English Proficiency for University Studies

Eng1511

Department of English Studies

SEMESTER 1

Assessment 01

Due date: 11 March 2024

Compulsory: Yes

Assignment 1 – Reading comprehension and grammar

Instructions:
• Before you attempt this assignment, you must make sure that you have studied your
prescribed book: An Introduction to Scholarship: Building Academic Skills for Tertiary Study
(2nd edition) by Cheryl Siewierski.
• It is your responsibility to access the prescribed book, and you will not be able to answer
the questions if you have not purchased the book.
• Read Chapter 2 ( 2.4 Why we need to reference p. 28-31) of the prescribed book An
Introduction to scholarship and answer the questions below.

Question 1

1. From your reading of the passage, mention two reasons why students struggle to reference?
(4)
2. Read the sentence below and answer the questions that follow:
Firstly, referencing helps us to avoid plagiarising by acknowledging the original author or
source of an idea (page 28).
i) What does the word ‘plagiarising’ mean in the context in which it is used in the above
sentence (2)
ii) What is the noun from plagiarise? (1)
3. In your own words, explain what the author means by ‘the academic naughty corner’ (p. 29) (1)
4. The author mentions four reasons why it is important to reference or cite sources. Choose any
three and write them in your own words, in one sentence).(6)
5. Which are the two main methods of referencing according to the author? (2)
6. There are more than 3000 referencing styles that writers can use. According to the author which
four styles are the most commonly used? (4)

(20 marks)

Question 2 (a)

For this section consult your Tutorial Letter 501 (study guide, page 28) and answer the questions
below:

Write two words that end with -graphy, then use them in three different sentences. Your sentences
have to be grammatically correct.

Example: geography. In matric I passed geography with a distinction.

i. – graphy (3)
ii. – graphy (3)

Question 2 (b)

Provide antonyms for the words in Column A. See Tutorial Letter 501 (p.30)

A B
1. insane a) (2)
2. misinform b) (2)
3. disloyal c) (2)
4. unfair d) (2)
5. indefinite e) (2)

(16 marks)
Question 4
Background
ENG1511 is an online module, and it is important for students to engage with their lecturers and
their fellow students to ensure that the teaching and learning is delivered successfully.

Instruction
Participate in any two topics created by your lecturers, e-tutors, fellow students on the ENG1511
discussion forum platform on myUnisa. To serve as evidence of your participation, take a

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screenshot/picture and attach it on your assignment. Your screenshot/picture should display your
surname and initials.
(14 marks)

Total: 50 x 2 = 100
Assignment 02

Due date: 26 March 2024

Compulsory: Yes

Assignment function

This assignment allows you to write an argumentative essay and receive feedback.

Assignment 02 – Essay writing

Instructions:

Please ensure that you submit your assignment by the due date.

• Before you attempt your assignment question on essay writing, make sure that you have
thoroughly studied the content on essay writing in your study guide (Tutorial letter 501) as
well as notes in the prescribed book, which is Introduction to Scholarship: Building
Academic Skills for Tertiary Study (2nd edition) by Cheryl Siewierski.
• You will find Chapters 3 to 8 of the prescribed book useful for writing your essay, in
addition to your lecture notes.

Question 1

Write an essay on ONE of the following topics. Provide a heading which summarises your point of
view and then write a convincing essay in support of your views. Your essay should be
approximately 500 words in length (about two pages). The essay should also be typed using 12
font size, double-spaced.

Please leave enough space in the margins for marker comments.

Essay topics:

1. The use of artificial intelligence in higher education has increased cheating and dishonesty
among students. Write an essay in which you argue for or against the statement. Support
your argument by providing examples from secondary sources and relevant examples. If
you use sources, you need to reference them properly.
OR

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 2. Virtual lectures are better than face-to-face lectures. Write an essay in which you argue for
or against the statement. Support your argument by providing examples from secondary
sources and relevant examples.
OR

3. In some countries, border control laws and access are very strict. Do you agree with this
practice? Write an essay in which you argue for or against the statement. Support your
argument by providing reasons and examples from secondary sources and relevant
examples.

STEPS FOR SUBMITTING YOUR ESSAY

a. Plan your essay following the steps in Tutorial Letter 501, which is your Study Guide.

b. Write the first draft.

c. Give the draft to a friend/ colleague/ family member to read and comment on.

d. Use the comments to revise and edit your draft.

e. Write the final revised essay.

f. Submit your final draft only. You do not need to sign your declaration form when you

are submitting on-line, just type the words from the form and include your full names in the

signature space.

Total: 50 x 2 = 100 marks

Please read through the marking code and the marking assessment grid below as this will
give you an indication of how your assignment will be marked.

Marking code

Symbol Error Explanation

abb Abbreviation Do not use abbreviations or
contractions (such as can't, don't, etc.) in formal
writing (e.g., a written assignment
agr (s/v) Agreement error Your verb does not agree with your subject
in number. Check whether your subject is
singular or plural.

A plural subject takes a plural verb: The students

read the book.

A singular subject takes a singular

verb: The student reads the book.

amb Ambiguity Your statement could have two meanings.

Rephrase.

ap Apostrophe error An apostrophe is a comma that hangs above the

line.

An apostrophe is used to indicate possession.

• The boy’s hands are dirty (the hands of the
boy).
• Mandela's leadership (the leadership of
Mandela).
• The boys' privileges (the privileges of the
boys).
An apostrophe is used to indicate when letters are
left out (contraction or omission).
• We'll (we will)
• Can't (cannot)
• I've (I have)
• It's (it is)
Contractions such as these are unacceptable in
formal writing.
NB: 'its' (without an apostrophe) is the
possessive form. The dog chewed its bone.
arg Argument Your argument/explanation is not
methodical/coherent/relevant. A clear and logical
line of thought needs to emerge.
art Article error You have used a instead of the, or the
instead of a, or you have omitted to use a or
the where you should have. Alternatively, you
have used a or the with a word that should not
have an article.
awk Awkward phrasing Your sentence sounds awkward and clumsy.
You need to revise your word choice and word
order.
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cap Capital letter The word should begin with a capital letter,
either because it begins a sentence, or because
it is a proper noun.
c/s Comma splice You have joined two ideas (i.e., two separate
sentences) without using a connecting word or
proper punctuation. Either add a connecting
word, or change the comma t o a semi-colon,
or break the comma-spliced sentence into
two separate sentences.
exp Expression faulty Your sentence is difficult to understand because
of errors too numerous to list.
Frag/inc Fragmentary Your sentence does not have a verb and,
sentence therefore, is only a fragment of a sentence.
/Incomplete
sentence You have left out part of the sentence.
l/c Lower case This word does not begin with a capital letter.
irr Irrelevant What you have said has nothing to do with the
topic.
L?/ill Logic faulty/illogical Illogical, or your writing does not make sense
here.
N.P. New paragraph You have started discussing a new idea, so you
need a new paragraph.
Para Paragraph structure A paragraph consists of a main idea
(usually expressed in a topic
sentence) a n d s e v e r a l supporting
sentences t h a t explain the main
idea or give examples and/or details
concerning the main idea. Single
sentence paragraphs are not
acceptable because a single
sentence cannot develop or expand
the main idea.

Your paragraph is too long and needs to be

divided where appropriate.

p Punctuation You have misused a punctuation mark or

omitted one where it was necessary.
sp Spelling You have misspelt a word. Try to get into the
habit of using a dictionary consistently.
T Tense error Your verb is in the wrong tense.

Note: Use the present and related tenses when

discussing a literary work, such as ‘Bosman's
humour has a strong South African flavour.’
‘In her short stories, Nadine Gordimer touches on
issues ...’
voc/ Vocabulary error/ You have used the wrong word, or you could
have used a better one. (Look up the word you
have used in the dictionary. You will find that its
meaning is either not correct or not appropriate
in your sentence).
wdy Wordiness You have used too many words to say
something t hat could be said for more simply
and concisely.
 WO Word order The words in your sentence are in the wrong
incorrect place. Your marker will have used arrows.

/ Instead of Replace with what is suggested instead.

0! Delete 0!
Omit this
word/phrase/
explanation.
/\ Insert /\
A word or a letter is
missing here
[ New Paragraph You have started discussing a new idea.
st style slang/colloquial/SMS language-rewrite in formal
English
vague or puzzling
??

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Marking Grid

Write and revise your essay with the following evaluators’ guidelines in mind:

Content (25) and expression (25); Total: (50).

 Content includes topic interpretation, ideas (relevance, weight, originality) and their
organisation (introduction & conclusion; paragraphing; cohesion; logicality).
 Expression rates a candidate's control of standard academic English, particularly as
reflected in sentence structure, diction and correctness.

% Content m/25 Expression m/25

4 1 1
8 2 2
12 3 3
Interpretation and arguments so Ranges from incomprehensible to barely
16 4 4
incomprehensible that it would literate: vocabulary & sentence patterns
20 be futile for this candidate to 5 elementary; serious errors in sentence 5
24 repeat the subject. 6 structure, language, diction, spelling & 6
punctuation.
28 7 7
32 8 8
36 9 9
Inadequate despite some Meaning confused or obscured:
40 understanding of the topic; ideas 10 vocabulary and sentence patterns limited; 10
44 confused or disconnected; lacks 11 errors in sentence structure, language, 11
logical sequencing, development diction, spelling & punctuation.
48 & cohesion. 12 12

52 13 13
56 Just adequate in the balance of 14 Meaning seldom obscured; adequate 14
considerations. control of basics; lightly sprinkled with
errors.
60 15 15
64 Sound. Clear grasp of the task; 16 Ranges from being clear and correct on 16
68 deals well with the obvious 17 the one hand to mixing flair with some 17
points; organises ideas logically; - clumsiness in a convincing show of
72 18 18
promise on the other.
or - some imbalance arriving at
the same level of general
success.
76 19 19
80 Convincing signs of superior 20 Lucid, economical, even elegant; 20
84 intelligence and control; obvious 21 chooses words aptly from obvious 21
clarity of interpretation & depths of vocabulary; effortless control of
88 22 22
originality of thought; logically complex sentences to express complex
92 sequenced, cohesive, well 23 23
ideas; virtually error-free.
96 supported. 24 24
100 25 25
Add plagiarism form.