Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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Analytical writing: Shows evidence of an ability to put forward ones own ideas,
and to see relationships and contradictions between ideas, break ideas down into their
constituent parts and see how theories can be applied to real situations.
Critical writing: Shows evidence of an ability to see the strengths and weaknesses in
own and other peoples ideas.
Below are a number of points to consider when presenting your own arguments, and
when evaluating other peoples arguments.
Claims of fact
Claims of value
Claims of policy
Task A: Which of the following is a claim of fact, a claim of value and a claim of policy?
Typical language:
To define: is concerned with, deals with, relates to, involves
To confirm the truth of an assertion: indeed,
To throw doubt upon the truth of an assertion: at the same time, however,
nevertheless, nonetheless, notwithstanding, despite
To contradict the truth of an assertion: actually, in fact, in reality, conversely,
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however
2. Support your claims with evidence
Personal experience
Research studies
Statistics
Citing authorities
Analogy
Pointing out consequences
Facts
Logical explanations
Task B: Match each of the following claims with an appropriate piece of evidence:
It is important for the department English to In 1989 5% of the population were
be involved in policy making at the highest living in absolute poverty. That figure
level has now risen to 15%.
Levels of poverty have increased As Rubienskas (2009) study showed.
significantly in Kenya over the last twenty
years.
The recognition that motivation is a key If it is not, then its interests tend not to
factor in learning is no new phenomenon. be considered.
Triple loop learning can be an effective way Like newborn babies, they need
of promoting change. considerable support from the school
if they are to survive the first few
weeks of learning.
Maslows hierarchy of needs does not apply Confucius knew this, and so did Plato.
equally well to all language schools.
New students are relatively helpless to start As I discovered when working for the
with. Information Department of the
Chinese Civil Service.
In power cultures, all of the control is As this would mean that there was no
situated at the centre. reliable way of assessing students
progress.
It is impossible for a university to have a McNulty (2008) likens such language
totally exam-free policy. schools to spiders webs.
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3. Use different patterns of reasoning
Different patterns of reasoning include:
Typical language:
Addition: Also, furthermore, further, moreover, what is more, in addition, besides,
above all, too, as well as, not only but
Equation: Equally, likewise, similarly, correspondingly, in the same way
Typical language
Weighing up pros and cons: on the one hand on the other hand, conversely, the
good thing about the bad thing about
Typical language
Degrees of certainty: It is fairly certain/likely that, very/quite
probable/possible/likely/unlikely that, rather unlikely that, almost/quite certain that
Result or inference: So, therefore, as a result, consequently, hence, for this reason,
then, this implies, my conclusion is
Typical language
Opposing viewpoints and refutations are identified by indicator words and
phrases, such as:
It is said that but,
Some people claim that however,
Conjunctive devices, such as Although despite the fact that even though
Doubting credibility: Somewhat/slightly/questionable/doubtful/uncertain/unclear
has a number of shortcomings
Task C: What kind of claim is being made in the following extract, and how could
you respond to it?
There is nothing we can do about lazy students. If a student cant be bothered to work
then we as teachers are utterly helpless to change the situation.
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5. Avoid fallacies
1. Weak analogies
2. Conflated ideas
3. Circular reasoning
4. Comparative worst/best
5. The genetic fallacy
6. Attacking a straw person
7. Generalisations
8. Assuming that if X precedes Y, then X causes Y
9. Appeals to emotions
Typical language
Generalisations: almost all/every/a majority/the vast majority/most/many/a lot of,
always/usually/normally/generally/on the whole/regularly/often/frequently
certainly/definitely/undoubtedly/clearly/presumably/ will/are/must/should/ought to
Conflated ideas: therefore/thus/so
Comparatives: considerably/a great deal/much/significantly/rather/somewhat/a
little/slightly smaller/bigger/cheaper than
B. Inhabitants of Birmingham are always complaining about the level of traffic and
saying that the Council should do something about it, but their situation isnt anything
like as bad as in London, so they should think themselves lucky.
D. Learning a language is like building a house. You have to do it step by step. Its no
use trying to put the roof on before youve built the foundations.
E. Music experts often claim that Beethoven was the best ever composer. However,
other composers have been just as good.
F. We need to support our weak and defenceless colleagues by supporting the strike.
Not to do so would be to let them down immeasurably.
H. Students tend to be interested in courses when the subject matter and method of
presentation are interesting.
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I. He went to college and became a boozer. Thus college corrupted him.
6. Recognise and evaluate assumptions
Assumptions are fundamental to your evaluation of the conclusions drawn. Sometimes they are
easy to spot; sometimes they are very deep and difficult to spot. It is also important to be aware of
the types of assumptions (religious or political), which you are likely to make.
Typical language
Defining: I adopt a broad/narrow/working definition, this is concerned with, deals
with, relates to, involvesby this I mean,
Exemplification: for example, for instance, say, such as, including, included,
especially, particularly, in particular, notably, chiefly, mainly, mostly
Defining by negation: By this/in this definition, I do not mean/include, I do not use
this term to include, the study is limited to,
Task F: How many ways can you think of in which you could clarify the following
assertion?
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Typical language:
Similarity: exactly/precisely/just/virtually/practically/almost/nearly/approximately the
same as
Difference: not exactly/entirely/quite the same as, totally/completely/somewhat/quite
different from, different/dissimilar in many ways/respects.
Task G: How might you account for the following opposing theories?
1. Noam Chomsky believes that we have a special Language Acquisition Device that is
responsible for language learning and processing whereas Michael Tomasello believes that
language learning is the same as any other type of learning that we do.
2. Michael Swan believes that it is important to focus on grammar in the language classroom
whereas Henry Widdowson thinks the focus should be more on communication.
3. Guy Cook argues that there should be room for language play in the classroom whereas
proponents of task-based learning, such as Martin Bygate and Peter Skehan, believe there
should always be a real reason for communicating and that playing with the language is a
waste of time.
4. Proponents of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), such as Barbara Seidlhofer believe that no
one has the right to judge the quality of another persons English. International English is a
language variety in its own right. Many language teachers would disagree with this idea.
5. Feminist researchers, such as Deborah Cameron say that there is absolutely no reason to
believe that men are from Mars and that women are from Venus. Others would disagree.
Remember to consider both the possible applications, and the limitations of the theory.
Typical language
Applicability: entirely applicable/relevant to
Limited applicability: is applicable to some extent/in some ways/is suitable to/lends
itself to/could be adapted to/has some bearing on/may be a useful tool
Inapplicability: not entirely applicable/relevant to
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Task H: Look at Zoltan Dornyeis five strategies for increasing motivation in the language
classroom. Identify situations in which they might and might not work
1. Commitment control strategies, to help the learner maintain or increase their commitment to
their own goals (e.g. reminding them of favourable expectations or positive incentives;
focussing on what would happen if the original intention failed)
2. Metacognitive control strategies, for monitoring and controlling concentration (e.g.
identifying recurring distractions; focussing on the first steps to take in a course of action)
3. Satiation control strategies, for reducing boredom (e.g. adding a twist to the task; using
imagination to liven it up)
4. Emotion control strategies, to manage disruptive emotional states (e.g. self-encouragement,
relaxation)
5. Environmental control strategies, for eliminating negative environmental influences and
promoting positive ones (e.g. eliminating distractions, asking friends for help)
Typical language
Changing the subject: With reference/respect/regard to, regarding, let us now turn to,
as for, as to
Making a digression: incidentally
Summing up: in conclusion, to conclude, to sum up briefly, in brief, to summarise,
overall
Drawing a conclusion impersonally: It appears that/it would appear that/it seems
that/it would seem that/ there is a tendency to/some of the evidence shows that/it is
very doubtful whether
This paper is intended to demonstrate that as metaphor and metonymy are central to language and
language use, foreign language learners really do need to engage with them. I explore how learners
might usefully engage with them, in order to understand, produce and learn a foreign language. As
there is much less systematic empirical research into learning figurative language than learning
other aspects of a foreign language, the aim is to identify what teachers, textbook writers and
researchers need to focus on in the coming years.
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11. Get the reader on your side
Writing is a social act, and a successful essay must engage appropriately with its reader.
Task J: Consider how each of the following statements is being used by the writer
to get the reader on side:
It is essential to examine
The standard view is that
Why do people behave in this way?
One can imagine using debt reduction policies in this situation
Richards was of course wrong to suggest
12. Think about whether to use the idea then author structure or the author
then idea structure
It has been demonstrated that classroom-based teaching does not always result in the
most effective learning (Jones, 2009)
Jones (2009) has demonstrated that classroom-based teaching does not always result
in the most effective learning