Empowering english majored freshmen with the ability to employ english subject verb inversion in academic writing a case study at marketing university m a 60 14 10

Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences & Humanities _ EMPOWERING ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN WITH THE ABILITY TO EMPLOY ENGLISH SUBJECT-VERB INVERSION IN ACADEMIC WRITING: A Case Study at Marketing University A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Submitted by Chu Quang Phê Under the supervision of TÔ MINH THANH, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, October 2010 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “EMPOWERING ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN WITH THE ABILITY TO EMPLOY ENGLISH SUBJECTVERB INVERSION IN ACADEMIC WRITING: A case study at Marketing University” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, October 15 th, 2010 Chu Quang Phê ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Chu Quang Phê, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL), accept the requirements of the university relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh City, October 15 th, 2010 Chu Quang Phê iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and above all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Tô Minh Thanh, Ph.D.— formerly my senior lecturer of Linguistics PG in the program of Master of Art in TESOL at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City Had there not been her insightful discussions, constructive criticisms, valuable comments, great encouragement and careful proof-reading on my writing pieces, this M.A thesis would have been far from being accomplished My thanks also go to all my teachers in the TESOL program and the authors whose ideas are included in the thesis Also, I am grateful to 12 teachers of English and 102 English-majored freshmen in the academic year of 2009-2010 at the University of Marketing who seriously took part in the study so that the thesis could be completed Further, I would like to send my special thanks to Nguyễn Hoàng Quế, Ph.D., Dean of the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Marketing for permitting me to conduct the study at this institution Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my entire family for their care and support Ho Chi Minh City, October 15 th, 2010 iv ABSTRACT English subject and verb inversion appears here and there in business documents; the English-majored students at the University of Marketing whose English is businessoriented definitely miss being exposed to the very structure What this means is that they fail to deal with English subject and verb inversion during their school time and even more seriously in their work later Therefore, the study done for this M.A thesis aims at empowering English-majored freshmen at the University of Marketing with the ability to employ English subject and verb inversion in academic writing To accomplish this, the researcher is carrying the study with recourse to a combination of three different research designs called descriptive research, experimental research and comparative research with the involvement of 102 English-majored freshmen and 12 teachers of English at the University of Marketing in the academic year of 2009-2010 The study’s major findings then reveal that the student subjects are beneficial from their repeated exposure to English subject and verb inversion in Writing and more interestingly they can use and are getting aware of the structure in their writing pieces v SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS [] Source Quoted {} # / ~ Test Codes Quoted Impossible SVI Use Or Equivalent Form S Subject Vl Linking Verb Vi Intransitive Verb Vmono- Mono-transitive Verb Vcomplex- Complex-transitive Verb Vdi- Di-transitive Verb Od Direct Object Oi Indirect Object A Adverbial Cs Subject Complement Co Object Complement SVI Subject and Verb Inversion FI Full Inversion PI Partial Inversion I Item Q Question UM The University of Marketing vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of authorship i Retention and use of the thesis i Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Symbols and abbreviations v Table of contents vi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.2 Descriptions of the five consecutive courses on “Writing” at UM 1.2.1 Writing 1: English Sentence Structures 1.2.2 Writing 2: Paragraph Writing 1.2.3 Writing 3: Essay Writing 1.2.4 Writing and 5: Business Writing 1.3 Rationale for teaching SVI in Writing 1.4 Statement of the purpose 1.5 Limitation and delimitation 1.5.1 Limitation 1.5.2 Delimitation 1.6 Significance of the research 1.6.1 Pedagogical significance 1.6.2 Practical significance 1.7 Organization Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Linguistic notions on English clauses 2.1.1 Approaches to grammar 2.1.1.1 Descriptive approach to grammar 2.1.1.1.1 Clause structures in the light of descriptive grammar 2.1.1.1.2 Seven basic clause patterns 14 2.1.1.2 Functional approach to grammar 14 2.1.1.2.1 Clause structures in the light of functional grammar 15 2.1.1.2.2 Combination of the three structures 18 vii 2.1.2 SVI in English 18 2.1.2.1 SVI in the light of functional and descriptive grammar 18 2.1.2.1.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar 18 2.1.2.1.2 From the perspective of functional grammar 19 2.1.2.2 Internal structures of SVI 20 2.1.2.2.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar 20 2.1.2.2.2 From the perspective of functional grammar 20 2.1.2.3 Functions of SVI 22 2.1.2.3.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar 22 2.1.2.3.2 From the perspective of functional grammar 22 2.2 Methodological notions 23 2.2.1 Case study 23 2.2.2 Language learning 25 2.2.3 Language acquisition 26 2.2.4 The question of internalization 26 2.2.5 Language teaching methods 27 2.3 Methods of teaching English Sentence Structures at UM 29 2.4 Related studies 30 2.5 Summary 30 Chapter 3: POTENTIAL USES OF SVI IN ENGLISH 3.1 Partial inversion 32 3.1.1 Questions 32 3.1.1.1 Wh-questions 32 3.1.1.2 Yes/ No questions 33 3.1.1.3 Tag questions 34 3.1.1.4 Echo tag questions 36 3.1.2 Wish sentences beginning with the subjunctive may 37 3.1.3 Conditional sentences without if 37 3.1.4 Declaratives beginning with a negative adverbial 39 3.1.5 Declaratives beginning with the intensifying so or such 41 3.1.6 Declaratives containing the pro-form so, neither or nor 42 3.1.7 Comparative sentences 44 3.2 Full inversion 45 3.2.1 Subjunctive sentences 45 viii 3.2.2 Quoted sentences 46 3.2.3 Declaratives beginning with an adverbial 47 3.2.4 Declaratives beginning with a participle 49 3.2.5 Existential sentences with there 50 3.2.6 Declarative sentences with the anticipatory it 51 3.2.7 Exclamations 52 3.2.8 Declaratives beginning with a predicative adjective 53 3.3 Summary 54 Chapter 4: METHODOLOGY 4.1 Research methods 55 4.1.1 Descriptive research 55 4.1.1.1 Qualitative methods 55 4.1.1.1.1 Content analysis for secondary data 55 4.1.1.1.2 Class observation 55 4.1.1.1 Quantitative methods 56 4.1.2 Experimental research 56 4.1.3 Comparative research 57 4.2 Responsive community 57 4.2.1 Student subjects 57 4.2.2 Teacher subjects 58 4.3 Instruments 59 4.4 Research procedure 61 4.4.1 Searching documents 61 4.4.2 Getting to know about the student subjects 61 4.4.3 Approaching the teacher subjects 62 4.4.4 Conducting the experimental teaching 62 4.4.5 Evaluating the students’ achievements 62 4.4.6 Implementing the questionnaire surveys 63 4.4.7 Identifying SVI in the students’ pieces of writing 63 4.4.8 Data processing 63 4.4.8.1 Quantitative data 63 4.4.8.2 Qualitative data 63 4.4.8.3 Data analyses 64 4.5 Summary 64 ix Chapter 5: ANALYSES AND FINDINGS 5.1 Analyses 65 5.1.1 Report on the student subjects’ diagnostic test results 65 5.1.2 Report on the student subjects’ achievement test results 72 5.1.3 Report on the student subjects’ responses to the questionnaire 79 5.1.4 Report on the teacher subjects’ responses to the questionnaire 82 5.1.5 Report on the class observations 86 5.2 Findings 89 5.2.1 Some advantages of instructing SVI to the student subjects 89 5.2.2 Some major problems facing the student subjects 90 5.2.3 Recommendations 91 5.2.3.1 Recommendations for the teacher 91 5.2.3.2 Recommendations for students 94 5.3 Summary 95 Chapter 6: CONCLUSION 6.1 Answers to the research questions 96 6.2 An evaluation on the methodology 97 6.3 Conclusion on the complete research 98 BIBLIOGRAPHY x Appendix A: Lesson Plan (No1) xiv Appendix B: Lesson Plan (No2) xviii Appendix C: The diagnostic test with the suggested answers .xxiii Appendix D: The achievement test with the suggested answers xxvii Appendix E: The survey questionnaire to the teacher subjects xxxi Appendix F: The survey questionnaire to the student subjects xxxv Appendix G: The handouts to the student subjects xxxix Appendix H: The students’ sentences on the pictures in the diagnostic test xliv Appendix I: The students’ sentences on the pictures in the achievement test.xlvi Appendix J: The students’ sentences identified in Writing li Appendix K: The restructured syllabus suggested on Writing lvi xlii Some inverted verbs are normally reporting verbs such as say, answer, whisper, reply, repeat, return, growl, ask, think, rejoin, stress, add, mutter, snap, cry, suggest, and the like Declaratives beginning with an adverbial * In a declarative beginning with an adverbial of place: a Down CAME the rain and up WENT the umbrella b Here’S the bag c At the top of the hill STOOD the tiny chapel d In the fields of poppies LAY the dying soldiers # Then it came * In a declarative beginning with an adverbial of time: a Then CAME the turning point of the match b Again CAME the sounds of cheerfulness and better heart * In a declarative beginning with another adverbial: a Within the general waste type shown in these figures EXISTS a wide variation b To the list MAY BE ADDED ten further items of importance Declaratives beginning with participles: * With a fronted present participle: a Hanging from the rafters WERE strings of onions b Throwing the hammer IS champion William Anderson, a shepherd * With a fronted past participle: a Gone IS the sanctity of the family meal b Tacked over the bed WAS a yellowed, deckle-edged photograph Existential sentences with there a There IS a man at the door b There ARE two ways of tackling it c There REMAINS one matter still to be discussed today d There SEEMS no likelihood of a settlement xliii Declaratives with the anticipatory it a It IS clear why Don decided to leave Spain b It DOESN’T MATTER what you c It SURPRISED me to hear him say that d It WAS CONSIDERED impossible for anyone to escape Exclamations a How beautiful ARE the flowers! b What a peaceful place IS Skegness! c ISN’T it cold! d DIDN’T we laugh! (~ How we laugh!) Declaratives beginning with a predicative adjective a Equally inexplicable WAS his behavior towards his son (predicative) b Bigger than an Apatosaurus IS the blue whale (comparative) c The closer an object is to another object, the greater IS the gravity between the two objects (correlative comparative) e Present at the meeting WAS outgoing Mayor Ellie McKay (predicative) f Quick and painless WILL BE your medical procedure (predicative) xliv Appendix H THE STUDENTS’ SENTENCES ON THE THREE PICTURES (In the diagnostic test) ♣ Declaratives beginning with an adverbial In the street run two cars Next to the tree is a woman In the street are two police cars Below the tree is the woman In the room are five people On the roads were running two cars Below the tree stood a girl Beside the tree stands a girl Behind the tree was a beautiful girl 10 Behind the desk was a woman standing 11 In front of the tree is standing a student 12 In the office room are working five people 13 Below the tree is standing a woman 14 Under the tree is the girl 15 Under the tree stands the girl ♣ Exclamations Is it an ugly girl! {4}51 {4} {6,22} {6} {6, 14, 15} {7} {9} {15} {3} {23} {24} {24} {30} {58} {58} {23} ♣ Declaratives beginning with a participle Standing in front of everyone is John Standing beside a tree is a woman Standing under the tree is a woman Found in the room was a meeting Discussing in the room are five businessmen ♣ Existential sentences with “there” Are there two cars? There are two cars in the street There are two cars There is a girl below the tree There are five people in the room On the street there are two cars Under the tree there is a woman In the room there are five people 51 {4} {12} {22} {22} {31} {61} {9} {78} {9} {9} {18} {18} {18} This symbolizes the code numbered on the student subject’s test, through which the reader can find the source xlv ♣ Declaratives beginning with a negative adverbial Never has he held a meeting before {61} ♣ Questions Was she standing under the tree? Were they discussing together? What are they doing here? Is she next to the tree? Is she behind the tree? Who are they? What is it? Where is she? {39, 40} {39} {61} {61} {61} {79} {79} {79} ♣ Declaratives beginning with a predicative adjective Present at the meeting is Mr Quang {68} xlvi Appendix I THE STUDENT SENTENCES ON THE THREE PICTURES (In the achievement test) ♣ Declaratives beginning with an adverbial On the road are a man, a woman and a car {1,3, 7, 55} On the field is standing a tree {1} On the street are playing the children and is running a car {1} On the top of the tree is a bird {3, 59} On the hill is a tree {3} On the field is a tree {2} In the street are crossing two people {10} On the tree is lying a bird {10} On the road are running two people {13, 17} 10 On the tree is singing a bird {13} 11 On the road is playing football {16} 12 Here comes the car {17} 13 On the street ran two persons {18} 14 In the race are running many people {18} 15 On the top of the tree stands a bird {19, 74} 16 At the top of the tree is lying a bird {20, 22, 24} 17 On the tree is a bird standing {23} 18 On the street are playing some children {23} 19 On the street are running two people {24} 20 On the tree is a bird {26, 29, 30, 32} 21 On the perch stood a bird {27} 22 Among the children is a child who is playing football {27} 23 On the street is a red car {30} 24 At the top of the tree stands a bird {31} 25 On the road are a woman and a man {32} 26 On the field stands a tree {32, 44} 27 On the road are three boys and a girl {32} 28 On the street is passing a couple {36,37, 39, 42} 29 In the distance could be seen the car {46, 37, 38, 39, 42} 30 On the top of the tree is standing a bird {37, 39, 42} 31 Again came the car {37, 39, 42} 32 On the road are two people running {40} 33 On the road stands a black car {40} 34 On a field stands a tree {40} 35 On the street are people playing football {40} 36 On the street is a car running {40} 37 On the road are the woman and the man {44, 68, 69} 38 In a hurry are a man and a woman {45} 39 On the ground stands a tree {45} 40 Above the top of the tree is a bird {45} 41 On the road are playing the children {45} 42 On the tree stands a bird {16, 47} xlvii 43 Among the orange tree is a mango tree 44 On the road is a car 45 On the tree is a bird 46 On the road are some boys and a car 47 On the field are a tree and the bird 48 On the top of the hill was a tree 49 On the top of the tree was a bird 50 In front of the car are walking two people 51 On the street is running a car 52 On the top of the tree is singing a bird 53 On the field is standing a tree 54 On the street are crossing two people 55 On the tree is standing a bird 56 On the street are playing children 57 At the top of the tree is singing the bird 58 In front of the car are the children 59 Behind the children is the running car 60 On the road is running a car 61 At the top of the tree sings a bird 62 On the road play the children 63 On the field is a big tree 64 Here comes the car 65 On top of the tree stands a small bird 66 In the street are running four boys 67 On the road ran a fast car {47} {53, 75} {53, 54, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78} {55} {56, 68, 69} {59} {60} {65, 67} {65, 67, 82} {65} {65, 66, 67} {66} {66} {66, 67} {67, 70} {68, 69, 98} {68, 69} {70, 85} {71, 72, 100} {73} {76, 77} {79, 80, 88, 100} {79} {16} {95} ♣ Declaratives beginning with a participle Playing football is a group of people on the street Crossing the street are a man and a woman Standing on the tree is a bird Playing soccer on the street are the boys Coming is a car Coming is the car Running is a car Playing on the street are the boy and the girl On the tree standing is the bird 10 On the street playing soccer are young men 11 Playing football on the high way are my friends 12 Standing on the top of the tree is a yellow bird 13 Crossing the street are two people 14 Singing on the tree is a bird 15 Playing football on the street are many people 16 Singing is a little bird in the garden 17 Playing football are the children on the road 18 Playing football on the street are four people 19 On the street playing football are four boys {24} {1, 23, 45} {1, 15, 68} {1, 46} {3,2, 44, 55, 78} {7, 54, 76, 88} {3} {4} {6, 55, 62} {7} {12} {12, 16} {14, 16, 19} {14} {14} {17} {17} {25} {19} xlviii 20 Playing on the street are four boys {19, 59} 21 Passing are two persons {30} 22 Running in the street is a car {33, 34} 23 Playing on the street are the children {36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 60, 61, 73} 24 Running in the street are the footballers {44} 25 Crossing the road are a man and a woman {52} 26 Playing football on the street are four men {47} 27 Playing football are the children {51} 28 Reaching the couple is a car {52} 29 Landing on the tree is a bird {52} 30 Standing alone in the field is a tree {52, 63} 31 Playing soccer on the road are children {52, 63, 77} 32 Reaching the kids is a car {52, 63} 33 Playing football on the street are the children {53, 78} 34 On the land standing is a tree {55} 35 Crossing are a man and a woman {56} 36 Coming in the street was a car {59, 60, 73, 74, 92} 37 Running in the street was a car {59, 63} 38 Standing on the field is a tree {62} 39 Coming to the children is a black car {67} 40 Running across the street are a man and a woman {68, 69} 41 Running on the road are two people {71} 42 Running on the road is a car {71, 77} 43 Crossing the street are a couple {58, 74} 44 Coming in the street is a car {74, 100} 45 Running on the street are a man, a woman, and a car {74} 46 Playing soccer is a group of people {76, 100} 47 Crossing the road are two persons {78} 48 Perching upon the tree is a bird {80, 100} 49 Near coming is a car {80, 82} ♣ Existential sentences with “there” There are a man and a woman There is a car running on the street There are two people on the road There is a bird on the tree There are three people on the way There is a tree on the yard There is a bird on the top of the tree There is a car in the street There are two people on the street 10 There is a tree in this area 11 In the street, there are three people playing football 12 There is a bird upon the tree 13 There is a black car 14 There is a bird in the tree 15 There is a ball on the street {6, 56} {6} {13, 22} {13, 54, 71} {13} {18, 85} {21, 57} 26, 27, 28} {27, 28, 47} {37, 38, 39, 41} {43} {46, 95} {47, 88} {56, 63} {56} xlix 16 There are two people in front of the car 17 On the top of the tree, there is a bird 18 There are two people who cross the street 19 There is a bird on top of the tree 20 There is a car which runs quickly on the road 21 There is a car on the road 22 There is a car coming 23 There is a tree 24 There is a car and some students 25 There are two persons 26 There are two persons on the streets 27 There is a bird in the tree 28 There is a bird 29 There are some children {57} {61} {70} {70} {70} {71} {73, 82} {78, 82, 84, 92} {78} {79} {80} {80, 92} {81, 83} {81, 84} ♣ Declaratives beginning with extra-posed “it” It seems that two people are late It seems that two people are crossing the street It is too late to go to work It is dangerous that the children play in the street It is dangerous playing on the road It seems that they are in a hurry It is dangerous to play on the street It was dangerous that the car was approaching the children It seemed that a bird was standing on that tree {18 } {19} {21} {27, 28} {45} {47} {80, 85} {83} {69} ♣ Questions Is the car running on the street? Are two people crossing the street? Are four teens playing soccer? The children are playing in the street, aren’t they? Are they crossing the street? Why are they running? Is that a bird on the tree? What are they playing? Are they playing football? 10 Is a car coming? {9} {9} {9} {26} {83, 69} {83, 84} {83, 98} {69} {85} {89} ♣ Declaratives beginning with “so” or “such” So beautiful is the road, that they can play football {22} So dangerous were the children that they played football on the road {83} ♣ Exclamations How beautiful is the bird! How dangerous were they! {25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34} {100} l ♣ Declaratives beginning with a predicative adjective Green is the tree Present on the street are the boys Happy were the boys in the street Tall is a big tree in the garden {30} {79} {95} {85} ♣ Declaratives beginning with a negative adverbial Seldom they go to the office late Only by running will they be on time {72} {85} li Appendix J THE STUDENTS’ USES OF SVI (Taken in Writing 2) ♣ Weekly assignment (No 1): Write a paragraph describing your hometown Situated on the south bank of the Hau River is Can Tho City, where I have grown up Located on a river in Vinh Long Province is my village which is always peaceful and beautiful Nestled on a big river in Central Vietnam is my hometown, which is both beautiful and peaceful There are many tourists visiting it round the year There are about more than one hundred households living in my village There are tree-shaded paths leading to the each household In the centre of the village is the communal house where all villagers meet sometimes From afar can be seen my village which is surrounded by green bamboos Not a minute I miss thinking over it 10 More beautiful are flowers which usually bloom everywhere in the spring 11 There are bamboos surrounding my village 12 Along the path leading to the communal house are shaded by two rows of bamboos 13 So beautiful and quiet in the Vam Co River is Co Chai Village, where I spent my entire childhood 14 There is a big river running around the village 15 Embracing the village is a peaceful river, where I used to swim in summer days 16 Next to the village porch is a big lake where I used to swim and take a bath after a day on the field 17 Not until I moved to Ho Chi Minh did I realize that no place in the word was as lovely as my village 18 The residents in my village love singing folk songs, and so I 19 Not far from Ho Chi Minh City to the North is Thu Dau Mot Town, my beloved hometown, where I spent the childhood 20 There are some big industrial parks and processing zones around my hometown, which are causing problematic issues for people there 21 My hometown is not big, nor is it rich as many people usually write about theirs; however, it is really peaceful and beautiful ♣ Weekly assignment (No 2): Narrate an embarrassing experience And standing in the classroom was the teacher who was very angry when he saw me Never before did I go to the wrong class Only when the teacher ask about my homework did I realized that I had forgot it Not until I gave the homework to the teacher did he find that it was my friend’s It was not until I sat down on the bench that I knew that I was in the wrong class lii Also late as me were two other students Had I been more careful, I would not have such an embarrassing experience At that time, there were some students discussing something in the library More embarrassing was the fact that the teacher tested me when I was falling asleep 10 On his back was hanging the piece of paper, which made everyone laugh joyfully 11 When I got in, so surprised were my class that they could not say a word 12 Not until my neighbor opened the door did I learn that I was making a mistake 13 Had I not been in a hurry, I would not have been in such a situation 14 Not a time did I have such an experience 15 First came the MC and then came the bride and groom 16 Only when they appeared on the stage did I learn that I was attending someone’s wedding 17 They went to the reception room, and so did I 18 So embarrassed was I at that time that I could not say a word 19 Such was the most embarrassing experience that I would not dare to see him for a long time 20 When I got in, there were many people sitting listening to the trainer 21 It was a pity that I did not have a look at the wedding photo at the entrance, but in a hurry, I went inside as quickly as I could 22 When I got in the library, there were some other people reading books 23 To my surprise, not a word could I utter 24 Had I been more careful, I would not have broken that valuable vase 25 Had I not been nervous, I would not have said that unexpected words ♣ Weekly assignment (No 3): Compare the life in Ho Chi Minh City and that in your hometown Should I be given a career opportunity in my home tome, I will seize that immediately Also similar was the exciting life night There exist many similarities between life in the city and life in the country There are many good similarities between life in Ho Chi Minh City and that in my home town Ho Chi Minh City offers good facilities here and so does my home town People usually have parties at weekends in this city and so those in my home town Even more interesting is that people like eating out in the evening Firstly, it is strange to me that people hardly know and visit their neighbors In the downtown area, there are good shops, supermarkets, theatres, restaurants, bars and the like liii ♣ Weekly assignment (No 4): Write a paragraph showing your opinion towards smoking in public Although people feel free to smoke, it is true that smoking should be limited in public Even worse are health problems caused by smoking for those who usually work or stay near smokers Also serious is the smell from smoke which not only makes the air not polluted but also blackens all the white walls in public It is true that we cannot close all the cigarette factories There is not enough space in public to build separate areas for smokers to keep their bad smoking habits We cannot prohibit smoking since there are many smokers who spend a lot of money every year on cigarettes Also serious is smoke emitted from smoking people, which ruined the cleanness and freshness of the air in public In conclusion, not until smoking people are put in hospital for their bad health they know that smoking has caused bad things for them It is true that smokers are hardly aware of the warnings on the hazards of smoking 10 It is true that everyone should feel free to things in public 11 Smokers will feel ill-treated should they be put in a separate place to smoke 12 Perhaps, only when their health becomes worse might the cigarette smokers be aware of their unexpected consequence from smoking 13 Should smoking not be prohibited in public, more people will be subject to smoking-related diseases 14 Should smoking areas not be set up in public, smoke will continue to cause impacts on all the people in the area 15 If there are not any strict regulations on limiting smoking in public, this issue will become worse 16 To sum up, not only is smoking causing health problems for both smokers and non-smokers but it is polluting the air that we take in everyday 17 It is advisable that smokers should find some separate place to smoke when they appear in public 18 It is completely true that smoking should be prohibited 19 Only when the smoking people’s health becomes worse they realize that smoking has harmed them 20 To sum up, unless there are separate places for smokers, there are more problems caused by smoke 21 Smokers should be treated equally in public places, as the non-smokers 22 It is completely wrong should smoking be prohibited in public 23 To conclude, there should be separate areas for both smokers and nonsmokers 24 Should smoking be banned, the air will not be pure 25 Only when the smoking is banned can we enjoy inhaling pure fresh air in public 26 It is true that non-smokers are usually annoyed by the strong smell from smokers liv 27 More people will die of smoking if there are no strict regulations on smoking in public ♣ Weekly assignment (No 5): Write a paragraph describing your last vacation Located about 160 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City is Vung Tau City with a lot of tourist attractions Located near the sea was Nha Trang, a beautiful coastal city in Central Vietnam, where I spent my last summer with some friends From the distance were seen boats and ships, which were hurrying in a late afternoon On the beach, there were a lot of street bars Should I choose to visit a seaside city, I will travel to Vung Tau again On the beach usually sat couples who were sharing minutes of being together after a long day of work or study There were more than thirty people traveling on that journey Only when we reached the mountain top could we have a full view of the city Many people feared to go by the cable car to VinPearl and so did I 10 Also delicious was the steamed shrimps that we ordered two more dishes 11 Only after the trip ended did I realize that it was my best one 12 Such was the cold that I could not go out with a bare head 13 The weather was so cold that not a night did we dare to stay out late 14 It was an interesting trip that everyone asked one another for addresses to contact and wished to go together again 15 More exciting was the visit to the Oceanic Institute, where I could see some real sea animals 16 Although it was impossible to surf on the sea because of the heavy rain, we still enjoyed the beverage in some bars along the beach 17 When I came to the museum, there were not much visitors there 18 When we arrived at Nha Trang Train Station, there were three tourist guides in their uniforms to receive us 19 When I set the fist step in Da Lat, quite amazing was the fact that the streets were hill 20 It was too cold to walk in the night 21 We did not go swimming nor did we take any walk during the first day 22 I was completely disappointed by the service, as were other tourists on the trip 23 My first impression at the site was that there were a lot of flowers every where 24 On the first day, we visited Mon Island, where there were many good seafood restaurants 25 On the way to the old village, there were coconut trees everywhere 26 Welcoming us to the village were two young girls, who smiled and gave us a brochure about the site 27 The restaurant was so good that never before had I tried such delicious shrimps 28 Also fantastic was the aquarium in Tri Nguyen Island, where I can sea real sea animals with many kinds and shapes lv 29 Even more impressive was the car cable which carried us over some mountains to Ba Na Resort 30 The scenery was beautiful, as was the weather when we were there 31 There were many artificial construction works, which made the island less friendly to the natural world 32 Also memorable was the folk music which was performed by local musicians 33 When I were arrived at the train station, receiving us were the three tourist guides 34 The weather was so beautiful for a holiday, as was the seaside scenery 35 To conclude, I would have been regretful had I missed that great summer vacation with my family 36 There were many temporary food bars on the beach 37 When we boarded the boat, there were twelve other tourists there 38 Should I be offered another vacation next year, I will get back to Nha Trang 39 Located on the plateau was Ban Me Thuat, a hilly city, where I spent my vacation with friends last summer 40 We walked on the island to see the monument and right at the entrance porch was a big torch which stood for freedom 41 On the island’s beach was a big hotel where we spent a night admiring the sea in the moon 42 More beautiful was the scenery we admired along the path that led us to the mountain top, where we enjoyed camping overnight 43 About four kilometers off Nha Trang Beach was VinPeal Resort, where I spent my vacation last summer for three days 44 There was a big swimming pool with many water entertainment facilities right in front of the hotel 45 There were many entertainment facilities that we could enjoy 46 More exciting was the night market where I could find almost everything 47 Also romantic was the water fall in the moonlit night 48 When we arrived at the Flower Garden, I was completely surprised that there were many strange types of flowers I had never seen 49 To the left of us was a valley, green and deep, which was fabulously covered by early morning clouds 50 To the right was a rocky mountain, in which there was a fall running from the top down 51 It was a pity that it rained all the first three days, so I could not travel anywhere 52 Right at the gate was standing an upright gun, which symbolized “fight for peace and freedom” 53 In the temples, there were many ancient statues 54 Located in the center of the city was the monument which reminded all visitors of the city’s past days 55 Such was a great vacation that I will never forget 56 More beautiful were the flowers which usually bloomed everywhere 57 Situated on the south bank of the Hau River is Can Tho City, where my family and I spent our last vacation lvi Appendix K THE RESTRUCTURED SYLLABUS SUGGESTED ON WRITING Week Clauses and Clause elements: Subject, Verb, Object, Complement, Adverbial Types of Clauses: Independent Clauses vs Dependent Clauses, Clause Connectors Week Types of Sentences: Simple Sentences, Compound Sentences, Complex Sentences, Compound-Complex Sentences, Coordination vs Subordination Parallelism: Conjunctions, Correlative Conjunctions Week Sentence Problems: Sentence Fragments, Choppy Sentences, Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices, Stringy Sentences Noun Clauses: Types of Noun Clauses, Sequence of Tenses, That-clauses Week Noun Clauses: Subjunctive Clauses, Wh-question Clauses, Yes/No-Question Clauses Week Adverbial Clauses: Time Clauses, Place Clauses, Manner, Distance and Frequency Clauses, Reason Clauses, Result Clauses Week Adverbial Clauses: Purpose Clauses, Concession Clauses, Strong Contrast Adverbial Clauses Week Relative Clauses: Relative Pronouns and Adverbs, Position of Relative Clauses, Punctuations of Relative Clauses, Relative Pronouns as Subjects Week Relative Clauses: Relative Pronouns as Objects, Relative Pronouns as Objects of Prepositions, Relative Pronouns in Phrases of Quantity, Relative Pronouns as in Phrases of Quality Week Relative Clauses: Relative Adverbial Clauses, Review of Relative Clause Patterns Test Week 10 Participles and Gerunds: Participles, Participial Phrases, Participial Phrases from Adverbial Clauses, Participial Phrases from Simple Sentences, Gerunds Punctuation: Commas, Semicolons, Colons, Quotation Marks Week 11 Subject-verb inversion : Full inversion vs Partial Inversion Week 12 Reviews Test