ENG1503: STUDY PLAN----- SEMESTER 1 2023

Week Schedule of Work

February NB: Assignment 1 due date*: 14/03/2023 (Critical
Week 1: 13 – 17 Feb Reading)
• Analysing task words and topic analysis
• Interpreting assignment instructions/ reading a
question
• How to answer questions
• Paragraphing, sentences, cohesion and
organisation
• How to write a summary – main ideas
• Reading for understanding
• Thesis statement (See page 165) of the prescribed
textbook
• Comparing and contrasting - refer students to
chapter 7 (pages 97 – 99) of the prescribed
textbook.
• Do student exercises under Learning Unit 1 in the
Tutorial Letter 501 (Tut 501)
• Skimming and scanning texts for relevant
information
• Using context clues to infer meaning of unknown
words
• Identifying the argument, purpose and target
audience of the text
• Identifying and understanding the genre of a text
• Distinguishing main ideas from supporting
Week 2: 20-24 Feb information
• Understanding the writer’s use of research to
support argument
• Understanding how information from various
academic texts is synthesized to create a cohesive
and unified composition
• Use of reliable sources to search for information

Chapter 14 contains a number of passages that can be used

to practise these strategies.

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Open Rubric
 Gaetz et al (2018). Academic English: Reading and
Writing Across the Disciplines. Pearson Cape Town.
• Application of reading strategies for academic
texts by following these steps: preview, read,
summarize, and review written texts
• Digital reading and writing strategies
• How to read online and offline texts; highlighting
main ideas and commenting on texts with different
formats
• How to spell-check errors on Microsoft Word

March NB: Assignment 2 due date*: 13/04/2023 (Arguments,

Week 3: 27 Feb – 03 Mar Discussions, Comparison and Contrast, Research
Essay)
• Introduction to writing process
• Topic Analysis (Key words and Key verbs)
• Specific requirements and restrictions
• Audience and purpose
• All writing, including academic writing, is made
easy by following the processes of planning,
drafting revising, editing, rewriting –as covered in
Unit 2, 3 and 4; Chapter 3-5 of Gaetz et all (2018)
and Chapter 5 of Moffett (2014).
• The writing of specific genres mentioned above.
• What is the purpose of each type of essay, for an
example, expository or research, argumentative,
comparison and contrast as well as cause and effect
• Learn the format of each type of essay as
mentioned above.
• Do the student exercises under Learning Unit 2 in
the Tut 501
• Know the writing process stages; prewriting
strategies, planning, drafting, revising, editing, and
proofreading stages
• Learn how to support claims by quoting or
including examples in your writing

Week 4: 06 – 10 Mar NB: Go to page 155 of your prescribed textbook to read

about how to search for information on the internet or
online library.

• The features of academic genres (see chapter 6 of

Gaetz et al (2018).
• Thesis statement (page 165), techniques of
introductions and conclusions
• Learn how to develop a thesis statement
• How each genre is developed (the writing process
of the genre). For example in Chapter 7 and 8 we
are shown that in writing compare and contrast

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 type of texts and a cause and effect essay, we use
the same strategies. However, the transitional
phrases for example will differ (see page 107 vs
page 124 of Gaetz et al (2018 ).
• What is genre?
• Identify different genres and explain the purpose of
each genre
• The following guidelines will help you to identify
or write different genres, how is the text
organised? How is the topic developed? What
specific grammatical structures are chosen?
• Do the student exercises under Learning Unit 3 in
the Tut 501
Refer to Chapter 2 and chapter 4 of Moffett et al (2014)
and Chapter 6 of Gaetz et al (2018)
Week 5: 13 – 17 Mar
• What is academic language?
• What are the characteristics of academic language?
• Acknowledging sources
• In-text citation
• Harvard referencing
• Know what is plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Learn how to paraphrase and summarise (See page
168-169 of the prescribed textbook)
• Quotations (Direct & Indirect) (Read Chapter 16 of
the prescribed textbook)
• Read pages 219-220 of the prescribed textbook to
learn how to support your arguments or claims and
how to draw conclusions.
• Revise and edit your essay – Read chapter 5 of the
prescribed textbook
• Complete the student exercises under Learning
Unit 4 in the Tut 501
• Learn how to synthesise the information and ideas
in your sources

Study page 98 to page 110, Comparison and Contrast,

Week 6: 20 – 24 Mar page 133 to page 180 of the prescribed book on
Argument and the Research Essay. (Arguments,
Discussions, Research essays are typical expository
genres in academic writing)

• What is the difference between formal and informal

writing.
• What is the significance of formal writing in
academic writing as well as using formal academic
language.

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 • Do the student exercises under Learning Unit 5 in
the Tut 501
Week 7: 27 – 31 March Writing Critically : Discussions and Arguments
NB: Read Chapter 8 in your prescribed textbook.
• What is to discuss?
• What does it mean to argue?
• Toulmin, 1958 (Claim-evidence-warrant)
• Models discussions and arguments
• Do activity 8.3 on page 202 and activity 8.4 on
page 204 of their prescribed textbook.

• The inductive or balanced approach

Week 8: 03 – 07 April • The deductive or persuasive approach
• Providing reasons, explanations, support
• Advantages and disadvantages
• Identifying/describing advantages and
disadvantages
• Do activity 8.1 on page 201 and activity 8.2 of
their prescribed textbook.
• Do activity 8.11

(Read chapter 8, page 197 of the prescribed textbook)

Week 9: 06 – 10 April The language of arguing NB: Refer to Chapter 8 of your

prescribed textbook.
• Cautious language – modals – modalization,
auxiliary verbs
• Formulating claims
• Evaluating a point of view
• Sentences (simple and complex sentences)
Comparing and contrasting (Chapter 7 – pages 97 – 99
of the prescribed textbook.
• Similarities and differences
• Discussing differences
• Types of evidence and support
• Writing the introduction and conclusion
• Cohesion and organisation
Week 10: 10 – 14 April What is a summary?
• How to summarize (Read page 168 – 174 of the
prescribed textbook)
• Citing the source in a summary
• What is a paraphrase?
• How to paraphrase
• Citing the source in a paraphrase
• What is direct quotation?

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 • How to quote?
• Punctuation of direct and indirect speech

Week 11: 17 – 21 April Writing activity

Choose one of the following topics, and write a summary.
• Summarize a paragraph from a newspaper or
magazine article.
• Summarize the essay “Discrimination in the 21st
Century” or any suitable essay
• Summarize Chapter 15, The Essay Exam.
• Summarize the plot of a television program or
movie.
• Summarize a text that you have read for another
course.
• Choose an essay from Chapter 40 of this book, and
summarize it.

Reading strategies
Week 12: 24 April – 28 April
• Finding the main idea
• Making inferences
• Finding the supporting ideas
• Understanding difficult words
• Using context clues
• Using a dictionary
• Determining connotation and denotation

Week 13: 01 – 05 May Integrating reading and writing

Go to chapter 14 (page 231) of the prescribed book to read
more on this sub-topic.

The Portfolio Examination* (22 May 2023)

• Preparing for exams

• Writing essay exams
• Exam guidelines

Based on chapter 11 of the prescribed book, page 187

*: Please note that due dates can change at any time. This will be a university decision, if
changes are made. You are advised to check your announcements on the ENG1503 main site
regularly so that so are aware of important date changes.

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