Task-10_April 30-May 5: University Guidebook

Dear All,

How're you? Hope you are doing all right under the circumstances and would like to wish you all the best with everything. I hope that you will find the task I've designed for you interesting and useful. It'll give you a chance to get acquainted with different aspects of students' life in Britain, in particular with that of the students studying at the University of East Anglia before creating a guidebook for the students who are coming to study at Novosibirsk State Univesity.

You are going to create a Guidebook for the students who come to study at our university from other countries. Can you discuss with each other and let me know which section of the guidebook you would like to contribute to 

Task 1: Think about your answers to the following questions and share your answers with your peers and me in WhatsApp:

1. What are the hardest aspects of students' life in Russia? What can help the Ss studying in Ru get adjusted quicker and easier? (Complete this task by 

2. What do you think will surprise foreign Ss the most:

-in a pleasant way

-in an unpleasant way

Share your answers in WhatsApp.

3. Next, look through the Guidebook to get an idea about the content of different sections 

After that, choose the section you would like to contribute to together with another student (We need to agree who is going to work with who)

Below is the list of Sections of the Guidebook we'll have  (this is my suggestion but it'd be great if you suggested some more and/or other sections keeping in mind your audience).

1. General overview: add your name if you want to contribute to this section

2. Getting around: add your name if you want to contribute to this section

3. Programs of study: Subjects + Exams (Maybe, the sections about the exams should be separate and written by another group of students: add your name

4. Financial issues: add your name

5. Social life: add your name

6. Extracurricular activities:

- Clubs: add your name

- Sports: add your name

- Add your own: add your name

- Add your own: add your name

7. Add your own section: add your name

8. Add your own section: add your name

9. Add your own section: add your name 

The option "Add your own section" is to cover the content not covered by the other sections but which you feel are necessary. Let me know if you want to add your own section but are not sure about its content

Don't forget to use the URL shortener bit.ly to create shortened links (but check them first, please, because sometimes they do not work for some reason). It's just not to clutter your text with many links. 

N-gram viwer task: an extra task for you to do

Here is a link to the N-gram chart of "really". Check it to see how the frequency of "really" has changed over time. I think it's interesting to know this information. Do you?

You can actually go to the Ngram Viewer yourselves and see how the frequency of some words from
the books you read for your home-reading. Choose 3 words you like from your book and check
the Ngram Viewer results for them.

It’d be interesting to learn which words you have looked up and how their frequency changed over time. 

Share this information in your blogs

Help pages post: Reference details formatting. A reminder

Dear All,


I'd like to remind you that you need to remember that when you use the information from any resources, such articles from online publications or Wikipedia, for example, you need to provide the reference details


it's not enough to provide the link to the resource; this is what you do in the body of your writing. In the end of your work you need to add full reference details: there is a post in the blog about it at


https://acdemicwriting18825.blogspot.com/2019/12/referencing.html

As you can see, it was published back in December last year.

Actually, I've decided to copy the information from that post and share it with again here as a Reminder

Here you are:

 Le       Let me remind you how to format the references to the resources you have used in your works correctly. The thing is that it's not enough to provide the link to the article(s) you have referred to in your work. You need to add the following information:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of the article. Title of Online Periodical, volume number (issue number if available). Retrieved from: https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/. Date of access. Date of publication. Example:S   Smith, B. (2015, July 15). Commenting on the current situation. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com, K. Klein, M. (2018, June 29). The Negative effects of Facebook on communication. Social Media Today RSS. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com

Please, remember to ADD REFERENCES TO YOUR POSTS! You do remember that without this information you are in danger of plagiarising, don't you?

Task 7: April 20-27: What words and phrases are overused

What Words or Phrases Do You Think Are Overused?

BY MICHAEL GONCHAR

 OCTOBER 5, 2012 5:05 AMOctober 5, 2012 5:05 am

Patrick McElhenney/FXPaul Scheer, left, and Mark Duplass in a scene from the FX comedy “The League.” Go to related article »

Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older.

• See all Student Opinion »

The Times TV critic Neil Genzlinger is disgusted that a snarky use of the one-word response “Really?” is popping up everywhere on television these days. Because TV influences how we speak, he notes that that same use of “Really?” is spreading to everyday life. Have you noticed this?

What word or phrase do you overuse when you speak? What words or phrases do you think are overused in general?

In “The ‘R’ Word: Really, Really Overused,” Mr. Genzlinger writes:

Civilization crumbles a little bit almost every time I turn on the television, and a single word-and-punctuation-mark combination is inflicting the damage.

You’ve heard it too, no doubt, and if you’re a person who values grace and urbanity and eating with utensils rather than burying your face in the plate, you’ve winced whenever some TV character has spewed it. It’s the snarky “Really?,” and it’s undoing 2,000 years’ worth of human progress.

I’m not talking about “Really?” as a request for more information or an expression of surprise. I’m referring to the more recent, faddish use of it: delivered with a high-pitched sneer to indicate a contempt so complete that it requires no clarification.

Say a co-worker shows up for a pivotal meeting wearing a plaid blouse and a polka-dot skirt. In the old days you might have said: “Well, that is certainly an interesting fashion choice. Myself, I prefer something more subdued when sitting down with a client.” Now, though, if you’ve succumbed to the loathsome trend, you will simply aim as withering a look as you can at your colleague, say “Really?” and walk away.

Students: Tell us how you feel about this. Do you think civilization is threatened by this particular use of this word?

·         What words or phrases do you overuse when you speak?

·         What words or phrases do you hear others use that you wish would just go away?

·         Why do you think these words are overused, unnecessary or just plain annoying?

·         What’s your opinion about the overuse of the word “Really?” The comedian Jerry Seinfeld strongly disagrees with Mr. Genzlinger, for instance. In a letter to the editor, he argues that “Really?” is a fine word to use In conversation. He thinks it’s funny. What do you think? Really.

Below are some of the comments the readers made on the topic discussed in the article

Ray October 5, 2012 · 5:30 am

For this discussion, add “seriously” to really.

What makes me cringe even more though is how “all of a sudden” has morphed into “all the sudden” for most folks.

Eric D. period 1 eng0220 October 5, 2012 · 7:54 am

I think some words and phrases are overused, like YOLO. It is okay to hear it a couple times, but people use it too many times. It end up becoming really annoying after a while because people say it couple times a day and they end up killing the phrase.

Gage T October 5, 2012 · 7:54 am

I think that civilization is threatened by this particular use of this word. I also think that other words will bring us down like “YOLO” and IDK.

Macie P. October 5, 2012 · 7:55 am

Yes “really” is overused so much. Also, “huh” this ‘word’ erks me so much. Now the word ‘huh’ comes so naturally when someone is talking to you. That just all of a suddon people say ‘huh’ even when they have heard what the person has said.

AJ October 5, 2012 · 7:56 am

I think that the phrase YOLO and LOL are used way too much i terms of text and word. When someone says YOLO, I get really angry. The reason that I get angry is because i hear it at least 10 times in a day.

Kenan October 5, 2012 · 7:56 am

I think that the most used words are curse or swear words. It happens with everybody, there only a few people that do not swear because they think it is not good. Also, in most entertainment uses swears, so then people follow after the things that they watch. I have seen it mostly in Comedies and action films or movies.

Kenny B. October 5, 2012 · 7:57 am

I do not think that civilization is threatened by this particular use of this word. But I do think YOLO and swag are overused way too much. Though I don’t wish them to go away, people over use the word to the point at which it is not fun to say anymore. The overuse of them makes them annoying, the word or phrase isn’t it’s just how much people use them that is annoying. I think really is a perfectly fine word to say in a conversation. I do not find really to be annoying but I can see how it could be annoying to some people.

Nelson L October 5, 2012 · 7:57 am

The phrase “Lol,” is used very much by almost everyone. I think the need for a new word is strongly wished upon. It feels like every other text to a friend has the phrase “Lol.” I think this phrase is just overused and it is time for a new one. I never knew the word “Really” was even used a lot so I have no problem with it; I have a feeling just older people use that trying to be younger.

Alisabeth 0220 October 5, 2012 · 7:57 am

I think the most over used word is “like”. I swear, people say “like” multiple times in one sentence. It’s ridiculous. It’s annoying and unnecessary. The word “really?’ is used too much too. Once in a while it is okay, but when it is over used it becomes rude. I admit that I use my fair share of “like”s and “really?”s but it is about time they stopped being used

Task 6: April 6-12: Text-messaging

Dear All,

how are you? I'm sharing with you the task for the coming week. It's devoted to the discussion of some of the features of today's communication, in particular, to the comparison between text and voice messaging. You should first read the article below, read the questions that follow and share your answers to three of them you found the most interesting. Then you need to write an essay in which you should discuss the Pros and Cons of Voice and Text Messaging. 

Text Messages Are Too Many?

Voice mail gets mixed reviews from people who prefer to text. Related ArticleCredit...Byron Smith for The New York Times

By Shannon Doyne

Consider a text message–or voice mail or email–just to say “thank you” to the recipient

for something he or she has done.

Do you think this is a nice gesture? Or an annoyance?

The Bits blog post “Disruptions: Digital Era Redefining Etiquette” addresses the evolution of

the often unspoken “rules” for communicating. Nick Bilton writes:

Then there is voice mail, another impolite way of trying to connect with someone. Think of how long it

takes to access your voice mail and listen to one of those long-winded messages. “Hi, this is so-and-so….”

In text messages, you don’t have to declare who you are, or even say hello. E-mail, too, leaves something

to be desired, with subject lines and “hi” and “bye,” because the communication could happen faster by text.

And then there are the worst offenders of all: those who leave a voice mail message and then e-mail to

tell you they left a voice mail message.

My father learned this lesson last year after leaving me a dozen voice mail messages, none of which I

listened to. Exasperated, he called my sister to complain that I never returned his calls. “Why are you

leaving him voice mails?” my sister asked. “No one listens to voice mail anymore. Just text him.”

My mother realized this long ago. Now we communicate mostly through Twitter.… In the age of the smartphone, there is no reason to ask once-acceptable questions: the weather forecast, a business phone number, a store’s hours. But some people still do. And when you answer them, they respond with a thank-you e-mail.

“I have decreasing amounts of tolerance for unnecessary communication because it is a burden and a cost,” said Baratunde Thurston, co-founder of Cultivated Wit, a comedic creative company. “It’s almost too easy to not think before we express ourselves because expression is so cheap, yet it often costs the receiver more.”

… How to handle these differing standards? Easy: think of your audience. Some people, especially older ones, appreciate a thank-you message. Others, like me, want no reply. “It is important to think about who the relationship is with,” Mr. Senning said.

The anthropologist Margaret Mead once said that in traditional societies, the young learn from the old. But in modern societies, the old can also learn from the young. Here’s hoping that politeness never goes out of fashion, but that time-wasting forms of communication do.

Tell us …

• Do you use voice mail? Why or why not?
• Do you think people should just use the Internet to find answers to “once-acceptable questions” instead of asking someone?
• How often do you worry that contacting someone via text, call, Twitter, Facebook or voice mail is the “wrong” approach?
• What about the advice to consider what each people expects, such as older people appreciating a thank-you message? Do you have any suggestions or rules of thumb for managing others’ expectations?
• Have you ever been offended–or have you ever offended someone–because of communicating in a way that was perceived to be burdensome? Explain.
• What are your suggestions for resolving these issues?

I'm asking you to publish your essay draft in your blogs by April 9 and read smb else's essay draft by April 11. You need to comment on the essay draft of one of your peers by answering the following questions:

a) Is the essay interesting to read?
b) Is it logical?
c) What has it made you think about?
d) Is your experience is similar to that one of your peers shared with us in her/his essay?
e) Is there anything your peer can add to her/work to make it more persuasive?
f) Is there anything that needs to be revised:
-Content
-Organisation
-Mechanics
-Language