Acknowledgments
This thesis would not have been possible without the generous support of the Rothermere Foundation. In 1986, I received the Rothermere Foundation Fellowship, which is awarded yearly to a graduate student of Memorial University. The Fellowship permits the recipient to study at any institution in the United Kingdom, and has supported many distinguished scholars in the years since it was first instituted in 1956 by Viscount Rothermere who was then the Chancellor of Memorial University. At the time of my application, I was fortunate to come to the attention of Dr Deirdre Wilson, who agreed to act as my supervisor. In the years during which this research has wound its leisurely way to a conclusion, she has provided guidance, support, understanding and professional and personal assistance of the most valuable kind. I wish also to acknowledge my gratitude to the Department of Linguistics at University College London for the patience and courtesy. To Dr Abbas and Mrs Shomais Afnan, and to Ms Sahba Akhavan, I owe a considerable debt. Their openhearted hospitality allowed me to return to the United Kingdom and complete the work on and the writing of this thesis. Dr Peter Baehr was kind enough to share his own work with me. For the opportunity to read ‘Founders, Classics, and the Concept of a Canon’ (Baehr and O’Brien 1994), and to discuss the connections between his research and my own, I am very grateful.
(Neil Murray and Geraldine Hughes. Writing up your University Assignments and Research Projects. A practical handbook, Open University Press, New York, 2008)
Listening
Script 21
Ex. 3. Match the words with their definitions. Listening to the tape will help you.
Different parts of an acknowledgement can be separated as follows:
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Ex. 4. Write a suitable Acknowledgments section for one of your pieces of work. If necessary, invent some forms of assistance to expand the section.
In-class Writing Assignment
What would you do as a parent to prevent a generation gap?
Because parents and their children are from different generations, they have different values and perspectives (points of view about life). Such differences can cause conflicts between the two generations. What are some things you would do as a parent to prevent conflicts between yourself and your children? Identify two or three things you could do. Explain them with examples and details (700–800 words, every other line).
Vocabulary
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integral |
to occur |
financial support |
sponsor |
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acknowledgments |
to provide |
thanks |
advisor |
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to display |
to benefit |
disclaimer |
supervisor |
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politeness |
common element |
source |
committee member |
Unit 5 Support in Expository Paragraphs
Unit Topics:
Essay organization
An overview of essay development:
introduction
body
conclusion
Essay organization
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ObjectivesIn this unit you will: |
examine the classification of different types of essays; |
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learn ways of organizing essays; |
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examine the structure of each type of essay. |
Starting up
Ex. 1. Give your explanations of these words (or give synonyms to them):
to describe
to compare
to contrast
to argue
to persuade.
Introduction
Ways of organizing essays
Essays are organized differently according to their purpose. Essays can be divided into the following main types:
1. The descriptive essay
a. Description of object or place
b. Describing a sequence of events
c. Describing a process
d. Describing and explaining
2. The argument essay
a. The balanced view
b. The persuasive essay
c. The to what extent essay
3. Compare and contrast essays
a. The contrast essay
b. The compare essay
c. The compare and contrast essays
1. The descriptive essay
a. Description of object or place
Describe essays require you to state the appearance of something, or to state the major characteristics of it. Note the word state i.e. you are not asked to comment on the subject or to give your personal point of view on it. Questions are often introduced by:
Describe ....
Narrate...
Tell....
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Introduction Major aspects of the subject. |
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description of aspect A |
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description of aspect B |
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etc. |
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Conclusion |
b. Describing a sequence of events.
Describing a sequence of events is simply telling a story.
State clearly when events happened or how one event caused another. Questions may be introduced by:
Give an account of ..., Trace ...,
Examine developments in ...
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Intoduction |
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First situation |
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then A happened |
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then B happened |
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etc. |
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Final situation |
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Conclusion |
c. Describing a process
This is like telling a story but here the connections between the facts must be clearly shown and explained. Group the events into steps or stages.
Examples of such questions are:
Explain/What is the connection between ...
Describe the procedures by which ...
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Definition of process Main equipment/Main steps |
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Step One leads to |
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Step Two leads to |
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Step Three |
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Conclusion Summary of process |
d. Describing and explaining
Some of the words and phrases which introduce this type of description are:
Explain the causes/reasons ...
Account for....
Analyze the causes ...
Comment on (the reasons for) ...
Show that ...
Show why ...
Examine the effect of ...
Suggest reasons for ...
Why did ...?
What are the implications of ...?
Discuss the causes of ...
Discuss the reasons for ...
When we are asked to describe or explain causes, factors, functions or results, the examiner wants us to group our facts. Similar causes are put together, for instance the economic causes of a situation. There are basically two main ways to organize this type of essay.
The question is "Describe the causes of A. Illustrate your answer by specific examples."
i.
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Introduction to causes of A |
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Cause 1 + example |
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Effects 1 |
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Cause 2 with example |
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Effects 2 |
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Cause 3 with examples |
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Effects 3 |
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Cause 4 with example |
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Effects 4 |
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etc. |
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Conclusion |
ii.
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Introduction to causes of A |
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Causes + examples |
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Transition |
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Effects |
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Conclusion |
