ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

English Language Centre

ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies
2024-25 Semester 2 3 credits

Information for Students

I. Objectives
This subject aims to help you study more effectively in the University’s English medium learning
environment, and to improve and develop your English language proficiency within the framework of
university study.

II. Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the subject, you will be able to:
a. research relevant academic texts for a topic and integrate the sources into a position
argument essay appropriately and effectively;
b. plan, research for, write and revise a position argument essay; and
c. present and justify views effectively in a mini oral defence.

To achieve the above outcomes, you are expected to use language and text structure appropriate to
the context, select information critically, and present and support your stance and opinion logically
and persuasively.

III. Learning schedule

Assessment
Weeks Content
submission

1-3 Introduction to the course and assessments

Unit 1 The Research Process
• understand the steps involved in the research process
• distinguish between different types of academic
sources and locate and evaluate them
• understand some of the basic features of academic
writing and style, including citation
• understand what is required in an academic
discussion
• choose your essay topic and start the research
process
• understand what is required in an essay proposal
• understand the basic elements of reading critically
and apply them

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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

4-8 Unit 2 Academic Argument 2 March 2025 (Sun),

11:59pm
• analyse an argument into its basic structure
• distinguish between strong and weak arguments Out-of-class, Draft
• develop your own argument Position Argument
• understand basic paragraph structure Essay, 600 words
• paraphrase source material Weighting 15%
• present your argument in both writing and speech
Learning Outcomes:
(a) and
(b) assessed

9-10 Assessment 2 – Oral Defence (in-class assessment) Oral Defence

Week 10 (In-class)
Weighting 40%
Learning Outcome:
(c) assessed

11-13 Unit 3 Reviewing Work and Finishing the Writing Process 20 April 2025 (Sun),
11:59pm
• write an introduction to a research-driven position
argument essay Out-of-class, Final
• develop an appropriate title for a position argument Position Argument
essay Essay, 1200 words
• respond critically to feedback from classmates and Weighting 45%
teacher to revise a draft
• write a conclusion to an academic position argument Learning Outcomes:
essay (a) and
(b) assessed

NOTE: Public holidays in teaching weeks are on 4 April (Friday). The Lunar New Year Break is from
27 January – 2 February. Your teacher will discuss any arrangements for these classes with you.

IV. Materials
In this subject you will be using learning materials written by the English Language Centre. Subject
materials can be downloaded from LEARN@PolyU (Blackboard)
https://learn.polyu.edu.hk/webapps/login/. Make sure that you bring the relevant learning
materials to every class. The schedule in Section III is a guide to the materials you will need for
each lesson.

V. Subject completion requirement

To successfully complete the subject, you have to:

1. complete all assessments, as stated in Section 8;

2. fulfil a minimum of 80% attendance, as stated in Section 6.

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 ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students
Failure to meet requirement (1) above will result in an overall fail of the subject, and you will have to
re-take the subject. Failure to meet requirement (2) will result in downgrading the overall subject
grade, and may lead to failing the subject, as stated in sections 6 and 8.

If you have taken this subject previously (either in whole or in part), you must inform your teacher as
early as possible.

VI. Attendance and punctuality

You are required to attend at least 80% of the classes and to be punctual for all lessons. Failure to
meet the attendance and punctuality requirements normally incurs a deduction from the overall
subject grade. This deduction will be 1 sub-grade or more, depending on the degree of unsatisfactory
attendance. If you know you cannot attend a class, you should email your class teacher beforehand
stating the reason. If you are ill, you should send your class teacher a copy of your medical leave
certificate.

If you are absent and unable to attend or submit an assessment according to the schedule, you need to
show the original document to your teacher.

VII. Out-of-class work

In line with PolyU policy, you are expected to do 78 hours of out-of-class work for a three-credit
subject. This means that, in addition to the 3 hours of classroom learning, you are expected to do at
least 6 hours of out-of-class work in each of the 13 weeks of the subject. This includes classwork-
related, assessment-related and self-access work.

Classwork-related Assessment-related Self-access language learning

e.g. exercises, readings, short e.g. researching for an essay, e.g. additional grammar,
writing tasks revising vocabulary, preparing vocabulary and pronunciation
for assessments work online

VIII. Assessments
There are three assessments that evaluate your achievement of the learning outcomes of this
subject. You are required to complete all three assessments in order to pass the subject. The
following regulations apply to this subject and to all ELC assessments.

Absence from in-class assessments

1. You must inform the teacher as early as possible if there are circumstances causing you to
be absent from an in-class assessment. If the reason is judged to be acceptable, a make-up
assessment will be arranged within ten calendar days of the original assessment date.
2. If you are absent from an in-class assessment without informing the teacher in advance,
you must contact the teacher within 24 hours of the assessment with an explanation for
the absence. You must provide supporting documents (e.g. a doctor’s note) for the
absence within 7 calendar days after the assessment. Providing the explanation and
supporting documents are judged acceptable, a make-up assessment will be arranged
within ten calendar days of the original assessment date.
3. No make-up assessment will be given if you are absent from an in-class assessment
without an acceptable reason and supporting documents. In such cases, you will be
considered to have not taken the assessment and will fail the subject.

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 ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students
Late submission of out-of-class assessments
1. You must inform the teacher as early as possible if there are reasons for you to submit an out-
of-class assessment after the deadline.
2. Late submissions, although accepted within 3 calendar days after the deadline, are subject to
the following downgrading penalties:
▪ by 1 sub-grade if the assessment is submitted within 24 hours after the deadline
▪ by 2 sub-grades if the assessment is submitted within 48 hours after the deadline
▪ by 3 sub-grades if the assessment is submitted within 72 hours after the deadline
3. If you do not submit your assessment within 72 hours, then you will be considered to have not
taken the assessment and will fail the subject.
4. If you believe that you have a valid reason for a late submission, such as you are suffering from
a serious illness, you will not receive a penalty provided that sufficient documentary evidence is
provided within 7 calendar days of the assessment submission deadline.

If you are absent and unable to attend or submit an assessment according to the schedule, you need
to show the original document to your teacher.

Late submission of out-of-class assessments

1. You must inform the teacher as early as possible if there are reasons for you to submit an
out-of-class assessment after the deadline.
2. Late submissions, although accepted within 3 calendar days after the deadline, are
subject to the following downgrading penalties:
• by 1 sub-grade if the assessment is submitted within 24 hours after the deadline
• by 2 sub-grades if the assessment is submitted within 48 hours after the deadline
• by 3 sub-grades if the assessment is submitted within 72 hours after the deadline
3. If you do not submit your assessment within 72 hours, then you will be considered to have
not taken the assessment and will fail the subject.
4. If you believe that you have a valid reason for a late submission, such as you are suffering
from a serious illness, you will not receive a penalty provided that sufficient documentary
evidence is provided within 7 calendar days of the assessment submission deadline.

Academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism

The University takes a very serious view against dishonesty and plagiarism in students’ work,
including in-class and out-of-class assessments. Dishonesty and plagiarised work will lead to grade
deduction or other disciplinary action as described in the Student Handbook.

Your ELC subject and GenAI tools

The ELC follows the PolyU policy with regard to the use of GenAI tools. In summary, students are
accountable for their own work, and the use of GenAI in student work should be properly acknowledged.
You should refer to the assessment section of this Student Information Sheet to check when you may
use GenAI tools in this subject.

Note: Relying too much on AI can mean that you do not meet the assessment requirements. This will
lead to either a low grade or fail grade for an assessment.

Please refer to the GenAI@ELC Resource Hub for useful ideas about enhancing your language learning
with GenAI tools.

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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

IX. Assessment details

See the following pages for detailed information about the assessments on this course. Choose your
topic carefully. You will use the same topic for all three assessments.

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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

Assessment 1: Writing a Draft Position Argument Essay (15 %)

Content Details
Task Assessment 1
– is a research-based draft position argument essay of 600 words. It is an
individual assessment written out of class.
– essay format: word-processed in Times New Roman or Arial, font size 11 or 12, single
or 1.5 spaced, pages numbered, word limit (not including end-of-text references) on
the last page of the essay, APA or Harvard or Vancouver or IEEE or Chicago referencing
style
– must include:
• a concisely-worded title; you may include any definitions if they are required
• a working thesis statement;
• two to four body paragraphs examining different positions presented by experts
on the chosen topic;
• a minimum of four in-text references from four English language academic source
texts using citing techniques where appropriate: paraphrasing, summarising and
quoting. The amount of direct quotation should not exceed 5% of the essay.
•
• An end-of-text reference list is recommended, but not assessed.

No introduction or conclusion is required for this submission – see exemplars on

LEARN@PolyU.

Academic articles cited should be full-length texts from academic journals or books with a
named author (authors) or institution and a list of references. Most editorials,
advertisements, newspapers, magazines and websites (e.g. Wikipedia) are not peer
reviewed and therefore not considered academic sources.

Submission Submission via LEARN@PolyU on 2 March (Sun), 11:59pm

– misreading the submission time will not be accepted as a valid reason for late
submission (e.g. confusing a.m. / p.m.)
– You should ensure that you have selected the correct essay before clicking the Upload
button.
You can access the submission link from 13 January 2025, 00:00am – start of Week 1.
After you click ‘Confirm’ to upload your submission, Turnitin will generate a digital
receipt. Please go to the Turnitin Document Viewer and download this receipt, or save a
screenshot of it, as proof of successful submission in case of any technical issues later.

Research – identify possible topics that are related to your PolyU programme, or interests or
for the concerns that are of public significance that you wish to discuss and investigate
topic – do not research topics in the banned topics list (see table below)
– analyse the chosen topic and collect relevant source materials
– ensure sources are credible and contain sufficient information to enable you to work
on your assignments
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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

If your topic is similar to your classmates’, you may collaborate and research the topic
together (the essay will still need to be written individually).

Banned
research
Banned Topic List
topics
The following topics, including those that have been covered in ELC1012, ELC1013 and
the ELC2014 course notes, are not allowed:
tourism; crime; transport; building incinerators; land reclamation;
Hong Kong
building housing estates in country parks; employment in Hong Kong;
Issues
indoor and outdoor activities in Hong Kong; housing in Hong Kong
equal rights (including gay marriage); animal rights; product
Society promotion; work-life balance; Diaoyu Conflict; violent video games;
(commercial) surrogacy; scams; workplace communication
food safety (including GM food); traditional medicine; anorexia; LASIK;
Health Atkins Diet; euthanasia; organ donation/trade; fat / sugar tax; (teen)
cosmetic surgery; vegetarianism; healthy eating
Environment nuclear power; e-waste; pesticides; water scarcity
Education language policy; national education; home schooling
internet freedom; social networking sites; social media & commerce;
IT
net neutrality

NOTE: It is against University regulations to submit work you have completed for one
course to another course.

Assessment Content (30%): a specific, arguable position on the topic; persuasive arguments to defend
criteria the thesis based on critical evaluation of evidence, including counterargument; thesis
supported with relevant and detailed support using academic sources

Organisation (20%): clear and logical connections between ideas throughout the writing;
paragraphs related to the thesis statement; different methods to connect ideas, such as
transition words and phrases

Language (30%): clear communication of meaning with accurate grammar and vocabulary
appropriate to academic style

Referencing (20%): accurate in-text citations, reporting structures and reference list
according to the chosen referencing convention
(Reference list is only required for final essay.)

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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

Assessment 2: Giving an Oral Defence (40%)

Content Details
Topic Assessment 2
– is on the same topic as Assessment 1
– draws from Assessment 1 some of the key points that are of relevance and interest to
the audience
Submission Upload your first draft essay onto LEARN@PolyU ->Assessments for your groupmates to
read before the discussion.
Task Assessment 2 is an in-class speaking assessment conducted in pairs or small groups.

The stages of the assessment:

1. The overview (individual)
2. The Q&A (all students)
3. The discussion (all students)

– Each student will present a 3-minute thesis defence (overview), in which they identify
key viewpoints on their topic, including evidence from sources, and defend their own
stance.
– Following each overview, a 4-minute Q&A session is held. For the Q&A session, the
teacher will select a question from a set and ask the question to the student who has
just presented. The questions are focused on encouraging students to reflect on their
own / others’ experience of the academic research process. The other student(s) in
the group will ask follow-up questions as needed.
– After the overviews and Q&A sessions, there will be a fixed time for further discussion.
This section will begin with a question from the teacher. Students are expected to
engage in deeper discussion which demonstrates critical thinking of all students’ topics
in the pair or group.
Timing:
3-min overview + 4-min Q&A = 14 mins + 5-min discussion = 19 minutes per pair.
3-min presentation + 4-min Q&A = 21 mins + 8-min discussion = 29 minutes per group of 3.
3-min presentation + 4-min Q&A = 28 mins + 10-min discussion = 38 minutes per group of 4.

NOTES:
– If needed, presenters may rely on brief hardcopy notes when presenting their
overview (i.e. brief bullet points of not more than one side of A4), but should not use
visual aids.
– Presenting the overview from a memorised script or reading from a script will result in
a lower grade. If memorisation or reading is suspected, teachers may interrupt the
overview with additional questions.

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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

Aims The aims of this assessment are to:

• assess the student’s ability to develop a position based on research and explain,
discuss and defend their position
• provide a platform for each student to demonstrate how their research is
progressing and
• receive feedback from peers and use it to revise and further develop the essay
draft
Criteria Content (25%): fulfilment of task requirements; comprehensive coverage of the essay topic
in the overview; consideration of the argument from different perspectives and evidence of
thorough research using authoritative and up to date sources; putting forward of
arguments / opinions / analyses / responses / questions to others in a logical way showing
critical thinking
Interaction and discussion strategies (30%): turn taking, asking questions, active listening,
not dominating etc.

Language (30%): clear communication of meaning with accurate grammar and vocabulary
appropriate to spoken academic style; usage of a range of methods to connect ideas
successfully

Pronunciation and fluency (15%): clear communication of meaning with accurate

pronunciation; fluency of speech, allowing for ease of understanding

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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

Assessment 3: Writing a Final Position Argument Essay (45%)

Content Details
Task Assessment 3
– is a research-based position argument essay of 1200 words (excluding the
reference list) which builds on and extends the draft position argument essay in
Assessment 1
– essay format: same as for Assessment 1 (see above)
– must include:
• a concisely-worded title
• introduction which includes the thesis statement
• body paragraphs covering analysis of different positions adopted by academics or
professionals
• conclusion
• citation of source information, with at least eight in-text references from a
minimum of six English language academic articles (see ‘Task’ under Assessment 1
for details); use of appropriate citation techniques: paraphrasing, summarising and
quoting. The amount of direct quotation should not exceed 5% of the essay.
• end-of-text reference list with entries arranged and organised according to any
one of the referencing styles of your choice: APA, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE or
Chicago

See exemplars on LEARN@PolyU

Submission Submission via LEARN@PolyU on 20 April 2025 (Sun), 11:59pm

– misreading the submission time will not be accepted as a valid reason for late
submission (e.g. confusing a.m. / p.m.)
– You should ensure that you have selected the correct essay before clicking the Upload
button.
You can access the submission link from 13 January 2025, 00:00am – start of Week 1

After you click ‘Confirm’ to upload your submission, Turnitin will generate a digital
receipt. Please go to the Turnitin Document Viewer and download this receipt, or save a
screenshot of it, as proof of successful submission in case of any technical issues later.

Research – the topic will be the same as in Assessment 1, with further elaboration
for the – draw together the information and ideas from your sources and draft your final essay
topic in your own words, except for in-text references involving short direct quotes
– document the references carefully and thoroughly to avoid plagiarism

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ELC2014 Advanced English for University Studies Information for Students

Content (30%): a specific, arguable position on the topic; persuasive arguments to defend
the thesis based on critical evaluation of evidence, including counterargument; thesis
supported with relevant and detailed support using academic sources

Organisation (20%): clear and logical connections between ideas throughout the writing;
paragraphs related to the thesis statement; different methods to connect ideas, such as
transition words and phrases

Language (25%): clear communication of meaning with accurate grammar and vocabulary
appropriate to academic style

Referencing (20%): accurate in-text citations, reporting structures and reference list
according to the chosen referencing convention

Peer review (5%): feedback to peers

If you are absent from a peer review activity without an acceptable reason and supporting
documents, you will be considered to have not completed the task and will receive 0% for
the peer review component.

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