ASSIGNMENT No. 1
DOWNLOAD BUTTON IS GIVEN AT THE END
Q.1 Read pages 1-14 carefully (the content is related to ‘academic writing’ and various types of ‘essays’) and briefly answer the following questions (in your own words).
- What is ‘academic writing’? How is it different from other types of writing?
Academic writing is the style of writing we use in the field of academics. Research projects, term papers, conference papers, essays, abstracts, reports, etc. in various disciplines are written in this style. The main difference between academic writing and other styles of writings is that it is more formal and structured. Academic writing also has its own set of rules and structures. The target audience or the readers of academic writing is the scholars of the same discipline.
Academic writing is generally objective, concise and impersonal. It is also more complex than general writing and may consist of technical jargon. Precision is also another very important factor in academic writing. Punctuation and grammar should be strictly followed. Contractions (don’t, can’t, etc.), slang or informal words, clichés, unnecessary filler words such as really, very, etc. should also be avoided in academic writing.
Referencing and citations is another major difference in academic writing. In academic writing, the writer is expected to support his argument by citing evidence by other sources. However, this evidence from other sources always has to be properly attributed according to an accepted style guide such as APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard referencing.
Writing for non-academic and no-technical purposes can be described as general writing. This is the style of writing we use in our day to day life. Diary and journal entries, letters, emails, newspaper articles, advertisements, posters, etc. are all written in a general writing style. Although general writing also requires correct spelling and grammar, it is not as strict as academic writing. In addition, there are no restrictions on the use of slang, contractions, clichés and other words. General writing can be informal, formal or semi-formal, but it’d be simpler and easier to understand than academic writing. There is also no need to use strict referencing and citation in general writing. Academic Writing is used in research projects, conference papers, essays, abstracts, reports, etc.
General Writing is used in letters, emails, newspaper articles, diary and journal entries, etc. Academic Writing uses formal, objective, concise language. General Writing uses informal, semi-formal language.
- What is ‘analysis essay’? Write an analysis essay on ‘Internet’.
An analytical essay is a piece of writing that provides substantive analysis of a topic. Analysis papers can be written about art, music, literary works, current events, historical events, politics, scientific research, and philosophy, among other topics. Analytical essays are common in academic settings, and they also appear in magazines, newspapers, academic journals, trade journals. A good analytical essay can explain and contextualize basic information for the benefit of a reader. Analytical essays serve two purposes, one for the reader and one for the writer. High school teachers and college professors assign analytical papers to help their students grow as writers and thinkers. Analytical papers boost a student’s writing skills and enhance their comprehension of a particular topic.
Analytical essays also benefit readers. Newspapers and magazines routinely publish critical analysis essays to help their readers make sense of the news of the day. These types of essays enable authors, who may be experts in their fields, to educate their fellow citizens on matters of politics, economics, art, architecture, culture, and many other subjects of importance.
Analysis essay on ‘Internet’
Internet has already firmly established in the life of modern people. Practically no one can imagine their lives without it, whether they study, work, sit at home or travel around the world. The age when people start using it is on constant decrease, and I will not be surprised if I find out that my 10-year-old neighbor knows how to use it better than me.
Although there are the tendencies I just described, there are certain people who consider this technology to be harmful and of no real good to people. Well, what can I say? Those who say so just don’t know what they are talking about, because if they did, they would understand that the advantages of Internet usage greatly outweigh the drawbacks it may sometimes have.
First of all, Internet is a valuable source of information. Yes, people not so long ago succeeded to get education and be informed of the latest news without the web, but does it mean that we should stop using it for information purposes? I don’t think so. Previously people had to spend many hours in the libraries, writing and rewriting the necessary information. It took much time and nerves. Today all you have to do if you need some data is access it from your home, sitting in your favorite chair and maybe even listening to music. Isn’t it great? The opportunities it gives to students and all the people who like to be informed are just immense.
Q.2 Read pages 24-30 carefully (the content is about various parts of an academic essay) and write an academic essay (of about 150 words) on ‘My Favorite Subject’.
My favorite subject among all subjects is English. When I was studying in the primary section then only I loved to study English, as the book was filled up with different interesting stories. We had two books of English up to class 8th. Further, we had one book containing drama. We have separate teachers for teaching us grammar and literature. I eagerly wait for the period of English.
The subject of English helps me in increasing my vocabulary and reading capability. I am fond of reading stories and poems and later on, I use to write it all in my own words. We also have our assignments. We have to perform skits or presentations on the provided topic. I choose to perform a skit and always did the role of the narrator. English is a subject that helps me in improving my writing skills. I wrote many small stories based on my imagination and my story was published in our school library collection.
Q.3 Read pages 31-34 carefully (the content is about formal and informal styles of writing) and decide what type of writing style (formal/informal) is used in the following text and how?
It is often said that literature is an index, indeed the principal index, of the soul of an age, and that to understand the spirit of any historical period, we should look first of all the books that were being read by the people of the time.
This is a formal writing because the text is of academic point of view.
Q.4 Read Unit 2 which is on ‘sequence’ or ‘chronological order’ (pages 39-72). Sequence is a writing technique that writers use to present information in a step by step manner or in a process or in a sequence (of story, for example).
Now LINK (connect) sentences (given in the following text) by using appropriate SEQUENCE MARKERS (such as first, secondly, subsequently, then, after, finally, at last etc.). You are required to use at least TEN sequence markers in your answer.
Firstly, the early death of his mother in the Indiana wilderness, then a rude upbringing verging on the ill-mannered, the damage of rough and tumble frontier politics, unbearable mental breakdown resulting from uncertainty in life, all these played their role in the life of Lincoln. Subsequently the hurts of a not altogether happy marriage, and, then the loss of an infant son, all these had added their traces to the life of this great leader.
Q.5 Read the text titled as ‘A Day in the Life of a Nurse’ on pages 56-57 carefully. Also read Exercise-9 given on page 58. Now write down a PARAGRAPH of about 150 words on ‘A Day in the Life of a Bank Manager’. Follow the use of SEQUENCE MARKERS in your answer.
At exactly 5:30 am the alarm clock besides Ms Sarah goes off prompting her out of bed. Ms Mayanja has to rise early because of the nature of her family situation and new position as branch Manager of Equatorial Bank Ltd.
Her husband of 5 years, Sam, works up – country in Gulu, Northern Uganda, for a relief and development NGO and visits over the weekend. This means during his absence Ms sarah has to drop their 5-year-old son, Ali, at Aunt Molly’s kindergarten. Their three- year old, Sobia, is left in the care of a maid.
Quickly, with the help of her maid, she sees that Ali is dressed and readied for school. They sit down to breakfast by 6:30 and by 7:00 am there are both out of the driveway in a jet- blue Toyota Corsa while listening to their favourite morning show on 104.1 Power FM.
After dropping Ali at school, Sarah heads to the Acacia branch of Equatorial Bank and drops in by her normal time of 8 a.m. The first thing she does once in her office is to look at her diary and plot a to – do list. She always purposes to get through her in- tray before 9 a.m and then go through the day’s errand.
Sarah’s number-one priority is customer service-keeping current customers satisfied and signing up new ones. Privatization has intensified competition in the banking sector. No longer are the days of sitting back and waiting for corporate customers; the modern banker has to go out scouting for new customers, which is part of Sarah’s job.
To bring in new customers, she tries to make visits each day to potential business clients. Unless she finds the time for such visits, she is unlikely to meet her target of expanding the branch’s business-customer base. Her immediate boss, Mr. Fred Nsereko, the General Manager of Retail banking gave her a target of bringing in 50 new clients with a portfolio worth over $ 2 million each this year. She has already scheduled two important appointments today. One visit will be to Fang Fang restaurant whose proprietor wants to expand her lucrative business.
Another target is lawyers. She has already sent letters to the Uganda Law Society President, Mr. Shafiq Nkuruziza, trying to interest them in a special type of account that lets lawyers purchase Mercedes Benzes on credit. She hopes to find time to visit the Law society offices before Lunchtime, as she has to pick up Ali from school.
Sarah has also a personnel problem to handle in the day. A competitor bank recently recruited one of her assistant managers, Yvonne Nambi, and she has to talk to Human Resource to find her a suitable replacement. Sarah is happy that her people are competitive but she knows that the bank is weak in succession planning and hopes the Human Resource department devises a way to bridge the effect of these departures.
Sarah has also another personnel problem to handle. Lately, she has observed that Customer Relationship Manager, Musa Byamugisha, seems to be undermining her suggestions. She knows that Musa, who she hears is a relation to a certain Board member, had thought that the promotion would go to him yet in the end it was offered to her. She wonders also if Musa is ignoring her because she is a female and quiet younger than him. But Sarah knows that she was only promoted because of her proven track record. She decides she has to talk to Musa on the issue of insubordination late in the afternoon.
Sarah reviews her in-tray. There is a Memo containing new procedures she is to initiate at the branch, as well as information about new promotions (discounts on traveller’s checks and incentives to open checking accounts) that must be implemented. She then opens her Local Area Network mail system. There over 30 mails but she focuses on those addressed to her and near her concern. The rest she can catch up on later.
As she is going through her mail, a credit assistant knocks on the door and enters. Sarah keeps an open door and staff can access her anytime. The credit assistant has a report showing clients with rejected debits, indicating insufficient funds. On the basis of a customer’s account history, Sarah must decide whether to cover a check or let it bounce.
Since this is a Monday, Sarah holds staff meetings at 9 a.m., to review the bank’s performance last week and plans for the week. The meeting with her senior managers lasts less than an hour, as a rule for there is so much to do in the day.
During the peak time in the middle of the day, Sarah does what she calls Management by Walking Around (MBWA)- pitching in and helping her staff whenever needed. She might review loan applications, talk with customers, or handle special problems, such as the breakdown of an automated teller machine. If customer lines get particularly long, she works at a teller window. She must also sometimes deal with irate customers, who may be upset because lines are long or a mistake has been made.
Still, as much as possible, she likes to leave the operations of the branch to her assistant managers. Otherwise, she might get caught up in day-to-day problems and lose sight of her, main task-getting more customers for the bank and meeting her targets. Besides, she also feels the best way to help people grow in confidence is by letting them grow in their jobs.
Q.6 Read the text titled as ‘Planting a Tree: A Step by Step Guide’ on pages 60-61 carefully. Now draw a flow chart for ‘Shopping Online’ and write a paragraph on it by using appropriate SEQUENCE MARKERS.
Q.7 Read the text titled as ‘Pollution’ on pages 98-91 carefully and complete the following tasks briefly:
- Define air pollution.
Air pollution is caused by a combination of gaseous and particulate pollutants such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen dioxide emitted from point sources such as factories and motor vehicles that burn fuel. Some gaseous emissions are visible to the eye and sometimes may even diffuse into the atmosphere and become invisible. Particulate pollution, on the other hand, such as soot and black carbon, is always visible.
- Create a diagram illustrating various types of air pollution.
- Explain what causes air pollution?
Certain gases in the atmosphere can cause air pollution. For example, in cities, a gas called ozone is a major cause of air pollution. Ozone is also a greenhouse gas that can be both good and bad for our environment. It all depends where it is in Earth’s atmosphere. When particles in the air combine with ozone, they create smog. Smog is a type of air pollution that looks like smoky fog and makes it difficult to see.
Q.8 Read text titled as ‘Types of Teachers’ on pages 96-98 carefully and answer the following questions briefly:
- a) What are the characteristics of a friendly teacher?
- expert communication skills
- superior listening skills
- deep knowledge and passion for their subject matter
- the ability to build caring relationships with students
- friendliness and approachability
- excellent preparation and organization skills
- strong work ethic
- community-building skills
- high expectations for all
- How would you define a friendly teacher?
Some qualities of a good teacher include skills in communication, listening, collaboration, adaptability, empathy and patience. Other characteristics of effective teaching include an engaging classroom presence, value in real-world learning, exchange of best practices and a lifelong love of learning.
Q.9 Read about Cause and Effect’ (as given on pages 107-112) carefully and complete the exercises (given on pages 112-146) in the unit.
Now write down an ESSAY of about 250 words on the causes and effects of ‘Deforestation’. Follow the use of Cause and Effect relationship in your essay. You can discuss ONE effect of multiple causes and reasons and vice versa (multiple effects of ONE reason).
Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world that are lost for other uses such as agricultural croplands, urbanization, or mining activities. Greatly accelerated by human activities since 1960, deforestation has been negatively affecting natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate.
Causes of Deforestation
Agriculture
Commercial or industrial agriculture (field crops and livestock) cause around 40% of forest loss – in the search for space to grow food, fibers or biofuel (such as soybeans, palm oil, beef, rice, maize, cotton and sugar cane). It is also particularly interesting to note livestock is believed to be responsible for about 14% of global deforestation. The main reasons why have to do with the large areas require both to raise livestock but also to grow its (soy-based) food.
New Constructions
The construction of human infrastructures has also been driving deforestation. More specifically, 10% of deforestation can be attributed to new infrastructures that serve the current human lifestyle in four main ways: transportation, transformation and energy generation.
On one hand, roads, rails, ports or airports have been built to move all sorts of goods – from cereals and fruits to spices, minerals or fossil fuels – either directly to trade centers or to transformation sites.
Urbanization
The populational shift that is leading people to move from rural areas to urban areas is also contributing to deforestation (5%, according to FAO). This urban growth – in which 68% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities by 2050 – is leading to an exponential growth of housing and consumption sites. And as cities become larger so they can host more people, they challenge the natural boundaries surrounding them, often leading to deforestation. This is one of the reasons why deforestation is happening.
Deforestation Effects
Effects of Deforestation on Biodiversity
The most known consequence of deforestation is its threat to biodiversity. In fact, forests represent some of the most veritable hubs of biodiversity. From mammals to birds, insects, amphibians or plants, the forest is home to many rare and fragile species. 80% of the Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests.
By destroying the forests, human activities are putting entire ecosystems in danger, creating natural imbalances, and putting Life at threat. The natural world is complex, interconnected, and made of thousands of inter-dependencies and among other functions, trees provide shade and colder temperatures for animals and smaller trees or vegetation which may not survive with the heat of direct sunlight. Besides, trees also feeding animals with their fruits while providing them with food and shelter they need to survive.
Local People and Their Livelihoods
Healthy forests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people globally, one billion of whom are among the worlds poorest. This means there are many people depending on forests for survival and using them to hunt and gather raw products for their small-scale agriculture processes. But in developing countries such as Borneo, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, or Mexico, land tenure systems are weak. This allows big businesses to get these lands and use them for other ends, disrupting local people’s lives.
Food Insecurity in the Future
Today, 52% of all the land used for food production is moderately or severely impacted by soil erosion. In the long term, the lack of healthy, nutritious soil can lead to low yields and food insecurity.
Soil Erosion
Deforestation weakens and degrades the soil. Forested soils are usually not only richer on organic matter, but also more resistant to erosion, bad weather, and extreme weather events. This happens mainly because roots help fix trees in the ground and the sun-blocking tree cover helps the soil to slowly dry out. As a result, deforestation will probably mean the soil will become increasingly fragile, leaving the area more vulnerable to natural disasters such as landslides and floods.
Climate Change
Firstly, taking down trees means they’ll release back into the atmosphere the CO2 they were keeping. Secondly, fewer trees available means reducing the planet’s overall ability to capture and store CO2. Both these effects negatively contribute to the greenhouse effect and to climate change. As a matter of fact, while food and agriculture account for 24% of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation is estimated to be responsible for 10-15% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions.