May 19, 2021

Answers to the Study Questions

Note that most of the answers are from the copy of academic of literacy

Long Questions:

1. Explain the term cognitive skills

Cognitive skills include thinking strategies, such as creative thinking, critical thinking and
logical thinking: It is about how you think about issues, how you approach them, how you
process the information, and how you form concepts and ideas to understand them.

2. Explain what is meant by meta-cognition in your own words.

Meta-cognition is a very important tool to improve yourself in thinking, studying and
acting. You reflect on your actions and approach to different kinds of acts.

3. Why are learning styles important?

To know his own learning style can improve the study effectiveness. You learn the well-
working study methods for you. Therefore, you will also save a lot of time and
frustrations.

4. What is your learning style?

In overall, I am an auditory learner and then a visual.

5. What are compound words?

A compound word is made up of two words joined together to make a new word.

6. What are homophones (define)?

Homophones are words (or phrases or letters) that, although they are pronounced the
same, differ in meaning, such as ‘to’, ‘too’ and ‘two’.

7. What are context clues?

There are different kinds of context clues that help the reader understand the meanings
of words they may not know.

8. What is scanning?
It is a quick reading technique when you want to read sth. quickly to find a specific piece
of information like an address, phone number or prices in a catalogue. You look to key
words or numbers.
9. What is skimming?
It is a quick reading technique when you want to read sth. quickly to get a general idea.
For example, you browse through a book to see if you want to read it. You look to the
headings and pictures.

10. Explain what SQ3R method stands for?

‘SQ3R’ is a reading strategy that stands for survey, question, read, recite, and review. It
focuses mainly on how to read texts effectively, you can become an effective, self-
directed learner, truly immersing yourself in your studies.

11. What is a topic sentence?

A topic sentence is the sentence that carries the main idea in each paragraph.

12. What is annotating?

While reading a text making notes, write upcoming questions, highlight keywords,
underline terms and circle definitions.

13. Why do we take notes?

Making notes ensures that you concentrate on what you are reading and help you to
work with texts and understand them. You avoid one form of plagiarism, which is copying
parts of a text word for word. Also, later on you can read your notes to revise it.

14. List the 3Rs in order

Read
Recite
Review

15. What information should go into your notes?

Writing important points, terms, definitions, facts, etc.

16. What is plagiarism?

Plagiarism is intentionally or unintentionally passing off another person’s work as your
own. It is copying parts of a text word for word.

17. What should you do if you want to write down exact words from a source?
Using quotation marks and citing the source including page numbers, in brackets after
the quotation.
18. What is paraphrasing?
A paraphrase is a restatement of the content of a piece of text without any change of the
original meaning. It is about avoiding the same words and the same structure of a text.

19. What is an argument?

An argument includes a certain position or viewpoint with evidence.
The purpose of an argument is to get the readers agreement.

20. What are the key points you feel you have learned in relation to academic
arguments? Be as descriptive as you like.
It must have a claim (view point), evidences, credible sources, no emotive language, no
assumptions, no generalisations.

21. What is the first step of the writing process?

The first step of the writing process is the ‘’prewriting’’ in other words ‘’brainstorming’’ or
‘’planning’’. You make a list of ideas and do not worry about any errors.

22. Why is pre-writing important?

It is important because you gather thoughts and ideas and organize them. After the pre-
writing you will have a clear structure in your writing, and you can distinguish the main
points from less important points.

23. Name the part of the writing process you are in when you are writing a beginning,
middle, and end in complete sentences?
It is the second step of the writing process ‘’drafting’’ or ‘’writing’’.

24. Why is drafting (step 2, also known as the writing step) important?
It is important because you start to write your collected ideas in complete sentences. You
do not mind about any errors, so you will have your first draft and then you will be able to
reread your outcome and make corrections.

25. In your own words, what are the pre-writing and drafting parts of the writing process?
First you start with the pre-writing where you gather ideas, write notes from searching,
brainstorming, googling, and planning. The drafting part includes the first draft of writing
down the ideas and notes.

26. What is a personal narrative?

A personal narrative is a personal true story with its experiences.
27. Explain the editing process?
The editing process includes making corrections on the written draft with focusing on
grammar, punctuation, spelling mistakes.

28. What are the different stages of writing? Please list it in the correct order.
1) Pre-writing
2) Drafting/Writing
3) Revising
4) Editing
5) Publishing
29. What is the difference between revising and editing?
Revising focuses on the content with adding or deleting words or sentences, the
organization, structure, and clarity. Editing is the next step and focuses on grammar,
spelling, and punctuation.

30. What questions do you have to keep in mind when revising your writing? (List at least
3 questions)
1) Is the topic sentence clear?
2) Does every sentence that I have included relate to the main idea/topic sentence?
3) How many supporting sentences have I included?
4) Do I need any more specific explanations?
5) Are there any additional facts/statistics/examples that I could add to make my
supporting ideas clearer?

31. What type of note-taking method do you use when writing your first draft?
I usually use the annotation method and sometimes I make an outline.

32. At what step do you start writing your introduction and conclusion?
At the second step of the writing process

33. Read the passage and summarize it in your own words. Please use one note-taking
method (that you learned in class) to show how you summarized the text. Then
summarize the text in your own words:

Roald Dahl was born in the United Kingdom, but he spent his childhood summers with
his grandparents in Norway. Roald was always busy and energetic, and often ended up
in trouble. One of his earliest memories is speeding to school on his tricycle while his
sisters struggled to keep up with him. His ability to find trouble made his early school
years difficult. He left his first school after putting a dead mouse in a storekeeper’s candy
jar, a prank that led to him being beaten by his school principal. From there he went to
boarding school and then to an excellent private school, but Dahl described his school
years as being full of “horrors” as a result of the “rules, rules rules” and the stories he
wrote later in life reflect all the darkness he felt during this time. Roald was not a very
good student. Nonetheless, his mother wanted to send him to college. But Roald refused
to do. In a book he wrote about his childhood called Boy: Tales of Childhood, he says he
told his mother, "No, thank you. I want to go straight from school to work for a company
that will send me to wonderful faraway places like Africa or China." He had had enough
of school, and he could not wait to set out on a life of adventure.

Note-taking:
Roald Dahl:
I. Person
a) Born in United Kingdom
b) Grandparents in Norway
c) Sisters

II. Childhood
a) summers in Norway
b) Hyperactive
c) Pranks, problems
d) change of schools

III. Book
a) About childhood
b) Name: ‘’Boy’’

IV. Future
a) Work for company
b) Travel
c) longing for adventures

Summary:
A boy was born in United Kingdom. His name is Roald Dahl. He has sisters and his
grandparents live in Norway. Roald is hyperactive and his childhood is filled with
adventures. Every summer he visits his grandparents and enjoys playing tricks.
Therefore, he experiences a lot of problems like change of schools. Due to the diverse
circumstances of changing schools, he writes a book about his childhood named: ‘’Boy’’.
Now, he has new goals for the future. Roald yearns for adventures like travelling on
behalf of a work company.

34. In each paragraph below, underline the topic sentence:

a. No one likes to eat with a dirty knife, fork, or spoon. It is important to completely wash
all utensils before using them. Clean utensils won’t transmit germs and bacteria. They
also are more pleasant to eat with.
b. Sometimes it is hard to fall asleep. Maybe you are not sleepy, or maybe you are
thinking about what happened during the day. You can also lie awake if a big event, like
a test or a party, is happening the next day. There are several things you can do to try
and fall asleep. You can try counting sheep, or just counting, which will keep your mind
busy with a repetitious activity. Sometimes listening to soft music or gentle sounds, like
rain, helps. You can even try telling yourself a story, which may distract your mind
enough that you will be asleep in no time.
Source
Beekman, Litha; Dube, Cecilia; Potgieter, Herman; Underhill, Jenni Lynne: Academic
literacy. Second edition. 2016