HEDGING
Which word is used to hedge a statement?
A) Always B) Might C) Definitely D) Never
B) MIGHT
Is this a complete sentence or a fragment? "Because many students struggle with time management."
Fragment — It is a dependent clause and cannot stand alone.
What word means a serious shortage of food affecting a large population?
Famine
What does TEEL stand for in academic paragraph writing?
Topic sentence, Explanation, Evidence, Link
Which word is more formal? A) Kids B) Children
B) Children
Identify the hedging language in this sentence: "Excessive smartphone use may contribute to poor sleep quality."
may contribute to
Identify the punctuation error: "Online learning is convenient, it allows students to study anywhere."
Comma splice — Two independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a comma.
Complete the sentence with the correct vocabulary word: "The government introduced new policies to _______ the effects of climate change."
mitigate
What are the three main parts of an essay introduction?
Background information, thesis statement, and outline of main ideas.
Replace the informal phrase: "A lot of students struggle with stress."
Many students struggle with stress.
Which sentence uses hedging most appropriately?
A) All students might experience stress during exams. B) Exam stress possibly always affects academic performance.
C) Exam stress tends to affect some students' academic performance.
D) Exam stress definitely causes some students to fail.
C — Uses appropriate hedging without making contradictory or overly strong claims.
Correct this sentence in two different ways: "Many students experience stress, they struggle to balance their studies and personal lives."
1. "Many students experience stress because they struggle to balance their studies and personal lives." 2. "Many students experience stress; they struggle to balance their studies and personal lives."
Choose the correct word to complete the sentence: "The sudden changes in weather made the farmer's plans difficult because the rainfall was extremely _______."
A) Durable B) Erratic C) Affluent D) Premature
B) Erratic
Identify two weaknesses in this thesis statement: "Pollution is a big problem, and we need to do something about it."
1. Uses informal or vague language (big problem, do something). 2. Does not identify specific problems or solutions.
Identify two informal expressions: "These days, loads of people are hooked on their phones."
Loads of → Many; Hooked on → Addicted to / Dependent on
Identify three problems with the hedging in this sentence and rewrite it: "All university students might possibly always struggle with time management."
Problems: (1) "All" is an overgeneralisation. (2) "Might possibly" is redundant. (3) "Always" is too absolute. Example: "Some university students may struggle with time management."
Identify and correct all sentence fragments in the following passage: "University students face several challenges. Such as financial pressure and academic stress. Although universities provide support services. Many students do not use them."
Two fragments: "Such as financial pressure and academic stress" and "Although universities provide support services." Correction: "University students face several challenges, such as financial pressure and academic stress. Although universities provide support services, many students do not use them."
Explain the difference between scarcity and famine. Use each word in a sentence that demonstrates its meaning.
Scarcity: A shortage of something (e.g., water scarcity). Famine: An extreme shortage of food affecting a population. Accept any grammatically correct sentences demonstrating the distinction.
What is the difference between a thesis statement and a topic sentence?
A thesis statement presents the essay's overall argument or main ideas, while a topic sentence introduces the main idea of one paragraph
Rewrite formally: "The government needs to get its act together and fix this mess."
"The government should take effective measures to address this issue."
Research proves that social media causes poor mental health in teenagers.
Rewrite the claim using appropriate hedging.
Example: A study found an association between social media use and anxiety, suggesting that social media use may be linked to anxiety among teenagers.
Identify and correct all punctuation and sentence structure errors: "Climate change is a serious global issue, temperatures continue to rise. Because greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. Governments must take action, individuals also have a responsibility to reduce their environmental impact."
Errors: Two comma splices and one fragment. Correction: "Climate change is a serious global issue, and temperatures continue to rise because greenhouse gas emissions are increasing. Governments must take action, but individuals also have a responsibility to reduce their environmental impact."
Complete the paragraph using four appropriate vocabulary words: "The severe _______ caused widespread water shortages. As temperatures continued to rise, the government attempted to _______ the effects of the crisis. However, the _______ of resources forced many families to leave their homes, effectively _______ thousands of residents."
Heatwave, mitigate, scarcity, displacing
Why should a thesis statement be paraphrased rather than repeated exactly in the conclusion?
To reinforce the main argument while avoiding repetition and demonstrating how the essay's ideas connect.
Identify and correct three features of informal language: "I reckon online classes are pretty bad because students can't really focus."
I reckon → It could be argued that; Pretty bad → Less effective; Can't really focus → May struggle to maintain concentration.