ACADEMIC WRITING MIDTERM ASSIGNMENT

TIểu luận giữa kỹ môn Academic Writing của ngành Ngôn Ngữ Anh, bậc Thạc sĩ. Tiểu luận được đầu tư kỹ lưỡng, văn phong academic, đáp ứng yêu cầu của môn học

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

ACADEMIC WRITING COURSEMID-TERM TEST

STUDENT NAME: STUDENT CODE : CLASS:

Task 1: The sentences below are extracted from articles which are written in aformal style Read the instructions and do the exercises

(3 marks)

1 Complete the following sentences (2 MARKS)

1 Last century this procedure was considered to be the most ……

=> Last century this procedure was considered to be the most common method in

teaching L2 for EFL students

2 Previous work has only focused on addressing the ………

=> Previous work has only focused on addressing the qualitative research method

rather than the quantitative research method

3 Concerns have arisen which question the validity of ………

=> Concerns have arisen which question the validity of quantitative research on this

4 This paper outlines a new approach to….

==> This paper outlines a new approach to learner autonomy in learning English

5 The aim of our work was to further current …

==> The aim of our work was to further the current perception of factors influencing

autonomous learning

6 He has provided a new definition, …

==> He has provided a new definition of learner autonomy based on intrinsic

7 A growing body of literature has examined …………

==> A growing body of literature has examined the connection of language and

disciplinary discourse with STEM learning

8 An increase in the number of cases was first noted by …………

==> An increase in the number of cases was first noted by the author that influenced

teaching quality in High School.

9 Experiments with this system were conducted in 2009 by …………

==> Experiments with this system were conducted in 2009 by high school teachers

who were participants in this research

12 This underlines just how important ……….

==> This underlines just how important it is for students to engage in speaking classes13 This confirms previous findings in the ……….

==> This confirms previous findings in the context of universities where students have

lots of opportunities to engage in communicative activities in English.

14 Further tests carried out with this system confirmed our ………

==> Further tests carried out with this system confirmed our model that was suitable

for learners.

15 As expected, our experiments prove that ………

==> As expected, our experiments prove that students with technological skills were

easier to approach useful materials.

16 The cost of this system could account for the fact that ………

==> The cost of this system could account for the fact that the school fee mayincrease next year

17 This research has raised the need for further ………

==> This research has raised the need for further investigation to determine which

factors affect learner autonomy in learning English speaking.

18 As was mentioned in ……… …

==> As was mentioned in this study, teachers should motivate their students in

autonomously learning English outside the classroom.

19 Table 2 proves that this system is … ………

==> Table 2 proves that this system is significant in improving EFL student’s speaking

skills in English

20 Figure1 presents the ………

==> Figure1 presents the learner’s perception of the teacher’s role in enhancing

non-major student’s learning autonomy

2 Write at least one synonym for each of the words/phrases in bold (1 MARK)1 Since the focus of the study was on a new system, we decided to …

==> Since = As

2 There has been some disagreement concerning whether x is equal to y or not

==> concerning = with regard to/regarding

3 Several authors have attempted to define emotional intelligence, but as yet there is still

no

accepted definition ==> as yet = currently

4 The fonts, i.e the form of the characters, are of various types ==> The fonts that are to say the form of… _

5 Little is known about …

==> Little = Not much

6 Many experts contend, however, that this evidence is ……… ==> however = nevertheless/instead

7 Statistical significance was analyzed by using ………

==> by using = via

8 The aim of this system is to increase performance Consequently, we…………

==> Consequently = As a result / Therefore

9 We chose this particular apparatus because it is ………

14 There were no significant differences between the two systems in terms of cost

==> in terms of = with regard to

15 Overall, our results show this machine outperforms all the others on the market

==> Overall = As a whole

16 The correlation between the two procedures is worth noting because …

==> worth noting = noteworthy

17 In contrast to earlier findings [Castenas, 2009], we …

==> In contrast to = Unlike/in contradiction to / As an alternative to /…

18 Despite the lack of agreement, we believe our findings compare well with … ==> Despite = In spite of/regardless of

19 Although there was some inconsistency …

==> Although = even though/ in spite of the fact that/ despite the fact that

20 We hope that our research will be helpful in solving this difficulty At the same time,

we believe that

==> At the same time = Simultaneously/contemporaneously

Task 2: Search ONE empirical article related to your selected Topic Within 1000-1200

words write a review of the article It is required that the article be attached to theassignment when it is submitted (7 MARKS)

Topic: Motivating learner autonomy in English Vocabulary Learning through using

Technological Application: A study at Transport College in Ho Chi Minh CityTITLE OF THE ARTICLE

DIGITAL MEDIA AND ITS IMPLICATION IN PROMOTING STUDENTS’AUTONOMOUS LEARNING

This paper was a literature review article which was conducted by Wiwin et al (2022)in Indonesia It was published in volume 8, issue number 1 of the Journal of EnglishTeaching in 2022

PART 1: A DESCRIPTION OF THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Concerning the digital media application in promoting students’ autonomy learning, astudy was conducted by Wiwin et al (2022) to examine the kinds of digital technologyapplications and the conditions of digital technology help to promote students’ learnerautonomy The researcher used the systematic literature review method following thePRISMA statement’s criteria and meta-analysis to find out the answers for this study.After analyzing seven articles published from 2015 to 2020 from Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and Sinta, the findings indicated seven applications that effectively promotestudents’ autonomous learning consisting of Schoology, Multimedia-assisted Instruction(MAI), Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), Memrises, Mobile apps(Quizlet, Socrative, andSli-do), and Three-Dimensional (3D) The result of the study alsorevealed that long-distance learning, classroom learning activities as well as self-trainingactivities were effective environments supporting students in learning autonomously.

PART 2: COMMENTS REGARDING STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLE

In general, the title is clear enough, accurate, unambiguous, and formative The wholearticle looks well-written, concise, and grammatically correct This paper is well laid outand organized with five main sections consisting of abstract, introduction, methodology,result and discussion, and conclusion and suggestion Because it is conducted based onthe systematic literature review method, the paper did not include a description of theparticipants or sample However, the paper lacked a literature base section with the terms,theories, and concepts that were necessary for a basic theoretical foundation for this study.According to Iida et al (2020), it is better to add a literature base section to a literaturereview article.

Related to the abstract, although the author offered a quite brief, comprehensivesummary of the study including the research purpose, the methodology, and findings, thissection still existed several weaknesses First, the first purpose of this study had arisen amisunderstanding with the sentence “What kind of digital technology’s characteristicseffectively promote students’ autonomous learning” that is not parallel to the researchquestion on page 99 “What kind of digital technology effectively promotes studentsautonomous learning” because the kind of digital technology’s characteristics is differentfrom the kind of digital technology Therefore, the first purpose sentence of the abstractshould be rewritten to fit the question research Second, the first finding was unclear, toobecause the author just showed the name of seven apps with no mention of whether theywere effective or not.

The research problem is not really clearly identified In the introduction section, theauthor began with a synthesis from previous studies of the learner autonomy definitionand the meaningful support of digital technology applications in developing students’learning autonomy and promoting learners’ language skills For the next step, anexplanation related to digital technology was clarified including the effectiveness ofdigital technology in promoting learner autonomy, the convenience and utility ofcomputer and internet technology in encouraging learner autonomy, and the effectivenessof accessing learning applications from smart devices such as smartphones, laptops, and

tablets in learning language After that, an overview of several specific conditionsaffecting learner autonomy was indicated including long-distance learning, classroomlearning activities, and self-training activities Finally, two research questions wereproposed However, this section lacked the reason why it was necessary to conduct thisresearch and why two questions were suggested.

In the method section, the author offered a clear research design based on theliterature analysis method The author gave a clear explanation of the research methodsincluding how to get the databases with the notice of the published time and the used webpages, and four specific steps in the papers research process.

The result and discussion section is divided into two sections to answer two researchquestions proposed in the introduction section Concerning the first question, sevenapplications from previous studies were indicated that effectively promote learnerautonomy However, there is a limitation in this section Except Schoology applicationwhich was clearly described, the other applications were lightly mentioned and most ofthem lacked the participants of each study As a result, it is difficult to determine whetherthese applications are suitable for a specific student level The author mostly focused on avery short summary description of the previous studies with the assertion of theeffectiveness of the application The answer to the second question related to thecondition of digital technology in effectively promoting learner autonomy was clearlyidentified by the summaries of previous research However, the summaries lacked theauthor’s discussions on the applications belonged to what conditions affecting learnerautonomy among three conditions that were mentioned in the research problems

Regarding the conclusion and suggestion section, the author summarized clearly thewhole research process A reasonable further suggestion was also recommended forprospective researchers

The reference list was presented in a reliable way following the APA style, 7th edition(Iida et al., 2020) Most of references came from web-based articles including the author,date, title, and source with the DOI source element However, there is a big limitation in

this section The author used several brief citations, but some work cited in the text didnot appear in the reference list Specifically, in the introduction section, a lot of citationsfrom previous studies were provided with the name of authors and published years suchas Rohatgi et al 2016; Holec, 1981; Benson (2023); Little (1991); Cotterall, 1995;Lepper, 1985; and Andina, Cahyono, & Widiati (2020), but they did not appeared in thereference list The same situation repeated in result and discussion section, Xianghu et al(2020), the author of a research on MAI application; Villaueva, Ruiz-Madrid, and Luzon(2010), an author of a study on Schoology application; and Ferina and Ott (2015) andPortman et al (2015), the authors of research on 3D virtual environment mediation.

In conclusion, although this paper is a well-written, consise and grammatically correctwith an acceptable format, there is several limitation in examining the research problemsas well as the aim of the study, indicating result and discussion, and providing citationswith the a clear sources presenting in the reference list.

REFERENCE