Academic Style
EUS
Hedging
Surprise me!
200
What are three things you should avoid in academic writing?
- emotional language - personal references
- run-on expressions - informal sentence starters
- clichés - colloquialisms
- contractions - rhetorical questions
- repetition - vague language
- phrasal verbs - informal negative forms
200
What is the IndiWork requirement for this course?
50% or above
200
Find the hedge word in the sentence below.
“PolyU students probably go on an exchange at least once in their university life.”
probably
200
Beware of this idiom. What is it?
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
300
Give an example of a cliché. Why do we avoid them in academic writing?
Clichés are phrases which are overused.
For example, “in this day and age”, “in today’s society”, “all walks of life”, etc.
Clichés should be avoided because they are no longer interesting or effective.
300
What are the two topics you can write about for Assessment #2?
- Recycling in Hong Kong
- Children in Hong Kong
300
Why do we use hedging?
•To protect yourself if you are not 100% sure that the information is correct.
•To acknowledge the limitations of your work.
•To divert opinion away from you.
300
Tell us a cliché related to money.
Time is money.
Another day, another dollar.
Money makes the world go round.
Money is the root of all evil.
Money doesn’t grow on trees.
Money can’t buy you happiness.
400
List the four informal sentence starters that we should avoid.
How can we avoid them?
And = In addition, Moreover
But = However, Nevertheless
Because = Since, As, Due to
So = Therefore, Hence, Thus
400
When is Assessment #1 scheduled to take place?
In Week 7
400
Which words are assertive and which are cautious?
- appear - clearly - generally
- never - obviously - usually
- tend - some - all
Assertive Cautious
- all - tend
- never - usually
- clearly - some
- obviously - appear
- generally
400
Tell your teacher the names of five students in this class.
Our class
500
Change the words in italics to make the sentence more formal.
“The students found out that a lot of the data wasn’t very good.”
“The students discovered that a large amount of the data was unreliable.”
500
What are the learning outcomes (goals) for this course?
a. refer to sources in written texts and oral presentations
b. paraphrase and summarise materials from written and spoken sources
c. plan, write and revise expository essays with reference to sources
d. deliver effective oral presentations
500
Rewrite the following sentences using hedging.
“The standardised method of testing is ineffective for indicating student success. Therefore, multiple measurements are the best option for measuring student performance.”
“The standardised method of testing may not be the most effective method of indicating student success. Therefore, multiple measurements could be an effective option for measuring student performance.”
500
What is CILL and where is its locations?
The location for the Centre for Independent Language Learning (CILL) is Room A305