Course reminders
Is this course a Pass/Fail or graded course?
Graded. You will receive an overall grade for your performace in the course.
What is the academic equivalent of "But"?
However
According to QS World University Rankings 2025, where does HKU rank globally?
Ranked 17th globally in the 2025 QS World University Rankings
What is a 3-move structure?
The 3-move structure is a framework that can be used to write an introduction.
Move 1 - Establishing the research territory
Move 2 - Establishing the research niche
Move 3- Occupying the niche
What is Academic style and why use it in academia?
Formal style of writing. Increases your credibility. Can be understood worldwide
How many sessions are there in this course?
10 sessions
Define "sentence connectors" and provide 2 examples.
Sentence connectors are words and phrases that serve as a transition between statements. Examples: those mentioned in class and course handout.
Based on the World Happiness Report 2024, Which country ranks as the happiest in the world?
Finland (for seven consecutive years)
What is a MEAL plan?
MEAL plan helps students structure their paragraph:
M: Main idea presented in a topic sentence
E: Evidence to support ideas/claims/arguments
A: Analysis of the evidence - writers' interpretation/elaboration/explanation of the evidence
L: Link - concluding sentence - link the discussion back to the central theme
What should we avoid in Academic writing? Name 3
1. Contractions (e.g it's)
2. I, you or we (depends)
3. Questions
4. Basic vocabulary
5. Phrasal verbs
What is the purpose of working on the IL Weekly record and group tasks, as well as the penpal letters?
Students are required to complete 60 hours of independent learning.
Is it acceptable to use a sentence connector at the beginning of a new paragraph? Why or why not?
Not acceptable. Sentence connectors connect sentences not paragraphs.
What does "Hong Kong" (香港) mean in English?
Fragrant Harbour (possibly due to the Agarwood found at that time in HK)
True or false: Students are encouraged to use paraphrase rather than direct quotation.
True: The paraphrase shows your intepretation of the original source.
Is it acceptable to use "a lot of" in academic writing?
No. You can use " a great deal of" or other academic equivalents.
What is the word count for each penpal letter?
200 words
True or false: Sentence connectors can only be used at the beginning of a sentence.
False
What does the term "Chop chop" mean and where does it come from?
"Chop chop" means "hurry" "do it now" and is a phrase first noted in the interaction of Cantonese and English people.
Name three strategies for paraphraisng.
1. Identify key words
2. Find synonyms
3. Change the sentence structure
If I want to use the short form of a technical term in my writing, how should I introduce the short form?
Spell the term in full the first time it appears in your writing, followed by the short term in a bracket.
What are the course completion requirements?
1. Attend all classes (unless you have a valid reason to be absent from class)
2. One written assessment: 500-word introduction
3. One speaking assessment: 3MT
4. IL Plan
5. IL Weekly record and group task
6. 3 penpal letters
7. Complete the tutorial session
What role do pronouns play in achieving cohesion in a text?
Pronouns help achieve cohesion by replacing nouns mentioned earlier in the text, avoiding repetition and making the text smoother and easier to read.
What day of the week is Christmas this year (2024)?
Wednesday 25th Dec 2024
True or False: I could only use passive voice in academic writing as this shows my objective position in the writing.
False: You are also encouraged to use active voice as it's straight forward and more direct. More and more journals encourage writers to use active voice.
Which one of these verbs is not academic?
establish, conduct, alleviate, investigate, talk about
talk about