English for academic purposes. Portfolio
Summer 2018 English for Academic Purposes 1 (EAP 1) Portfolio (EAPA3004) RESIT Name: Student Number: Tutor name: This is your EAP 1 (RESIT) Portfolio which you must submit via the student portal by Tuesday 7th August 2pm 2018. Please save a copy on your computer and back it up regularly (e.g. by saving it on your computer / in the cloud (e.g. Google Drive) / emailing it to yourself. You will receive a printed copy which you should bring to all lectures and tutorials. However, at the end of the course, you need to submit a completed electronic copy. Please refer to suggested word counts for each task included within this portfolio. Week Contents Page Learning Outcome Section 1: Portfolio Evidence (Suggested word counts are included are in brackets.) 1 Portfolio evidence I: Self-evaluation checklist P3 LO 1 & 2 2- 8 Portfolio evidence II: Summary (recommended word count: 100) P4- 5 LO 2 7 -10 Portfolio evidence III: Outline (recommended word count: 200) P6 LO 1 & 2 9 - 10 Portfolio evidence IV: Self-assessment (recommended word count: 200) P7 LO 1 & 2 9 - 10 Portfolio evidence V: Reflection (recommended word count: 150) P8 LO 1 & 2 Section 2: Written Tasks (The written tasks should be developed throughout the semester but completed in weeks 7-10.) 1 - 10 Academic writing [compare and contrast essay relevant to education] (Word count 750 words) P9 LO 2 Total word count 1400: Written Task (750 words) + Evidence (Approx. 650 words) (+/- 10% Section 1: Portfolio Evidence I Self-evaluation checklist Below is a list of the skills you will need when working on extended pieces of writing during your university career. The work you do on the EAP 1 course will help you develop these skills. Tick the appropriate box for each skill, according to how well you think you can do this at the beginning of this course. Look again at the checklist throughout the course in order to identify areas for independent study. Skills Do not know about this Find this difficult/ can’t do this Can partially do this Can do this well Looking for information Identify which books/journals/websites to use ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Select relevant parts of a text ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Using sources Acknowledge sources of information ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Avoid plagiarism ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Planning/ writing Brainstorm ideas ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Plan written work ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Link ideas effectively ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Paraphrase & summarise ideas ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Write an introduction ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Write a conclusion ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Personal study Work independently ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Manage my time ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Oral presentation Discuss written work in a tutorial ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ IT Access the internet ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Use search engines ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Create word documents ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ Section 1: Portfolio Evidence II Summary (Recommended overall word count 200) Cash crisis forces secondary schools in England to cut 15,000 staff Teaching unions say £2.8bn real-terms drop in funding has driven schools to breaking point Secondary schools in England have lost 15,000 teachers and teaching assistants in the last two years, resulting in bigger classes and less individual attention for pupils, according to teachers’ leaders. Unions say the job cuts are the result of £2.8bn of real-terms funding cuts in schools, where budgets are described as being at “breaking point”. Based on analysis of government figures, the unions say the 15,000 job losses equate to an average reduction of 5.5 members of teaching and support staff in every secondary since 2015. Almost half of those are classroom teachers, who are being lost at a time when pupil numbers are growing, according to the School Cuts alliance of education unions. Some of the largest staffing cuts have been in areas with the lowest average funding per pupil, including Reading, the Isle of Wight, central Bedfordshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, York, Derby and Milton Keynes. At the same time, the number of pupils in England has risen by 4,500 as a population bulge begins to move from primary to secondary schools, the alliance says. The unions say the government’s new funding formula, which aims to distribute money more fairly across the sector, will not solve the problem without further significant investment. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said school budgets were at breaking point. “School leaders have made every other possible efficiency and now it is impossible for many schools to avoid making redundancies, to continue to keep class sizes at an acceptable level, and to offer a full and rounded curriculum to all pupils,” he said. Unison said the cuts had had a major impact on the number of teaching assistants, leaving just one per 67 secondary pupils. Jon Richards, the union’s head of education, said: “Children with special educational needs and disabilities rely heavily on teaching assistants, so, sadly, they will be suffering the most as a result of these devastating staff cuts.” As well as job cuts, schools are having to reduce the number of subjects they offer and their extracurricular activities. In many schools, parents are being asked to make regular voluntary contributions. Adapted from: Weale, S. (2018) Cash crisis forces secondary schools in England to cut 15,000 staff. The Guardian, 7 February [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/07/cash-crisis-forces-secondary-schools-in-england-to-cut-15000-staff. [Accessed 7 June 2018] Read the newspaper article and list four of the main arguments given against cuts in education. Can you think of two arguments that could be used to support making cuts in education? What is your opinion? Do you think that cuts in education are a good idea? (Recommended word count 100) Section 1: Portfolio Evidence III Outline (Recommended overall word count 200) Complete your essay outline below. An outline is a map of the main ideas included in your essay. You should not write full sentences, just notes of the main points that you are going to write in each paragraph of your essay, along with in-text referencing details (MB=Main Body). TITLE Compare and contrast the primary or secondary education system in England / the UK with a country of your choice in terms of two of the following; funding, organisation and quality. Which system is preferable? INTRODUCTION Background Information: Click here to enter text. Thesis Statement: Click here to enter text. MB Paragraph 1 Paragraph Focus: …………………………….. Country A: England Country B: …………………….. Click here to enter text.Click here to enter text. MB Paragraph 2 Paragraph Focus: ………………………………….. Country A: England Country B: …………………….. Click here to enter text.Click here to enter text. CONCLUSION Summary of main points Click here to enter text. Recommendations/suggestions/predictions Click here to enter text. Section 1: Portfolio Evidence IV Self-assessment (Recommended overall word count 200) Do NOT give one-word answers Complete this form before you submit your portfolio. Type a few comments below in relation to how well you have addressed the following criteria in your essay. ESSAY STRUCTURE A. Has a clear structure including an introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion & bibliography. Click here to enter text. B. Has a clear thesis statement that states the sub-topics and position. Click here to enter text. C. Has clear topic sentences in each main body paragraph. Click here to enter text. D. Has features of an essay not a report, i.e. no headings, no bullet points etc. Click here to enter text. CONTENT E. Has compared directly between the two countries in each paragraph. Click here to enter text. F. Has commented on what we learn from the comparisons. Click here to enter text. G. Has included suitable background information in the introduction. Click here to enter text. H. Has included a suitable summary and position in the conclusion. Click here to enter text. I. Has written 750 words (+/- 10%). Click here to enter text. USE OF SOURCES AND REFERENCING J. Has a minimum of 2 sources per paragraph. Click here to enter text. K. Has in-text citations which follow Harvard style. E.g. (Coughlan, 2014). Click here to enter text. M. Has avoided plagiarism. Click here to enter text. USE OF ENGLISH N. Writes accurate sentences. Click here to enter text. O. Spells and punctuates accurately. Click here to enter text. P. Uses a range of language. Click here to enter text. Q. Writes in an appropriate academic style. Click here to enter text. Section 1: Portfolio Evidence V Reflection Think about the work you have done on this module and answer the following questions: What went well? (approx. 50 words): What areas do I still need to improve? (approx. 50 words): What actions do I need to take to make sure I improve? (approx. 50 words): Section 2: Written Task Academic Writing (750 words) Please type your essay below (750 words). Your chosen country MUST BE different from the country you may have chosen in a previous term. Make sure that: Your essay has an appropriate title, an introduction, two main body paragraphs, a conclusion and a reference list. You have used at least 2 references (in-text citations) in each of your main body paragraphs (at least 4 references in total). You have discussed BOTH countries in EACH of your main body paragraphs (point-by-point approach). You must focus your essay on Primary, OR Secondary Education. Title: Compare and contrast the primary or secondary education system in England / the UK with a country of your choice in terms of two of the following; funding, organisation and quality. Which system is preferable? Reference List: version 1.0 8