LPE2301 ACADEMIC INTERACTION & PRESENTATION

SEMESTER 1, 2019/2020
LECTURE NOTES 2 (WEEK 2 – 6)

Discussion Skills: Opening, maintaining and closing a discussion

The topics included in this lecture notes are:

1. Opening a discussion a) Forming an opinion

2. Maintaining a discussion
3. Closing a discussion
b) Using conjunctions in giving reasons
a) Using subject-verb agreement in responding to
others
b) Using simple present tense in a discussion
a) Reaching a consensus
b) Summarising
c) Drawing conclusions

Pre-discussion: Forming an opinion

In an academic discussion, it is best if you prepare for the topic prior to the discussion. This
is to ensure that you are able to participate and contribute effectively in an academic
discourse. Unlike an informal discussion, an academic discussion requires you to support
any opinion that you have with evidence from credible sources.
There are no specific rules when it comes to preparing for a discussion. Nevertheless, here
are some strategies that you can use as part of your preparation.
1. Read
- Before participating in a discussion, it is important for you to read and gather
information on the topic.
- While reading, identify issues and different points of view discussed in the text.

2. Make notes
- Summarise key information into your response notebooks or write them on sticky
notes while reading.
- Make notes on two different points of view on the topic. You can prepare a table
that lists down the two opposing viewpoints.

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Example:
Topic: Animals should not be kept in zoo. What is your view?

For Against

§ Animals in captivity suffer from stress § Zoos educate the public and foster
and boredom appreciation of the animals

§ The vast majority of captive breeding § Zoos save endangered species by

programmes do not release animals bringing them into safe environment
back into the wild
§ Zoos provide breeding programmes
§ One study has shown that elephants
kept in zoos do not live as long as
elephants in the wild

3. Decide on a stance
- Based on your reading, decide on your stance concerning the issue after
deliberating on the different viewpoints.

4. Develop questions for the group

- Identify possible questions that could be further discussed during the group
discussion.

Activity 1:

Based on the given topic, search for information on the issue on the Internet. Make notes
by completing the table below.
Topic: Playing video games leads to antisocial behaviour. What is your view?

For Against

 Video games can release stress.

 Playing long time of video
 games can desensitise
Video games people
can improve
to seeing antisocial behaviours.
problem-solving abilities.

 Individuals exposed to violent

 video
Video games
games are
canmore
becomelikely
a to
have
topic aggressive
of interest behaviours,
and promote
thoughts and feelings.
social behaviour.

 Playing video games can be

addictive and will take up the
time for socializing activities.

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 a. What is your stance on the issue?
I believe video games will lead to antisocial behaviour as it can desensitise
people, causes aggressive behaviours, thoughts and feelings and will take up
the time for socializing activities.
b. What two questions on the issue that you want to discuss with your group?
1. Do video games promote aggressive behaviour?
2. Should parents allow children to play games?

While discussing: Using conjunctions in giving reasons

When giving opinion, you have to state your viewpoints clearly and convincingly with sufficient
explanations and support.

For this purpose, conjunctions can be used to link opinion and reason effectively.

The following conjunctions are commonly used to connect causes/reasons.

Conjunction Opinion Reason

because I believe that animals should not be …because animals in captivity
kept in zoos… suffer from stress and boredom.
as In my opinion, animals should be …as zoos can help saving the
kept in zoos… endangered species by bringing
them into safe environment.
since I think, animals should be kept in …since zoos can help in
zoos… educating the public and foster
appreciation to wildlife.

Activity 2:

Work in pairs and discuss about the topic in Activity 1. Use appropriate conjunctions to give
reason and support your opinions.
I believe playing long time of video games can desensitise people to seeing antisocial
behaviours because violent video games reward players for simulating violence. In my
opinion, individuals exposed to violent video games are more likely to have aggressive
behaviours, thoughts and feelings as users will get angry easily if they failed a particular
level. Finally, I think playing video games will take up time for socializing activities since it is
addictive and time consuming.

Maintaining a discussion: Using subject-verb agreement in responding to others

In maintaining a discussion, it is very important to avoid misunderstandings and to help other

group members to understand you easily. These can be achieved by using correct grammar
while speaking. One aspect of grammar that tend to be overlooked is the subject-verb
agreement.
Subject-verb agreement is when the subject agrees with the verb. In the English language,
the form of the verb must match the subject.
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The following are some of the rules that you can use as a guide:
1. A singular verb follows a singular subject and a plural verb follows a plural subject.
e.g. - I think her suggestion is brilliant.
- I think her suggestions are good.
- In my opinion, animals should not be kept in zoos because animals in
captivity suffer from stress and boredom.

2. a) When two or more singular subjects are joined by the conjunction “and”, a plural
verb is used.
e. g. I agree with Natasha that John and Matthew work well together in
completing their research.

b) Phrases such as “together with", “as well as” and "along with” do not affect the
actual number of subjects before them. They are not the same as the conjunction
"and”.
e. g. I think it is a good idea for people to exercise regularly. My aerobics
instructor as well as my doctor says that people who exercise
regularly tend to live longer.

3. a) A singular verb is used after “neither” and "either",

e. g. Neither any of the options works for the students.
Either option is fine with me.

b) When two subjects are joined by "neither..,nor” or “either...or”, the verb agrees
with the subject nearest to it.
e.g. I believe that neither Jasmine nor Megan has the answers for the
questions on barriers of communication.

4. a) The indefinite pronouns such as "anyone", "anybody", "anything", "everybody”,

"everyone", “everything', "nobody", "no one”, “nothing", "someone",
"somebody", “something” and “none” require singular verbs.
e.g. I believe that everyone has a shot at giving opinion in a group
discussion.
As far as I’m concerned, none of the students has completed the
assignments on time due to its complexity.

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 b) When the subjects follow "each", “even” and "one of", a singular verb is used.
e.g. In my opinion, one of the secrets of successful living is the ability to
turn our disappointment into strengths.

c) lndefinite pronouns such as “all” and “some” can be singular or plural depending
on whether they are referring to countable or uncountable nouns.
e.g. I believe that some of the documents are missing.
I feel that some of the news is just rumours.

d) When the subjects are separated by “all but" and “both...and", a plural verb is
used.
e.g. I think all but Adrian agree with the suggestions.
I can see that both the lecturer and students enjoy discussing the
issues.

5. a) A collective noun takes a singular verb when it is used to mean a group.

e.g The team wins all the competitions.
The committee has not decided on where to hold the camp yet.

b) A collective noun takes a plural verb when it is used to refer to the members in a
group.
e.g. The committee have not decided on where to hold the camp yet.
I agree with what you’re saying that the team are working very hard for
the competition.

6. Plural numbers take a singular verb when they are used in a phrase to mean an
amount or a unit.
e.g. I feel that three years is a long time to complete master degree.
I think that a million dollars is a lot of money for such a risky
investment.

7. a) Some words end in “s” but are singular in meaning. ln this case, a singular verb is
used.
e.g. I hear you saying that the news is fake, is that true?

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 b) Some nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning. In this case, a plural verb is
used
e.g. In other words, you’re saying that poultry continue to rise in price. Is
that right?

Maintaining a discussion: Using simple present tense in a discussion

In a group discussion, it is essential to use correct tenses so that your group members will
not be confused with the timeline and information that you are sharing.
When giving facts, describing habitual or repetitive actions, simple present tense is used.

Simple present tense is used in the following situations:

1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

• For example, Nic Vujicic, a motivational speaker and director of Life Without Limbs,
regularly gives speeches across subject of disability and hope.
• I believe that for every semester, students have to complete their course registration
before new semester begins.

2. For facts.

• The President of the USA resides in The White House.

• Sugar gliders suffer from unregulated pet industry.

3. For habits.

• As you can see, the English teacher always arrives 10 minutes earlier.

Present tense habitual activities are frequently signalled by time expressions such as the
following:

all the time every month often

always every rarely
every class semester sometimes
every day every week usually
every holiday every year
every hour most of the
time
never

4. For things that are always / generally true.

• For your information, it rains a lot here in England during winter.

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Simple present tense can be used to make affirmative and negative statements.

Affirmative statement:

The President of the USA travels to Mar-a-Lago for presidential retreat.

Negative statement:

The President of the USA does not travel to Mar-a-Lago for presidential retreat.

Post Discussion: Reaching a consensus, summarising and drawing conclusions

The discussion can be closed in three ways:

1. Reaching a consensus
- The group comes to a decision based on majority of views shared.

2. Summarising
- All the ideas or opinions of the group members are summarised.

3. Drawing conclusion
- A general thought of the topic is issued at the end of a discussion.

Below are the examples of language expressions for ending a discussion:

Reaching a consensus

1. Therefore, we’ve all decided ….

2. After listening to the opinions presented in the discussion, majority of us agreed that ….

Summarising points of a discussion

1. Let me recap the important points in our discussion just now which are ….

2. To sum up, based on our discussion, the important points ….

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There are several things that you should keep in mind when you want to summarise points of
a discussion:

§ The summary should be brief and concise.

§ The summary should incorporate all the important points spoken.
§ You should not introduce new points.
§ You should not share your own viewpoint alone.
§ Your summary should not focus on one side of the discussion only.

Concluding a discussion

1. In conclusion, we’ve agreed that ….

2. Before we end our discussion, we can conclude that ….