’s not enough to take still photos with your
digital camera. You should know how to shoot ultra-high-speed fast-action clips. It’s not enough
to have an enviable CD collection. You should be downloading new songs in MP3 format. The
computers in your house should be connected by a wireless router, and online via high-speed DSL
service. In other words, if it’s been more than ten minutes since you’ve updated your technology,
you’re probably behind.
11 In fact, you’re not only behind; you’re a stupid loser. At least, that’s how most of us end up feeling
as we’re confronted with more and more unexpected technologies: the do-it-yourself checkout at
the supermarket, the telephone “help center” that offers a recorded series of messages, but no
human help. And feeling like losers makes us frustrated and, you guessed it, angry. “It’s not any
one thing but lots of little things that make people feel like they don’t have control of their lives,”
says Jane Middleton-Moz, an author and therapist. “A sense of helplessness is what triggers rage.
It’s why people end up kicking ATM machines.”
12 Her example is not far-fetched. According to a survey of computer users in Great Britain, a quarter
of those under age 25 admitted to having kicked or punched their computers on at least one
occasion. Others confessed to yanking out cables in a rage, forcing the computer to crash. On this
side of the Atlantic, a Wisconsin man, after repeated attempts to get his daughter’s malfunctioning
computer repaired, took it to the store where he had bought it, placed it in the foyer, and attacked
it with a sledgehammer. Arrested and awaiting a court appearance, he told local reporters, “It feels
good, in a way.” He had put into action a fantasy many of us have had—that of taking out our
feelings of rage on the machines that so frustrate us.
13 Tension, the third major culprit behind our epidemic of anger, is intimately connected with our lack
of time and the pressures of technology. Merely our chronic exhaustion and our frustration in the
face of a bewildering array of technologies would be enough to cause our stress levels to skyrocket,
but we are dealing with much more. Our tension is often fueled by a reserve of anger that might be
the result of a critical boss, marital discord, or (something that many of today’s men and women
experience, if few will admit it) a general sense of being stupid and inadequate in the face of the
demands of modern life. And along with the challenges of everyday life, we now live with a

widespread fear of such horrors as terrorist acts, global warming, and antibiotic-resistant diseases.
Our sense of dread may be out of proportion to actual threats because of technology’s ability to so
constantly bombard us with worrisome information. Twenty-four hours a day news stations bring
a stream of horror into our living rooms. As we work on our computers, headlines and graphic
images are never more than a mouse click away.
14 The Result of Our Anger Add it all together—our feeling of never having enough time; the chronic
aggravation caused by technology; and our endless, diffuse sense of stress—and we become time
bombs waiting to explode. Our angry outbursts may be briefly satisfying, but afterwards we are left
feeling—well, like jerks. Worse, flying off the handle is a self-perpetuating behavior. Brad
Bushman, a psychology professor at Iowa State University, says, “Catharsis is worse than useless.”
Bushman’s research has shown that when people vent their anger, they actually become more, not
less, aggressive.
15 “Many people think of anger as the psychological equivalent of the steam in a pressure cooker. It
has to be released, or it will explode. That’s not true. The people who react by hitting, kicking,
screaming, and swearing just feel more angry.”
16 Furthermore, the unharnessed venting of anger may actually do us physical harm. The vigorous
expression of anger pumps adrenaline into our system and raises our blood pressure, setting the
stage for heart attack and strokes. Frequently angry people have even been shown to have higher
cholesterol levels than even-tempered individuals.
17 How to Deal with Our Anger? Unfortunately, the culprits behind much of our anger—lack of time,
frustrating technology, and mega-levels of stress—are not likely to resolve themselves anytime
soon. So what are we to do with the anger that arises as a result?
18 According to Carol Travis, author of Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, the keys to dealing with
anger are common sense and patience. She points out that almost no situation is improved by an
angry outburst. A traffic jam, a frozen computer, or a misplaced set of car keys are annoying. To
act upon the angry feelings those situations provoke, however, is an exercise in futility. Shouting,
fuming, or leaning on the car horn won’t make traffic begin to flow, the screen unlocks, or keys
materialize.
19 Patience, on the other hand, is a highly practical virtue. People who take the time to cool down
before responding to an anger-producing situation are far less likely to say or do something they
will regret later. “It is as true of the body as of arrows,” Travis says, “that what goes up must come
down. Any emotional arousal will simmer down if you just wait long enough.” When you are stuck
in traffic, in other words, turn on some soothing music, breathe deeply, and count to ten—or thirty
or forty, if need be.
20 Anger-management therapist Doris Wild Helmering agrees. “Like any feeling, anger lasts only
about three seconds,” she says. “What keeps it going is your own negative thinking.” As long as
you focus on the idiot who cut you off on the expressway, you’ll stay angry. But if you let the
incident go, your anger will go with it. “Once you come to understand that you’re driving your own
anger with your thoughts,” adds Helmering, “you can stop it.”

21 Experts who have studied anger also encourage people to cultivate activities that effectively vent
their anger. For some people, it’s reading the newspaper or watching TV, while others need more
active outlets, such as using a treadmill, taking a walk, hitting golf balls, or working out with a
punching bag. People who succeed in calming their anger can also enjoy the satisfaction of having
dealt positively with their frustrations.
22 For Laura Houser, the episode in the car with her mother was a wake-up call. “I saw myself through
her eyes,” she said, “and I realized I had become a chronically angry, impatient jerk. My response
to stressful situations had become habitual—I automatically flew off the handle. Once I saw what
I was doing, it really wasn’t that hard to develop different habits. I simply decided I was going to
treat other people the way I would want to be treated.” The changes in Laura’s life haven’t benefit
ted only her former victims. “I’m a calmer, happier person now,” she reports.
23 “I don’t lie in bed at night fuming over stupid things other people have done and my own enraged
responses.” Laura has discovered the satisfaction of having a sense of control over her own
behavior—which ultimately is all any of us can control.
Post-Reading Questions
About Unity
1. Which of the following statements best represents the implied thesis of “Taming the Anger Monster”?
a. People today have lost their ability to control their anger and to behave in a civil fashion.
b. Anger would last only a few seconds if we didn’t keep it going with negative thinking.
c. While technology has its positive aspects, it has made us constantly available to others
and frustrates us with the need to master its endless new developments.
d. Our out-of-control anger has understandable causes, but common sense and patience are
more satisfying than outbursts of rage.
2. Write a topic sentence that covers what is discussed in paragraphs 3 and 4.
3. What sentence in paragraph 17 serves as the topic sentence for paragraphs 16 through 18? (Write the
first words.)
About Support
4. The essay is about one main effect and three possible causes. What is the one main effect? What are the
three causes?
Effect: _______________
Three causes: ________
5. Trace the line of causation in paragraph 11. What is the ultimate cause, the proximate cause, and the
effect?
Ultimate cause: ______________________________________________________________

Proximate cause: _____________________________________________________________
Effect: ______________________________________________________________________
About Coherence
6. What is the best description of the organization of this essay?
a. Introduction, Thesis, Three Supporting Parts, Conclusion

b. Introduction, Thesis, Four Supporting Parts, Conclusion
c. Introduction, Thesis, Five Supporting Parts
d. Thesis, Six Supporting Parts, Conclusion
7. What are the three addition signals used to introduce the three causes of anger?
About the Introduction and Conclusion
8. What method best describes the introduction to “Taming the Anger Monster”?
a. Quotation
b. Broad, general statement narrowing to thesis
c. Idea that is the opposite of the one to be developed
d. Anecdote and questions
9. What is the relationship between the essay’s first paragraph and its concluding paragraph?
Sample Essay # 2: The Truth Behind Lying
This focus-on-causes essay answers the question, "Why do people lie?" Discuss the Preview Questions with
a classmate. Then read the example essay and answer the questions that follow.
Preview Questions
1. Why do you think people lie?

2. Is it ever acceptable to lie? Give examples of acceptable and unacceptable lies.
1 Most children are taught the virtue of honesty from fairy tales and other stories. The celebrated
story of Pinocchio, who begins life as a puppet, teaches the importance of telling the truth.
Every time Pinocchio lies, his nose grows longer and longer. Another story about the boy who
"cried wolf" exemplifies how lying led to his losing all of his sheep as well as the trust of his
fellow villagers. In the United States, young children learn the tale of young George Washington,
who finally admits to his father that he cut down a cherry tree. These types of stories show
children that "honesty is the best policy”. Still, if this is the case, then why do so many people
lie? The fact is that human beings lie for many reasons.
2 One reason for lying has to do with minimizing a mistake. While it is true that everyone makes a
blunder from time to time, some people do not have the courage to admit their errors because they
fear blame. For example, students might lie to their teachers about unfinished homework. They

might say that they left the work at home when, in fact, they did not do the work at all. These
students do not want to seem irresponsible, so they make up an excuse-a lie-to save face.
3 Another reason people lie is to get out of situations that they do not want to be in or cannot
manage. For example, if a company decides to have a weekend meeting, one of the managers
might not feel like attending. She may call her boss and give this excuse: "I've been fighting off a
cold all week, and I truly cannot risk getting the others sick. I'll be sure to get all of the notes on
Monday”. When individuals do not want to admit the truth and then face the consequences, they
use lies to avoid difficulties.
4 In contrast, some people might tell a "white lie" when they do not want to hurt someone else's
feelings. For example, if a good friend shows up with an unflattering new haircut, one could be
truthful and say, "That haircut looks awful. What were you thinking?!" A more likely scenario is
to say, "It's very original! It suits you” and spare the friend's feelings. These types of lies are
generally not considered negative or wrong. In fact, many people who have told the truth to loved
ones, only to see the negative reaction, wish they had told a white lie. Therefore, white lies can be
useful in maintaining good relationships.
5 A somewhat different reason for lying has to do with self-protection. Parents, particularly those
with small children, may teach their children to use this type of "protective'' lie in certain
circumstances. What should children do if a stranger calls while the parents are out? Many
parents teach their children to explain that mom and dad are too busy to come to the phone at that
time. In this situation, protective lying can prevent harm or disaster.
6 People lie for many reasons, both good and bad. However, before people resort to lying in order
to cover up mistakes or to avoid unpleasant situations, perhaps the motives for lying should be
analyzed. One's lies may one day be exposed and cause severe embarrassment or the loss of
people's trust.
Post-Reading
1. What is the thesis statement of this essay?
2. What three examples of liars from famous stories does the author give in the introduction?
a. __________________________
b. __________________________
c. __________________________
3. In Paragraph 4, the idiom a white lie is used in the topic sentence but is not defined. Write your own
definition of a white lie.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

4. In Paragraph 5, the author supports the topic sentence by giving an example of a dangerous situation.
What example does the author give?
5. Reread the concluding paragraph of "The Truth Behind Lying”. Does the writer offer a suggestion, an
opinion, or a prediction? __________________ Write the final sentence here.
Sample Essay # 3
More and more women are now going out to work and some women are now the major salary
earner in the family. What are the causes of this, and what effect is this having on families and
society?
1 In the past, most women stayed at home to take care of domestic chores such as cooking or cleaning.
Women's liberation and feminism have meant that this situation has been transformed and in
contemporary society women are playing an almost equal role to men in terms of work. This has
had significant consequences, both in terms of the family, for example by improving quality of life
and increasing children's sense of independence, and also for society itself with greater gender
equality.
2 The main reasons behind the increase of women in the workplace are women's liberation and
feminism. The women's liberation movement originated in the 1960s and was popularised by
authors such as Simone de Beauvoir. As a consequence of this, new legislation emerged, granting
women equal rights to men in many fields, in particular employment. Because of feminist ideas,
men have taken up roles which were previously seen as being for women only, most importantly
those related to child rearing. As a result of this, women have more time to pursue their own careers
and interests.
3 These have led to some significant effects, both to family life and to society as a whole. Although
the earning capacity of a woman in her lifetime is generally much less than that of a man, she can
nevertheless make a significant contribution to the family income. The most important consequence
of this is an improved quality of life. By helping to maintain a steady income for the family, the
pressure on the husband is considerably reduced, hence improving both the husband's and the wife's
emotional wellbeing. Additionally, the purchasing power of the family will also be raised. This
means that the family can afford more luxuries such as foreign travel and a family car.
4 A further effect on the family is the promotion of independence in the children. Some might argue
that having both parents working might be damaging to the children because of a lack of parental
attention. However, such children have to learn to look after themselves at an earlier age, and their
parents often rely on them to help with the housework. This therefore teaches them important life
skills.
5 As regards society, the most significant impact of women going to work is greater gender equality.
There are an increasing number of women who are becoming politicians, lawyers, and even CEOs
and company managers. This in turn has led to greater equality for women in all areas of life, not
just employment. For example, women today have much stronger legal rights to protect themselves
against domestic violence and sexual discrimination in the workplace.

6 In conclusion, the increasing number of women at work has brought about some important changes
to family life, including improved quality of life and increased independence for children, as well
as affecting society itself. It is clear that the sexes are still a long way from being equal in all areas
of life, however, and perhaps the challenge for the present century is to ensure that this takes place.
Post-reading Questions
1. What is the thesis statement of this essay?
2. What are the topic sentences of second and third paragraphs of this essay?
3. What is your personal opinion about women empowerment in the 21st century? How much importance
does it hold?
4. Do you have any recommendations after reading the conclusion?

Compare and Contrast Essay (Reference Handout # 5.2)
To compare is to examine how things are similar, while to contrast is to see how they differ. A compare
and contrast essay therefore looks at the similarities of two or more objects, and the differences. This essay
type is common at university, where lecturers frequently test your understanding by asking you to compare
and contrast two theories, two methods, two historical periods, two characters in a novel, etc. Sometimes
the whole essay will compare and contrast, though sometimes the comparison or contrast may be only part
of the essay. It is also possible, especially for short exam essays, that only the similarities or the differences,
not both, will be discussed. See the examples below.
 Compare and contrast Newton's ideas of gravity with those proposed by Einstein
['compare and contrast' essay]
 Examine how the economies of Spain and China are similar ['compare' only essay]
 Explain the differences between Achaemenid Empire and Parthian Empire ['contrast'
only essay]
Structure
There are two main ways to structure a compare and contrast essay, namely using a block or a point-by-
point structure. For the block structure, all of the information about one of the objects being
compared/contrasted is given first, and all of the information about the other object is listed afterwards.
This type of structure is similar to the block structure used for cause and effect and problem-solution essays.
For the point-by-point structure, each similarity (or difference) for one object is followed immediately by
the similarity (or difference) for the other. Both types of structure have their merits. The former is easier to
write, while the latter is generally clearer as it ensures that the similarities/differences are more explicit.
The two types of structure, block and point-by-point, are shown in the diagram below.
Block
Introduction
Object 1 - Point 1
Object 1 - Point 2
Object 1 - Point 3
Transition sentence/paragraph
Object 2 - Point 1
Object 2 - Point 2
Object 2 - Point 3
Conclusion

Point-by-point
Introduction
Point 1
Object 1 ➤ Object 2
Point 2
Point 3
Conclusion
Compare and Contrast Structure Words
Compare and contrast structure words are transition signals which show the similarities or
differences. Below are some common examples.
Compare
 Similarly
 Likewise
 also
 both... and...
 not only... but also...
 neither... nor...
 just like (+ noun)
 similar to (+ noun)
 to be similar (to)
 to be the same as
 to be alike
 to compare (to/with)
Examples
 Computers can be used to communicate easily, for example via email. Similarly/Likewise, the
mobile phone is a convenient tool for communication.
 Both computers and mobile phones can be used to communicate easily with other people.

 Just like the computer, the mobile phone can be used to communicate easily with other people.
 The computer is similar to the mobile phone in the way it can be used for easy communication.
Contrast
 However
 In contrast
 In comparison
 By comparison
 On the other hand
 while
 whereas
 but
 to differ from
 to be different (from)
 to be dissimilar to
 to be unlike
Examples
 Computers, although increasingly small, are not always easy to carry from one place to
another. However, the mobile phone can be carried with ease.
 Computers are generally not very portable, whereas the mobile phone is.
 Computers differ from mobile phones in their lack of portability.
 Computers are unlike mobile phones in their lack of portability.
Retrieved and adapted from EAP Foundation.

Sample Essays on Compare-and-Contrast
Sample Essay # 1: A Vote for McDonald’s
1 For my birthday this month, my wife has offered to treat me to dinner at the restaurant of my
choice. I think she expects me to ask for a meal at the Chalet, the classiest, most expensive
restaurant in town. However, I’m going to eat my birthday dinner at McDonald’s. When I
compare the two restaurants, the advantages of eating at McDonald’s are clear.
2 For one thing, going to the Chalet is more difficult than going to McDonald’s. The Chalet has a
jacket- and-tie rule, which means I have to dig a sport coat and tie out of the back of my closet,
make sure they’re semi clean, and try to steam out the wrinkles somehow. The Chalet also
requires reservations. Since it is downtown, I have to leave an hour early to give myself time to
find a parking space within six blocks of the restaurant. The Chalet cancels reservations if a party
is more than ten minutes late. Going to McDonald’s, on the other hand, is easy. I can feel
comfortable wearing my jeans or warm-up suit. I don’t have to do any advance planning. I can
leave my house whenever I’m ready and pull into a door side parking space within fifteen
minutes.
3 The Chalet is a dimly lit, formal place. While I’m struggling to see what’s on my plate, I worry
that I’ll knock one of the fragile glasses off the table. The waiters at the Chalet can be
uncomfortably formal, too. As I awkwardly pronounce the French words on the menu, I get the
feeling that I don’t quite live up to their standards. Even the other diners can make me feel
uncomfortable. And though the food at the Chalet is gourmet, I prefer simpler meals. I don’t like
unfamiliar food swimming in a pasty white sauce.
4 Eating at the Chalet is, to me, less enjoyable than eating at McDonald’s. McDonald’s is a pleasant
place where I feel at ease. It is well lit, and the bright-colored decor is informal. The employees
serve with a smile, and the food is easy to pronounce and identify. I know what I’m going to get
when I order a certain type of sandwich.
5 The most important difference between the Chalet and McDonald’s, though, is price. Dinner for
two at the Chalet, even without appetizers or desserts, would easily cost $100. And the $100
doesn’t include the cost of parking the car and tipping the waiter, which can come to an additional
$20. Once, I forgot to bring enough money. At McDonald’s, a filling meal for two will cost
around $10. With the extra $110, my wife and I can eat at McDonald’s eleven more times, or go
to the movies five times, or buy tickets to a football game.
6 So, for my birthday dinner, or any other time, I prefer to eat at McDonald’s. It is convenient,
friendly, and cheap. And with the money my wife saves by taking me to McDonald’s, she can
buy me what I really want for my birthday—a new Sears power saw.

Sample Essay # 2: Studying: Then and Now
1 One June day, I staggered into a high school classroom to take my final exam in United States
History IV. I had made my usual desperate effort to cram the night before, with the usual dismal
results—I had gotten only to page 75 of a four-hundred-page textbook. My study habits in high
school, obviously, were a mess. But in college, I’ve made an attempt to reform my note-taking,
studying, and test-taking skills.
2 As I took notes in high school classes, I often lost interest and began doodling, drawing Martians,
or seeing what my signature would look like if I signed some official document. Now, however, I
try not to let my mind wander, and I pull my thoughts back into focus when they begin to go fuzzy.
In high school, my notes often looked like something written in another language. In college, I’ve
learned to use a semi print writing style that makes my notes understandable. When I would look
over my high school notes, I couldn’t understand them. There would be a word like
“Reconstruction,” then a big blank, then the word “important.” Weeks later, I had no idea what
Reconstruction was or why it was important. I’ve since learned to write down connecting ideas,
even if I have to take the time to do it after class. Taking notes is one thing I’ve really learned to
do better since high school days.
3 Ordinary studying during the term is another area where I’ve made changes. In high school, I let
reading assignments go. I told myself that I’d have no trouble catching up on two hundred pages
during a fifteen-minute ride to school. College courses have taught me to keep pace with the work.
4 Otherwise, I feel as though I’m sinking into a quicksand of unread material. When I finally read
the high school assignment, my eyes would run over the words but my brain would be plotting how
to get the car for Saturday night. Now, I use several techniques that force me to really concentrate
on my reading.
5 In addition to learning how to cope with daily work, I’ve also learned to handle study sessions for
big tests. My all-night study sessions in high school were experiments in self-torture. Around 2:00
A.M., my mind, like a soaked sponge, simply stopped absorbing things. Now, I space out exam
study sessions over several days. That way, the night before can be devoted to an overall review
rather than raw memorizing. Most important, though, I’ve changed my attitude toward tests. In
high school, I thought tests were mysterious things with completely unpredictable questions. Now,
I ask instructors about the kinds of questions that will be on the exam, and I try to “psych out”
which areas or facts instructors are likely to ask about. These practices really work, and for me
they’ve taken much of the fear and mystery out of tests.
6 Since I’ve reformed, note-taking and studying are not as tough as they once were. And I am
beginning to reap the benefits. As time goes on, my college test sheets are going to look much
different from the red-marked tests of my high school days.
Post-reading Questions
About Unity
1. Which supporting paragraph in “A Vote for McDonald’s” has its topic sentence within the paragraph,
rather than at the beginning? (Write the paragraph number and the opening words of the topic sentence.)
2. Which sentence in paragraph 4 of “A Vote for McDonald’s” should be omitted in the interest of paragraph
unity? (Write the opening words.)
3. In which supporting paragraph in “Studying: Then and Now” is the topic sentence at the end rather than
at the beginning, where it generally belongs in student essays?
About Support
4. In paragraph 3 of “A Vote for McDonald’s,” what three points does the writer make to support his
statement that, for him, dining at McDonald’s is a more pleasant experience than dining at the Chalet?
5. In paragraph 3 of “A Vote for McDonald’s,” what sentence should be followed up by supporting details?
(Write the opening words of that sentence.)
6. Which sentence in paragraph 3 of “Studying: Then and Now” needs to be followed by more supporting
details? (Write the opening words.)
About Coherence
7. In paragraph 2 of “A Vote for McDonald’s,” what “change of direction” signal does the author use to
indicate that he has finished discussing the Chalet and is now going to discuss McDonald’s?
8. Write the words in paragraph 4 of “A Vote for McDonald’s” that indicate the writer has used emphatic
order in organizing his supporting points.
About the Introduction and Conclusion
9. Which sentence best describes the opening paragraph of “Studying: Then and Now”?
a. It begins with a broad statement that narrows down to the thesis.
b. It explains the importance of the topic to the reader.
c. It uses an incident or a brief story.
d. It asks a question.
10. The conclusion of “Studying: Then and Now” falls into which category?
a. Some observations and a prediction
b. Summary and final thought
c. Question or series of questions

Sample Essay # 3
There have been many advances in technology over the past fifty years. These have revolutionised
the way we communicate with people who are far away. Compare and contrast methods of
communication used today with those which were used in the past.
1 Before the advent of computers and modern technology, people communicating over long distances
used traditional means such as letters and the telephone. Nowadays we have a vast array of
communication tools which can complete this task, ranging from email to instant messaging and
video calls. While the present and previous means of communication are similar in their general
form, they differ in regard to their speed and the range of tools available.
2 One similarity between current and previous methods of communication relates to the form of
communication. In the past, both written forms such as letters were frequently used, in addition to
oral forms such as telephone calls. Similarly, people nowadays use both of these forms. Just as in
the past, written forms of communication are prevalent, for example via email and text messaging.
In addition, oral forms are still used, including the telephone, mobile phone, and voice messages
via instant messaging services.
3 However, there are clearly many differences in the way we communicate over long distances, the
most notable of which is speed. This is most evident in relation to written forms of communication.
In the past, letters would take days to arrive at their destination. In contrast, an email arrives almost
instantaneously and can be read seconds after it was sent. In the past, if it was necessary to send a
short message, for example at work, a memo could be passed around the office, which would take
some time to circulate. This is different from the current situation, in which a text message can be
sent immediately.
4 Another significant difference is the range of communication methods. Fifty years ago, the tools
available for communicating over long distances were primarily the telephone and the letter. By
comparison, there are a vast array of communication methods available today. These include not
only the telephone, letter, email and text messages already mentioned, but also video conferences
via software such as Skype or mobile phone apps such as WeChat, and social media such as
Facebook and Twitter.
5 In conclusion, methods of communication have greatly advanced over the past fifty years. While
there are some similarities, such as the forms of communication, there are significant differences,
chiefly in relation to the speed of communication and the range of communication tools available.
There is no doubt that technology will continue to progress in future, and the advanced tools which
we use today may one day also become outdated.

Unit # 6 Reports
Components of reports (Reference Handout # 6.1)
1. Report title: A short statement that succinctly conveys what the report is about. The title usually appears
on a cover page, with other details as specified in the guidelines with which you have been provided.
2. Contents page: A list of the headings and subheadings contained in the report, including page numbers.
Note that most word-processing packages can automatically generate a contents page, but you will have to
format your headings in a particular way to facilitate this feature.
3. List of tables and diagrams: A separate contents page listing the titles and page numbers for all the
tables, graphs, images, and diagrams contained in the report.
4. List of abbreviations: Where a report contains the use of many abbreviations and acronyms, you should
provide a list of the abbreviations in alphabetical order, indicating what each of them means.
5. Terms of reference: A statement of the aims, scope, and specific objectives of the report (usually by
those setting the task). If this section is not required, the information is presented in the ‘Introduction’
section.
6. Acknowledgements: A short paragraph in which the help of certain people and institutions is noted (only
include if relevant).
7. Abstract/Synopsis/Executive summary: This short summary of the whole report is usually on a

separate page. Further information on how to write an abstract is presented later in this chapter. The
abstract/summary is the last thing written for the report—that is, after all the other sections have been
completed.
8. Introduction: As in an essay, this section provides a brief overview of the topic or research problem
being investigated, including the definition of key terms and an outline of the scope and aim of the report.
(The latter is sometimes listed separately under a ‘Terms of reference’ section as noted above.)
9. Literature review: A description and analysis of the relevant literature that summarises the current state
of knowledge about the topic you are investigating. A key goal of the literature review is often to identify
gaps in the current knowledge; this provides justification for the research questions to be investigated. This
section can be brief or lengthy, depending on the assignment requirements, so always clarify the appropriate
number of words to allocate to this section.
10. Research question or aim: A short statement of the research question, problem, or aims of the study.
It is sometimes included at the end of the ‘Introduction’ section and is usually only required if your report
is based on an empirical study involving the collection of new data.

11. Method: Where relevant, this section covers a detailed description of the actual study undertaken,
including information on the sample (number of participants, where they were recruited, and how they were
selected); the data- collection techniques used (interviews, questionnaires, observation, experiments); and
how the data were recorded, analysed, and are to be presented.
12. Results/Findings: A detailed description of the findings of your study. Depending on the report format,
you can interpret and analyse the findings in this section, or deal with the analysis in a separate ‘Discussion’
section. This might be in written form only, or in the form of tables, diagrams, images, and/or graphs that
are also explained in writing. Note that there may be specific guidelines for the formatting of tables and
diagrams for you to follow.
13. Discussion: An analysis of your results by comparing them with the other studies and theories
summarised in your literature review section. Your discussion should highlight any similarities and
differences between your findings and others reported in the wider literature. Moreover, your discussion
should refer to the gaps in knowledge that you identified in your literature review.
14. Conclusion: Make some conclusions based on your analysis of the data by relating your findings to the
original research question/aim or the terms of reference. Note any problems encountered, any limitations
of the methodology, and how these may have affected the results, as well as indicating possibilities for
improvement of the study and areas for future research.
15. Recommendations: Depending on the nature of the report, you are sometimes required to note the
implications or possible applications of your findings. This might be under a separate heading, or included
as part of your conclusion.
16. References/bibliography: Include a full list of all the information sources referenced in your report
according to the specified referencing system.
17. Appendices: Sometimes, information that is important for readers to know but not directly relevant to
the body of the report is placed at the end in an appendix. For example, it is common to include information
letters and consent forms given to participants in an empirical study, or to include the detailed features of
the questionnaire or measurement instrument used (where relevant). If there is more than one appendix, the
appendices should be numbered consecutively, and these should be listed on your contents page.
Report Samples
Report Sample # 1
Executive Summary (Summary or Abstract)
The aim of this report was to investigate UniLab staff attitudes to personal mobile phone use in staff and
team meetings. A staff survey on attitudes towards the use of mobile phones in the staff / team meetings
was conducted. The results indicate that the majority of staff find mobile phone use a major issue in staff
meetings. The report concludes that personal mobile phones are disruptive and should be turned off in

meetings. It is recommended that UniLab develops a company policy banning the use of mobile phones
except in exceptional circumstances.
Introduction
There has been a massive increase in the use of personal mobile phones over the past five years and there
is every indication that this will continue. According to Black (2002) by 2008 almost 100% of working
people in Australia will carry personal mobile phones. Black describes this phenomenon as ‘serious in the
extreme, potentially undermining the foundations of communication in our society’ (2002, p 167).
Currently at UniLab 89% of staff have personal mobile phones. Recently a number of staff have complained
about the use of personal mobile phones in meetings and asked what the official company policy is. At
present there is no official company policy regarding phone use. This report examines the issue of mobile
phone usage in staff meetings and small team meetings. It does not seek to examine the use of mobile
phones in the workplace at other times, although some concerns were raised. For the purposes of this report
a personal mobile phone is a personally funded phone for private calls as opposed to an employer funded
phone that directly relates to carrying out a particular job.
Methods
This research was conducted by questionnaire and investigated UniLab staff members’ attitudes to the use
of mobile phones in staff / team meetings. A total of 412 questionnaires were distributed with employees'
fortnightly pay slips (see Appendix 1). The questionnaire used Lekert scales to assess social attitudes (see
Smith 2002) to mobile phone usage and provided open ended responses for additional comments. Survey
collection boxes were located in every branch for a four week period. No personal information was
collected; the survey was voluntary and anonymous.
Results
There was an 85% response rate to the questionnaire. A breakdown of the responses is listed below in Table
1. It can be clearly seen from the results that mobile phones are considered to be disruptive and should be
turned off in meetings.
Personal mobile phone Strongly agree % Agree % Disagree % Strongly

usage in staff and team disagree %
meetings is…
Not a problem 5 7 65 23
An issue 40 45 10 5
Disruptive 80 10 7 3
Phones should be 6 16 56 22
permissible
Phones should be turned 85 10 3 2
off
Allowed in some 10 52 24 14
circumstances
Table: 1

The survey also allowed participants to identify any circumstances where mobile phones should be allowed
in meetings and also assessed staff attitudes towards receiving personal phone calls in staff meetings in
open ended questions. These results showed that staff thought that in some circumstances, e.g. medical or
emergencies, receiving personal phone calls was acceptable, but generally receiving personal phone calls
was not necessary.
Discussion / Interpretation of Results
It can be seen from the results in Table 1 that personal mobile phone use is considered to a problem; however
it was acknowledged that in some situations it should be permissible. 80% of recipients considered mobile
phones to be highly disruptive and there was strong support for phones being turned off in meetings (85%).
Only 12% thought that mobile phone usage in staff and team meetings was not a problem, whereas 85%
felt it was an issue. The results are consistent throughout the survey. Many of the respondents (62%) felt
that in exceptional circumstances mobile phones should be allowed, eg medical, but there should be
protocols regarding this. These findings are consistent with other studies. According to Smith (2005) many
companies have identified mobile phones as disruptive and have banned the use of mobile phones in
meetings. Havir (2004) claims that 29% of staff meeting time is wasted through unnecessary mobile phone
interruptions. This affects time management, productivity and team focus.
Conclusion
The use of mobile phones in staff meetings is clearly disruptive and they should be switched off. Most staff
felt it is not necessary to receive personal phone calls in staff meetings except under certain circumstances,
but permission should first be sought from the team leader, manager or chair.
Recommendations
It is recommended that UniLab develops an official policy regarding the use of mobile phones in staff
meetings. The policy should recommend:
• mobile phones are banned in staff meetings
• mobiles phone may be used in exceptional circumstances but only with the permission of the appropriate
manager or chair.
Finally, the policy needs to apply to all staff in the company.
Post-Reading Questions/Tasks
1. Do you think that there can be some more recommendations in the policy the draft of which is charted at
the end of the report?
2. Measure the report against components of reports taught in class, and identify if there is any missing.
3. How else do you think is the use of mobile phone affecting our lives? Write a reflective paragraph and
share your insights.

Checklists for Peer & Tutor Reviews
Checklist for Evaluating Paraphrasing
Below is a checklist for paraphrasing. Use it to check your own paraphrasing, or get a peer
(another student) to help you.
Area Details Ok? Note/comment

Paraphrasing skills The text has been changed in several
ways (changed words, changed word
forms, changed word order).
The text has been changed enough to

avoid plagiarism (no copied chunks).
Referencing skills The paraphrase includes an in-text

citation for the source text.
Meaning The meaning of the text is the same as
the original.
Length The length of the text is about the same
as the original.
Checklist for Evaluating Summaries
"Good summaries must be fair, balanced, accurate, and complete. This checklist of questions will help you
evaluate drafts of a summary:
1. Is the summary economical and precise?
2. Is the summary neutral in its representation of the original author's ideas, omitting the writer's own
opinions?
3. Does the summary reflect the proportionate coverage given various points in the original text?
4. Are the original author's ideas expressed in the summary writer's own words?
5. Does the summary use attributive tags (such as 'Weston argues') to remind readers whose ideas are being
presented?
6. Does the summary quote sparingly (usually only key ideas or phrases that cannot be said precisely except
in the original author's own words)?

7. Will the summary stand alone as a unified and coherent piece of writing?
8. Is the original source cited so that readers can locate it?"
Bean J. C., Chappell V. & Gillam A. M. (2004). Reading Rhetorically. Pearson Education.
Checklist for Peer Evaluation of Essays
1. What is the general topic of the essay?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
2. What is the thesis statement of the essay?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
3. Is the thesis statement a proper explanation?
1. Yes
2. No
4. Can you suggest any improvement for the thesis statement?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Are the paragraphs indented? If they are not, circle the area where they should be indented.
1. Yes
2. No
6. Does the writer use quotation marks?
1. Yes
2. No

If yes, are they used correctly?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
7. Check for these errors. Circle any you find on your classmate’s paper. Write the letter in parentheses
above the circled word(s).
Sentence fragment (SF) subject-verb agreement (S-V) comma splice (CS) capitalization (C)

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Course Title: Academic Reading & Writing

Course Code: ENG-102

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 1

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 3

Continuity/adding Contrast Conditionality Time frequency Logical order

(also, and, besides, (against, If (after, afterward, (finally, first,

Illustrating/Exam Reality check Cause and Consequence Conclusion

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 4

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 5

consequently moreover while In spite of on the contrary

for example certainly nevertheless as a result In my view

THE VALUE OF BEAUTY

in the same way in this respect instead of although nor

on the one hand on the other however increasingly neither

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 6

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 7

What is a sentence? (Reference Handout # 1.2)

 A subject is who or what is doing the action.

1. (My dog barked)

1. Complete sentence: (I opened the store at eight o’clock.)

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 8

After Now that

Compound Sentence (Reference Handout # 1.4)

Birds fly, and snakes crawl.

1. The snow is melting, and the days are getting longer.

Complex Sentences (Reference Handout # 1.5)

In the following, place bracket around all the independent clauses.

1. Birds fly, and snakes crawl.

Compound-Complex Sentences (Reference Handout # 1.6)

 A compound-complex sentence contains two independent clauses and at least one

Identify the type of sentence

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 10

Unit # 1: Checking of Learning & Review

How to Do Well on a Job Interview by Glenda Davis

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 11

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 12

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 13

Reading Strategy Description of Reading Strategy

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 14

Previewing an Article or an Essay

Previewing questions for an article or essay

How Dictionaries Are Made by S. I. Hayakawa

The dairy pails bring home increase

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 15

The writing of a dictionary, therefore, is not a task of setting up authoritative statements

1. What is this essay about?

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 16

Answer the following questions without looking back at the passage.

Making Inferences (Reference Handout # 2.3)

Separating Fact from Inference

Facts are statements of information that can be verified.

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 17

1. People in Chile are not as conservative as generally thought.

Exercises to Differentiate between facts and Inferences

A New Pesticide in India

1. What facts are included in the first paragraph?

2. What can you infer about the cost of pesticides in India?

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 18

4. What can you infer about the cola spray?

5. What facts are included in the third paragraph?

7. What can you infer about the Coca-Cola Company in India?

Mysterious "Piano Man" Puzzles British Doctors

Academic Reading & Writing (ENG-102) Page 19