Exam Prep and Essay Re-drafting

Today, we will be mainly focusing on preparing for your EAP exam which will be next week  (date to be confirmed).  Towards the end of the day, you will receive your first drafts of your essay back and have time to re-draft and ask questions.

As you have been informed, the structure of the EAP exam will be as follows:

EAP Exam; Duration = 60 minutes

Section 1: Gap-fill Listening Exercise, followed by summary writing
Section 2: Topic Sentences
Section 3: Paragraph Structure: Cohesion and Coherence

Revision Guidelines for the three sections:

Section 1:

Listening to TED talks or radio programmes on Radio 4 and making notes.  Then, using those notes to write a summary.  The structure of this summary is really the same as Task 1 in IELTS: good to use passive voice, formal academic structures and no need to give opinion apart from maybe in the conclusion.

You practiced this last week on Wednesday and you will receive feedback for both today's attempt and last week's attempt on Friday.  (Friday will also be dedicated to EAP exam prep!)

Section 2:

Topic Sentences!  What is a topic sentence?  How do you write one appropriately and accurately?

Pages 4 - 11 (Oshima and Hogue) are dedicated to Topic Sentences.  Read, do or re-do the activities and digest!!

Section 3

Paragraph Structure: Cohesion and Coherence.  Yes, folks it's "TRANSITIONS!!!" time.  You know it was coming...

So get to know your TRANSITIONS inside out. 

Useful places to do this:

http://grammar.about.com/od/developingparagraphs/a/exsbsignals.htm

and English Grammar in Use, Units 113 - 120.

AGENDA FOR TODAY:

LESSON ONE: Paragraph Structure revision and quiz!

LESSON TWO: Gap-Fill Listening Practice and Summary Writing

LESSON THREE: Topic sentences revision, p.4 - 11 (Oshima and Hogue)

LESSON FOUR: Re-drafting Essay Time

Coursework Submission:

By Thursday 6th Dec, 4pm:

- email one copy to me
- email one copy to the office: efupsubmissions@efupcam.co.uk
- hand in a paper copy to the office

EAP Essay Deadlines

Question:

How are high-tech clusters formed and what sustains them?  Is there any evidence that governments can help their development?

Final Deadline is Thursday 6th December

Please email me your first drafts by 3.25pm Friday 30th November.

Critical Thinking

Questioning Paradigms about Education

Preparation:

In groups of two, discover:

1. What is critical thinking?
2. What is a paradigm?
3. What is ADHD?  What is used to treat it?  Why are people diagnosed with ADHD?
4. Who is Sir Ken Robinson?

You are now going to listen to two lectures by Sir Ken Robinson who thinks critically  about traditional views of education.

'Multiple Intelligences'

'Changing Education Paradigms'

You will hear the first lecture once and the second lecture twice.

While you are listening, make notes in line with the following questions:

1.  What is Sir Ken Robinson's view of traditional paradigms of intelligence and education?

AND

2.  To what extent do you agree with him?

Discuss what you have found in groups of four.

EAP Mid-Term Exam

This will be held on Monday (5th November) from 12.40 - 13.50 in Room 1.

How to prepare for your EAP Exam:

Make sure you attend this afternoon's lesson!!!

2nd Draft of Personal Statement

This is due on Friday.  Please email this before the lesson begins.

Self-Study to complete for Friday 26th October

Tomorrow in a lesson with Nina, you will be looking at Chapter 15 from Oshima and Hogue.

Please make sure you complete the Editing Practice and the Writing Practice and submit this in Friday's lesson.

Self-Study for Next Lesson (Friday)

Complete the Editing Practice and Writing Practice on pages 207 - 209 and submit on separate paper.

Festival of Ideas

Being in Cambridge, we are lucky to be able to experience the University of Cambridge's 'Festival of Ideas' that is held over a fortnight every autumn at various locations around the city.

While you are free to attend whichever lecture you would like, two which seem to be relevant and may be more interesting for the international student have been selected that we will go to as a class.

They are:

Being a Language Detective       Thursday 25th October, 6 - 7pm

"A look at how linguists and regular people use analytical techniques to unlock the secrets of language; focusing on identifying a speaker's gender, race, region and age."
A talk by Bert Vaux, Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. 


Info on p.9 of the brochure.

When in Rome...have nightmares like the Romans      Friday 2nd November, 6 - 8pm

"What gives us nightmares?  Do we all fear the same things?  Are horror stories told in the same way all over the world?  Come and discover how the same object can make us laugh or shiver."
Facilitated by Erica Berzaghi, Anglia Ruskin University.

Info on  p.32 of the brochure.

The lectures are free but because we are a large group, we need to go in together slightly earlier than the published time.  A meeting point will be established closer to the time.

All updates will be published on this blog!

Week 2 Content and Prep for Week 3

What we covered this week:

• syllabus content in detail
• how to start writing your personal statement: guide sheet; looked at a model 
• you started drafting your personal statement (first draft due in Week 4)
• registered onto the UCAS site
• worked through Chapter 10 of Oshima and Hogue: 'Types of Sentences'

What to do for Tuesday next week:

Complete Chapters 10 and 11: studying and do practice exercises, p.172 - 193

Week By Week Writing Topics, Required Reading and General Activities

Week by Week Course Content

Course Content Information

Summary of Course

Welcome to the Class Blog!  I hope you have a great year!