Correct use of english vocabulary - Study & exam - Thẩm Tâm Vy

 Thẩm Tâm Vy, December 24th, 2018 CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY UNIT 1 
CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY 
STUDY & EXAM 
A. Before an exam, some students cram 
1
 for it. Even if you’re a genius 2, you’ll have to 
do some revision. If the exam happens every year, you can revise by looking at past 
papers 
3
. Some things can be memorised or learnt (off) by heart. But rote-learning 4 is 
not suff icient for most subjects. It is also possible to use mnemonics 5. However, all 
things considered, the best idea is to bury yourself in your books 
6
 and to study 
intensively 
7
 until you know the subject inside out 
8
. 
1
. study in a very concentrated way for a short time 
2
. an exceptionally clever person 
3
. exam papers from previous years 
4
. learning purely by repetition 
5
. /niˈmɒnɪks/ tricks that help you remember something, for example: ‘i’ before ‘e’ 
except after ‘c’ is a mnemonic for English spelling (e.g. friend, but receive) 
6
 spend the maximum time studying 
7
. in a very focused way 
8
. know it completel 
B. Academic writing 
composition could be just 50–100 words, of en used for school work 
essay longer than a composition, more serious, hundreds or thousands of words 
assignment a long essay, of en part of a course, usually thousands of words 
project like an assignment, but emphasis on student’s own material and topic 
portfolio a collection of individual pieces of work; may include drawings and other 
examples of creative work as well as writing 
dissertation a long, research-based work, perhaps 10–15,000 words, for a degree or 
diploma 
thesis a very long, original, research-based work, perhaps 80–100,000 words, for a 
higher degree (e.g. PhD) 
 It’s a good idea to start with a mind map 1 when preparing an essay. Always 
write a first draft 
2
 before writing up the final version. Your essay should be all 
your own work; plagiarism 
3
 is a very serious off ence in colleges and 
universities. It is an increasing problem because it is so easy to cut and paste from 
materials available on the internet, and students have to sign a plagiarism form to 
say that the work they are handing in is all their own and that they acknowledge 
4
any sources they have used. There is usually a deadline 
5
. Af er the essay is 
submitted 
6
, it will be assessed 
7
 and usually you can get feedback 
8
. 
1. diagram that lays out ideas for a topic and how they are connected to one another – 2. first, rough 
version – 3. /’pleIÙərIzəm/ using other people’s work as if it was yours – 4. give details of – 5. date by 
which you must hand in the work - 6. handed in; formal – 7. evaluated and given a grade – 8. 
comments from the teacher/tutor 
C. Aspects of higher academic study 
1
 less formal is do research 
2
 magazines with academic articles (we do not use the word magazine to talk about this kind of 
 academic publication) 
3
 get hold of (it) on the internet 
4
 system where libraries exchange books/journals with one another 
5
 online materials that can be freely used by teachers and students anywhere 
6
 leave the course before the end 
7
 last exams before the end of a college or university course 
8
 with the right formal qualifications 
PRACTICE 
I. Correct the wrong usage of words to do with written work in these sentences. 
1. His PhD assignment was 90,000 words long and was on the history of US place 
names. 
2. Little Martha did her first dissertation in school today. It was called ‘My family’. 
3. We have to hand in an essay at the end of the course. It can consist of up to five 
different pieces of work. 
4. The teacher gave us the title of this week’s project today. We have to write 1,000 
words on the topic of ‘If I ruled the world’ and hand it in next Monday. 
5. At the end of this course, you have to do a 5,000-word thesis which will be assessed, 
and the grade will contribute to your final degree. 
6. I think I’ll do a study of people’s personal banking habits for my MSc composition. It 
has to be about 12,000 words. 
7. I’ve chosen to do the portfolio instead of the two exams, because I like to do one 
single piece of work where I can research something that interests me personally. 
II. Rewrite this text using words and phrases from above instead of the underlined 
words. 
 When I’m studying in a very focused way because I’m preparing hard for an exam, I 
don’t see any point in looking up exam papers from previous years, nor is there any 
point in just learning things by memory. I know some people develop very clever 
memory tricks to help them remember the material, but there’s no real substitute for 
 Thẩm Tâm Vy, December 24th, 2018 CORRECT USE OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY UNIT 1 
rereading and going over the term’s work. It’s a good idea to have some sort of diagram 
showing different ideas to organise your thoughts, and memory-learning is useful, but in 
a limited way. At the end of the day, you just have to read a huge amount until you feel 
you know the subject 100%. 
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III. Answer these questions. 
1. What do we call the first attempt at writing something, e.g. an essay? 
2. What word means ‘the date by which you must do something’? 
3. What word means ‘using someone else’s ideas as if they were yours’? 
4. What are more formal words for ‘to hand in’ and for ‘to mark’? 
5. What phrasal verb do we use when someone doesn’t complete their course? 
6. What is another word for an academic article? Where can you read them? 
7. What is the name of the system for getting books from other libraries? 
8. What word means ‘the comments you get back from the teacher about your work’? 
9. What word can you use for a person who is extraordinarily intelligent? 
10. What is a more formal way of saying ‘do research’? 
 1. .............................. 2. ............................ 3. ............................ 4. ............................. 
 5. .............................. 6. ............................. 7. ............................ 8. ............................. 
 9. .............................. 10. ............................ 
IV. Choose the best word from above to complete these sentences. 
1. If you quote an article in an essay, you must.........your source, giving details of author 
and title. 
2. Open educational.......can be particularly useful for students who do not have easy 
access to a university library. 
3. How much ....... have you done for tomorrow’s maths exam? 
4. Don’t forget to sign the.........form and hand it in with your dissertation. 
5. Some people take a long time to find suitable work even though they are very........ 
6. Orla has had a...........published in the British Medical Journal. 
7. All students need a username and password to be able to..........journals online. 
8. Caspar is bound to do well in his mechanics exam – he knows the subject...........out. 
 1. .............................. 2. ............................ 3. ............................ 4. ............................. 
 5. .............................. 6. ............................. 7. ............................ 8. ............................. 
ANSWER KEY