EFFECTIVE: JUNE 2022

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES

FOUNDATION IN ARTS
FOUNDATION IN SCIENCE
FOUNDATION IN BUSINESS
FOUNDATION IN ACCOUNTING
FOUNDATION IN ENGINEERING
FOUNDATION IN COMPUTING

FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

TUTORIAL WORKBOOK

ACADEMIC SESSION: 202205

PREPARED BY: MS. TAN CHOON EE

Name:
Class:

*FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY

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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 1 Topic: Writing Introductions

Essay Writing
FPEN1033 English Language

Types of Essay Writing

A. Expository • when your purpose is to explain something to the
Writing reader by presenting it clearly and sharing details,
and facts, to educate and inform your reader.

B. Argumentative • when your purpose is to argue something by

Writing developing a line of reasoning in order to arrive at a
logical conclusion, the aims is to convince your
audience to either accept your position or even to
take action.
C. Discursive • when your purpose is to explore an issue by
Writing considering objectively various points of view before
arriving at an evidence-based conclusion.
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The Difference
■ One of the key differences in writing for different purposes
lies in tone.

■ If you are writing to explain, your tone might be confident

because you are knowledgeable about what you are sharing.

■ If you are writing to convince your audience, your tone might

be persuasive, determined and biased.

■ If you approach an essay with more of an investigate

(discursive) purpose in mind, your tone will shift to appear
more objective, unbiased and analytical.

Choosing Your Approach

■ The essays you write in this subject will need to be drafted in
the form of an argument.

■ Depending on the question being asked and what you know

about it, you will structure your arguments in different ways.

■ However, we will be focusing on two basic approaches to

writing an argument that can help you develop your POV on
an issue; argumentative and discursive.
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Using An Argumentative Approach

■ Depending on the essay topic you choose, you may have a clear
point of view, or perspective, on the issue right away.

■ If this is the case, you might take a more traditional approach to

writing your argument In which you would:
o Make your position clear in the beginning of the essay.
o Use a tone that indicates you have a bias towards the issue.
o Develop a fair and logical line of reasoning to support your
position.
o Show an awareness of views which are different from your
own.

Using A Discursive Approach

■ What happens, however, if you do not have a clear position
at the start of the essay?

■ You will then develop your position differently. In using a

discursive approach, you would:
o Begin your essay by considering the many points of
view that surround the issue, without showing bias
towards one.
o Carefully analyse each point of view.
o Wait until the end of the essay to offer your position on
the matter, after all information has been examined.
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Putting an essay into your own words can help you

understand the task and therefore make decisions about
how you will approach the essay.

Read the following question:

Assess the benefits of video conferencing against

more traditional ways of conducting business.

Student A
It looks like I need to compare the benefits of one form of communication over the other in
order to decide which one is better.

Hmm .. I like the idea of video conferencing because it is so convenient these days but
meeting face-to-face the traditional way is really important, too.

I can think of several, reasonable situation that support both modes of communications,
so it’s hard to say …

If I’m going to give a strong answer to this question, I’ll need to sort through the evidence
for both sides before I make a decision on this.

It’s settled … I’ll need to evenly investigate this topic before I pass judgement.
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Student B
It looks like I need to compare the benefits of one form of communication over the other in order
to decide which one is better.

Well, I definitely think traditional methods for conducting business, like meeting in person, are
better than meeting online.

So if I’m going to give a strong answer to this question, I think I’ll share my perspective on
traditional ways of conducting business because I have a lot to say about it – I just need to make
sure I acknowledge those who might disagree with me.

I can do that. I have a few thoughts on why video conferencing can be better, or at least why
people think it is.

I’m going to take a position on this topic.

And so …

■ Notice that Student B knows his/her position on the topic

right away, whereas Student A is not so sure.

■ These two writers will need to organize their ideas in

different ways as a result of how they feel going in to the
issue.
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Activity
■ For each of the essay questions below, first put the task in your own words.
■ Then think about what you know about the topic and how you feel about it.
■ Decide which approach (argumentative or discursive) you would use.

a) ‘Minority languages will have value in the modern world.’ Discuss.

b) ‘The textbook still has value in the 21st-century society.’ What is your view?
c) To what extent are social media sites and/or blogs only for entertainment
and nothing else?
d) Evaluate whether gaming should be considered a sport.
e) Assess the idea that an uncensored press is dangerous.

Key Elements of An Essay

■ In the past, you may have learned how to write essays that
explain a process or an idea through the development of details
and examples, often refereed to as expository essays.

■ You will be writing arguments as opposed to explanations.

■ Unlike responses to reading, your essays will take up several

pages, ranging from 500 to 700 words in length, so it is
important to learn different ways to structure your ideas.
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Elements
■ So for either argumentative or discursive essay, each argument
should include:
a) an introduction that presents your main idea(thesis)
b) several body paragraphs developing arguments related to the main
idea (thesis) and using appropriate evidence.
c) a reasoned conclusion which should make a personal judgement on
the arguments rather than just summarizing.

■ The tone of an essay should match your purpose for writing it. If
you are writing to convince, for example, it would not be
appropriate to use an objective tone.

Elements
■ The shape of your essay will also depend on your intentions.
For example, if you are writing about the problems
associated with grammar and modern text messaging and
how this could be resolved, the body of your essay might
consist of a list of problems, each followed by a possible
solution.
In today’s society, to what extent does the use of
accurate grammar still matter?

■ This would effectively convey this information.

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THE INTRODUCTION

The Introduction
■ No matter how you approach your essay, the basic
components of your introductions will remain largely the same.
The following may be a useful reference for you.
Key features of an introduction
An introduction may, in any combination:
• Introduce the topic by using key words from the essay question
• Briefly consider possible meanings of the question before settling on
your definition of terms
• Determine the scope of your essay
• Explain why the issue matters or why it is worth reading about now
(context)
• Present the main idea of the essay (thesis)
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The Introduction
■ When writing essays in this course, you will be expected to use
logic to reason through the topic or issue.

■ As you have learnt, one way to do this is by taking a clear

position and defending your arguments.

■ If you are not sure of how you feel about the issue, however,
you can choose a more discursive approach by weighing
multiple arguments surrounding the issue before arriving at
judgement.

The Introduction
■ For example, depending on how you feel about the topic, you might:
o Argue in favour of the topic
o Warn about its dangers or crtiticise its problems
o Explore fairly the benefits and risks associated with it
o Invite the audience to consider the issue with you via unbiased
discussion
■ No matter which approach you choose, you could start either essay
in a similar way, by briefly introducing the topic and establishing its
importance to the reader.
■ However, once you do this, you will need to make more significant
changes to your thesis, which is what sets the tone of your essay.
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Activity
■ Read the introductory paragraphs below, each of which begins
a response to the essay question below:
In today’s society, to what extent does the use of
accurate grammar still matter?

■ With a partner, consider the following:

1. In what ways are the introductions similar?
2. How are the unique?
3. How would you describe the tone of each?
4. What seems to be the writer’s intention for each? How do you
know?

Introductory Paragraph 1
In a modern world, where digital tools like email, texting and social
media platforms are always present, it might seem as though the rigid
structures of formal grammar are no longer important in our day-to-
day communication. The high-speed nature of text messaging often
leaves out punctuations like apostrophes and commas, and the
brevity of Twitter forces us to be creative with this system which uses
few words. Despite these short cuts which we consider digitally
acceptable, accurate grammar is still a necessary part of our modern
world. Whether spoken or written, good grammar is directly
associated with professional credibility and trust, so being accurate
still matters when communicating today.
Should students incorporate 2.5 hours of gaming
into their daily schedule
 11 / 115

Introductory Paragraph 2
Today’s technology helps businesses communicate through
digital tools like email, texting and social media platforms.
Social media is essential for marketing and team
collaboration tools like Asana are crucial for encouraging
productivity and meeting deadlines. While content can be
more important than form when using these applications, co-
workers and consumers alike expect the use of accurate
grammar in the business setting as well. Therefore,
depending on your audience and purpose, accurate grammar
may be necessary when communicating in today’s business
world, though not always.

Introducing the Topic

■ Introducing the topic is the easiest step in writing an
introduction because you can use the key words from the
essay question to help you start.
■ Do not feel that you are being lazy or unimaginative by using
these words – they can be helpful by reminding you to focus
on the task.
■ For example, the essay question that we have been
considering is:
In today’s society, to what extent does the use of accurate
grammar still matter?
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Introducing The Topic

■ So you might find it helpful to use some variation of the
following keywords in your introductions:
• accuracy
• grammar
• still matters/ doesn’t matter
• today’s society

Defining Terms and Setting Limits

■ As you introduce the topic for your reader in the introduction,
you should define key words from the question and indicate
what limits you will place upon them.
■ For example, the concept of accurate grammar might need a
clearer definition.
■ How might you define some of the other words in the
question, such as what is meant by today’s society? Does
today’s society refer to your immediate environment /
geographic location, or does it invite a broader interpretation?
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Defining Terms and Setting Limits

■ It is important that you define any key words in your
introduction to stop your reader from making assumptions of
their own. This can avoid the potential for confusion.
■ The next step is to set limits to your essay.
■ If you were in an exam situation, you would be allowed only
1 hour 15 minutes to write your essay. If you were
responding to a question asking you about the extent to
which modern communication brings us together, you would
hardly be able to address every form of modern
communication we use today.

Defining Terms and Setting Limits

■ Even if you did, it would not be possible to do so much in depth.
■ Instead, you would need to narrow the range of coverage to
address a few selected sub-categories within ‘modern
communication’.
■ Taking time to make decisions like this may help you to find just
the balance you need to address the topic in a lively and
engaging way, within a limit.
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Assess the benefits of video conferencing against

more traditional ways of conducting business.

Modern communication can encompass a range of mediums,

from emails to text messaging, and even social media posts. This
essay will address video conferencing exclusively, and the extent
of its ability to bring us together.

Giving A Sense of ‘Why This Topic Matters’.

■ In other writing, you may have been instructed to provide a
‘hook’ in the introduction to your essay, to grab the reader’s
attention and encourage them to read on.
■ There are several common ‘attention-grabbing strategies’. For
example, you could try starting with:
❖ A well-known quotation
❖ Some persuasive data
❖ A familiar reference
❖ A hypothetical scenario
■ When used well, these strategies can be effective in engaging
your audience.
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Giving A Sense of ‘Why This Topic Matters’.

■ In this section, you will explore a different strategy for grabbing
the interest of your audience.
■ If your audience members are going to invest the time in reading
your essay, they want to be assured that there is something
worthwhile to gain from it.
■ By establishing a case for why a topic/issue is important, you will
give your readers a reason to continue reading.
■ Otherwise, they might not bother reading your essay because of
your failure to present the point of reading it.
■ We will now look at 2 ways of explaining why your essay topic is
valuable, which is also part of developing context.
■ This is meant to be a brief part of your introduction.

1. Past-to-Present Development
■ Ask yourself: when did the issue first start and how has it
changed since?
■ How can you illustrate its recent development or the
momentum it has gained?
■ You should explain to your audience the growing need to
understand the issue.
■ Why now? If you can show how the issue is relevant to
them, your readers will be more likely to listen to what you
have to say.
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1. Past-to-Present Development
■ When using past-to-present development as your hook, it is
important to establish the time frame, but take care in doing
this.
■ Students commonly use opening statements such as ‘since
the dawn of man’ or ‘since primitive times’ to show how
something came to be, but going back this far is
unnecessary.
■ Instead, think about when the topic became relevant in
contemporary society.

Activity
Which of the following past-to-present opening lines is more
effective and why?

Technology has existed since the Neolithic Era when metal

tools became widespread, and its progress over time has
led to major advances in the way we communicate.

Once companies like IBM and Apple coined the term

‘smartphones’ in the early 1990s, it was clear that
communication would never be the same again.
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2. Local-to-Global Significance
■ Another way to keep the attention of your audience is to
emphasise the global significance of your topic.
■ If you can show how this issue matters to everyone,
everywhere, members of your audience are more likely
to want to know more about it.
■ This strategy also allows you to consider your topic from
different viewpoints, where possible, rather than just from
your own local perspective.

Key Features – Thesis Statement

■ The thesis statement is a one-sentence summary that
expresses the main idea of your essay.
■ You can always amend this statement later if the direction of
your essay shifts, but having a draft of it at this stage helps
immediately to structure your essay.
■ A thesis statement makes your intentions clear to the
audience and sets the tone for how you plan to treat the issue.
■ It also gives your essay a clear focus. Everything you write in
your essay will relate back to this claim and its intentions.
■ This makes it the most essential component of any
introductions.
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Guidelines for Drafting A Thesis Statement

A thesis statement:

■ Uses the same terms as the essay question

■ Serves as the guide for all reasons and evidence to follow in

your essay
■ Is a one-sentence summary of your essay’s content

■ May change as your essay takes shape (i.e. you can change
the wording of your thesis statement later or make it more
specific when you revisit in the conclusion).

Thesis Statement
■ When drafting your thesis statement, the main rule to remember
is that you should avoid a long list of reasons.
■ Read the following example and think about why this approach is
problematic.
In today’s society, the use of accurate grammar is still
necessary because it builds credibility, upholds academic
values, ensures clear communication, maintains traditional
systems and makes the world a better place.

■ Having too many ideas listed in a row makes this thesis sound
awkward, too long or even disjointed.
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Thesis Statement
■ In fact, it may prove more useful to have a broader thesis to start
with, then tighten your thesis by the conclusion, once all evidence
has been considered.

■ Read the example thesis statements below, which do not list

specific reasons but clearly communicate the main idea of the
essay.

Thesis Statement
Q: In today’s society, to what extent does the use of accurate
grammar still matter?

Argumentative thesis
While some people claim that accurate grammar is no longer
necessary in a digitally driven era, it still serves a very important
purpose in the professional world.

Discursive thesis
Accurate grammar still matters in modern communication,
though not always.
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE TOPIC: LISTENING

Tutorial: 2 CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
AND SPEAKING
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Listening and Speaking

SIMON SINEK
Simon is described as an unshakable optimist. He believes
in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Many have
seen Simon as ‘a visionary thinker with a rare intellectual.’

Simon has also devoted his professional life to help advance

a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the
vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired,
feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work
that they do.

Simon’s best-selling books include Find Your Why, Start

with Why, Leaders East Last, Together is Better, and The
Infinite Game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtpOYxsZj7o

The MOST Self-Destructive Habit | Simon Sinek

PRACTICE 1
1. Watch the interview again and complete the sentences with these words or phrases.

bad at intimidated healthy come up short live your life good at deadliest thing
success learning to love better at strengths realized exaggerate insecurities

Comparison is the 1(a) _____________________ we can do to ourselves as because we will always 1(b) _______________________.
All it does is 1(c) _________________________________ all of our 1(d) __________________________________. It is okay to enjoy
other people’s 1(e) _______________________but you let them live their lives and you 1(f) __________________________________.
Because I 1(g) ________________________ that he’s really 1(h) ____________________ what I’m 1(i) _________________. So by
getting to know him and really 1(j) _________________________ him, I’m realizing I’m getting 1(k) ___________________________
those things. And I’m taking more pride in the things that I’m good at rather thinking that I have to be good at everything he is good at.
It’s 1(l) ____________________ to grow our own 1(m) ___________________ and rather than be 1(n) _________________________
by the strengths of others.

PRACTICE 2

2. Have you ever compared yourself with others?

3. Why do you keep comparing yourself with others? Give THREE reasons and elaborate.

•
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE TOPIC: LISTENING

Tutorial: 2 CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
AND SPEAKING
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

4. Is it healthy to compare yourself with others? State TWO pros and cons of comparing. Elaborate.

Pros Cons

• •

• •

5. What happens to Simon after stop comparing himself with another author?

6. ‘It is a human nature to do comparison, especially comparing ourselves with others.’ Do you agree?
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE TOPIC: LISTENING

Tutorial: 2 CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
AND SPEAKING
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Listening

Part I (Track 26)

For Question 1, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

1. ________________________ in her previous job helped prepare Ms. Tan for her career in public relations.

For Questions 2, 3 and 4, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN FIVE WORDS.

A typical day for a PR Manager

START OF THE DAY

Scan Newspapers

Departmental Meetings

2.

Clear emails

3.

4.

END OF DAY
Go over schedule

For Questions 5 and 6, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

What are the important skills required in the field of PR?

● Time management

● 5. ___________________________

● Communication skills

● 6. ___________________________

For Questions 7 and 8, circle the correct answer.

7. A PR manager must have the following characteristics except

A. A friendly nature
B. An eagerness to learn
C. An approachable nature
D. A willingness to work long hours

8. According to the interviewee, to be a successful PR manager one requires

I a keen interest
II a supportive boss
III paper qualifications

A. I and II only
B. I and III only
C. II and III only
D. I, II and III
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE TOPIC: LISTENING

Tutorial: 2 CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
AND SPEAKING
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Speaking

● Part of your coursework will be an impromptu speech.

● In this assignment, you will be given one topic.
● You will have 3 minutes to prepare for the topic and 3 minutes to present it.
● In your speech presentation, you should include:
➢ 1 introduction
➢ 3 main points including examples
➢ 1 conclusion

Sample Outline:
Topic Three Things You Couldn’t Live Without
Introduction:
a. Greet everyone and introduce yourself.
b. Restate topic.
c. If possible get our attention: rhetorical question, quick story, analogy.
d. TRANSITION TO BODY A (first most important thing).
● (Example: "Now, let's look at my first most important thing, my cell phone.")

Body:
a. First most important thing: explain it, define it, answer why it’s so important.
● TRANSITION to the second most important thing. (Example: "My iPhone sure is important, but it's nothing
compared to my PlayStation.)
b. Second most important thing: explain it, define it, answer why it’s so important.
● TRANSITION to the third most important thing. (Example: "Let's move on and look at my third most
important thing, my laptop!)
c. Third most important thing: explain it, define it, answer why it’s so important.
● TRANSITION to conclusion. (Example: "In conclusion . . . )

Conclusion
a. Restate topic.
b. Give your answer.
c. Make reference to attention-grabber.
d. Thank the audience.

Practice:

Individually, practice writing your main points for the following impromptu topics:

1. Four skills that are important to you in your work/ studies.

2. The most self-destructive habit.

3. Creativity is important in the workplace.

4. Strengths vs weaknesses.

5. If I could only eat three food forever.

6. What you would find in my closet.

7. Three reasons to pursue further studies.

8. If I had a million ringgit to give away.

9. Why books are important.

10. Three surprising facts about me.

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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 3 Topic: Writing Body Paragraphs

WRITING BODY
PARAGRAPHS
FPEN1033 English Language

Quick Recap of Tutorial 1

Essays

Argumentative Discursive

approaching an essay with more of an

writing to convince your audience, your tone investigate (discursive) purpose in mind, your
might be persuasive, determined and biased tone will shift to appear more objective,
unbiased and analytical
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Thesis Statement
■ Read the example thesis statements below, which do not list specific reasons but
clearly communicate the main idea of the essay.
Q: In today’s society, to what extent does the use of accurate
grammar still matter?
Argumentative thesis

While some people claim that accurate grammar is no longer

necessary in a digitally driven era, it still serves a very important
purpose in the professional world.
Discursive thesis

Accurate grammar still matters in modern communication, though

not always.

Thesis Statement
■ Writing your thesis statement first can make it easier to develop the rest
of the introduction around it.
■ In other words, now that you know what your main point is, you might be
in a better position to explain the context or define terms.
■ The thesis statement is a feature that is specific to the introduction.
■ However, the other features of the introduction are not a sequence of
individual steps, as with the thesis. Nor are they a checklist to follow un
any particular order.
■ Instead, these elements often merge or overlap with each other.
■ For example, you could introduce your topic to the audience and explain
why it matters at the same time.
I and you
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The Body – Supporting Your Thesis

■ The body of an essay contains information that supports an essay’s

thesis, or main claim.
■ Specifically, it will add two new important elements to your essay:

 REASONS TO SUPPORT THE THESIS

 EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE REASONS

The Body
■ Evidence is especially important because an audience expects
proof if they are going to believe someone else’s ideas and/or
opinions.
■ Meanwhile, ‘empty claims’ (statements for which there is no
evidence) generally do not make a good impression on an
audience.
■ In any argument, evidence can present itself in a number of ways:
through exemplification, as data, or in the form of a case study, a
testimonial or informed opinions from credible stakeholders.
■ Remember that you will be expected to provide evidence to support
your points in both the writing and reading comprehension tasks for
this paper.
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The Body

■ Depending on your approach, body paragraphs will serve

different purposes. Read the sample paragraphs that follow.

1. Compare the tone and shape in each example.

2. Discuss how each example achieves its aim of taking a position
or investigating objectively.

In today’s society, to what extent does the use of accurate

grammar still matter?

Body Paragraph 1 : Argumentative

Although it is still possible to communicate despite errors, political
leaders especially can harm their own credibility by ignoring accuracy in
grammar. When former United States President George W. Bush asked of
the education system: ‘Is our children learning?’, the audience certainly
knew what he meant, but this slip damaged his position of authority in
the matter; it challenged his credibility as a chief decision-maker for
education. Meanwhile, national leaders who use words deliberately can
have a lasting impact on their audience. In fact, political activists like
Nelson Mandela and orators like Winston Churchill successfully
influenced civil movements and wars, respectively, just by using stylized
grammar to improve their rhetoric. Clearly, we might be free to relax our
grammar as we wish, but our specific attention to it can make a long-
lasting difference on the sociopolitical landscape.
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Body Paragraph 2 : Discursive

Depending on the medium, accurate grammar may or may not matter when
communicating online. If, for example, a student needed to email a professor regarding
a homework task, the letter would likely be formal, including a proper greeting, complete
sentences and a closing, followed by the writer’s full name. If the same individual were
writing to a professor via Twitter, however, the circumstances would immediately
change; tweets aim to use as few words as possible to convey a message, and they
often contain creative abbreviations and spellings. The email might read:
Dear Professor Marks,
For the weekend homework, do we need to hand in the original article used
when writing our summary? Thank you, in advance, for responding.
Sincerely, John Doe, Period 6, English

Alternatively, a tweet might read:

@prof_marks, 4 wknd hmwk, do we need 2 include article? Thx! #pd6eng
Both are accepted by the professor as appropriate. Since situations like these are
common in the digital era, it appears that accurate grammar still matters, but it is
largely dependent upon context.

The Body
You may have noticed the following points in each of the paragraphs:

■ The argumentative paragraph uses concrete examples to support the claim

being made, However, since the aim is to convince the reader, the writer
uses contrasting examples and changes tone to favour one example over
the other.

■ In the discursive example, both points of view are mentioned just as they
are in the argumentative paragraph. However, the writer does not place
emphasis on one side over the other. Instead, the discursive approach uses
a more unbiased tone, considering each side equally without yet making a
judgement.
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The Body
■ The following list can be a useful reference:

Key Features of a Body Paragraph

A good body paragraph:
• Stays focused on the thesis, without digressing
• Makes reasons clear
• Offers evidence to support reasons
• Uses transitions to show relationship among ideas within a
paragraph
• Uses transitions to connect ideas from one paragraph to the next

Key Strategies for Body Paragraphs

■ Maintaining focus

■ Using topic sentences and transitions

■ Linking evidence to claims

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Maintaining Focus
■ Using key words from the essay question is a useful strategy for
getting started and establishing the focus of your essay.
■ Using these terms consistently throughout the body of your
essay can help you keep ideas connected.
■ The use of key words can be helpful:
– When introducing a new reason to support the thesis
– After the evidence is presented, to connect it back to your thesis

BUT AVOID OVERUSING THESE TERMS – SO A FRESH EXPRESSION OF IDEAS IS

NECESSARY --- the next activity

Activity
■ Look at the two different drafts of responses to the essay
question.
How far do you agree with the notion that wordless music is
meaningless?

■ Discuss whether Student A or Student B uses the words from

the question most effectively to maintain focus.
 31 / 115

Student A
■ Wordless music is very valuable in many circumstances. A popular
place where wordless music exists is in movies. Wordless music
completes a movie. Without a soundtrack, a movie would not be as
intriguing, but it needs to be wordless so you can hear the
characters. The first known use of wordless music in a movie
surfaced in Paris when the Lumiere family played their piano at
screenings of their won films at the Grand Café in Boulevard de
Capucines in 1895. Within a few months, several London theatres
embraced wordless music and incorporated orchestras to add
quality to their film. Today, musical directors across the globe are
winning awards for their wordless music in movies, thus
demonstrating its value and meaning just like music with words.

Student B
■ Music without words is very valuable in many circumstances. A
popular place where wordless music exists is in movies.
Background tunes complete a movie; without a soundtrack, a movie
would not be as intriguing. The first known use of music in this way
surfaced in Paris when the Lumiere family played their piano at
screenings of their own films at the Grand Café in Boulevard de
Capucines in 1895. Within a few months, several London theatres
embraced the same approach and incorporated orchestras to add
quality to their show. Today, musical directors from across the globe
are winning awards for instrumental pieces in movies, thus
demonstrating both value and meaning in music without lyrics.
 32 / 115

Using Topic Sentences and Transitions

■ Topic sentences have an important purpose – to guide the reader
through the main points of the essay.
■ In your topic sentences you should:
a) Clearly state your reasons
b) Use transitions to show how your ideas relate
■ Each time you introduce a new reason to support your thesis, the
topic sentence should be used to make this clear to the reader.
■ Without a signal, the audience may lose their way and miss the
connection to your next point.

Topic Sentences
■ Topic sentences should also use transitions to connect your
thoughts.

■ These transitions can be used to indicate:

a) Comparison/contrast
b) Cause/effect
c) Conclusion
 33 / 115

Linking Evidence to Claim

■ No matter which style of essay you are writing, the body
paragraph should always contain a combination of reasons
and evidence.
■ Evidence is only relevant, however, if it has a clear
connection to the main claims, or thesis.
■ The best way to make the connection for the reader is by
talking them through it.
■ This is called ‘output’.

Output
■ ‘Output’ can improve your response because it helps you to
justify that your ideas are relevant.
■ Keep in mind that you should not just put a phrase like ‘…and
this is why X is relevant to Y’ at the end of the paragraph.
■ This is not usually enough to make the connection clear.
■ Your commentary needs to be point-specific in order to be
meaningful.
■ Here are some questions to keep in mind that will help you to
link evidence to your point.
 34 / 115

Output
■ Why is this information important?
■ What does this evidence/example imply?
■ What are the consequences of thinking this way or looking at
a topic this way?
■ You have just said that something happens – so how or why
does it happen? How does it become the way it is?
■ How is this idea related to the reason you gave in support of
your theses?
■ Does it truly support your thesis? If so, how does it do that
despite what others might think?

Words/Phrases for Linking Evidence to

Reasons/Thesis/Points
Confirms Affirms Indicates
attests to in congruent to relates
connects correlates associates
shows is evidence of signifies
demonstrates corroborates testifies
pertains to applies aligns
allies with equates to/with clarifies
exhibits is evidenced in
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 4 Topic: Writing Conclusions

THE CONCLUSION
FPEN1033 English Language

Quick Recap of Tutorial 3

Maintaining focus

Using topic sentences and

transitions

Linking evidence to claims

 37 / 115

The Conclusion
■ Despite the common assumption, the conclusion of your essay is
much more than a re-statement of your points.
■ Instead, it is an evaluation of the evidence you have presented.
■ The insights you offer demonstrate your ability to think critically.
■ The conclusion is usually one paragraph in shorter essays like
the ones you will write in this course FPEN1033; however, if
complex solutions are presented, it can extend to more than one
paragraph.
■ The following list may be a useful reference for you.

Key Features of a Good Conclusion

A good conclusion:
■ Signals the end of the essay
■ Restates your thesis
■ Draws conclusions about the issues based on the evidence you
presented
■ Offers fresh new ideas, insights or alternate ways of thinking as a result
of the input you shared

A strong conclusion may also:

■ Consider implications and consequences of accepting or denying your
position
■ Offer solutions and/or make value-based judgements when appropriate
 38 / 115

Improve Your Vocabulary

■ While it is acceptable to use transitions like ‘in conclusion’ or ‘to
summarise’, there are other more subtle ways to signal closure in
the final paragraph of your essay.
■ Try experimenting with the following alternatives:

• Clearly… • It appears that…

• Evidently… • The evidence seem to suggest…
• Apparently… • After considering…
• Therefore… • A closer look reveals…

The Conclusion
■ The conclusion you draw offer your perspective after careful
analysis of the issue, so your personal view should be
evident/clear.
■ However, be careful not to let personal biases dominate.
■ If your insights are not a reflection of the evidence, they may
not be relevant.
■ No matter how you feel emotionally about the issue by essay’s
end, take care to provide a logical response to the information
you shared.
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■ Review the list of evidence below in response to the

following essay prompt:
How far do you agree with the idea that wordless
music is meaningless?

How far do you agree with the idea that wordless

music is meaningless?
1. Ludwig Van Beethoven’s music has affected the lives of many people
for over 200 years; pieces like Fur Elise, the ‘Moonlight’ Piano
Sonata and the Fifth Symphony are all in the top 100 masterpieces
of classical music today, yet they contain no words.
2. Background music in movies is essential for building intense or
dramatic scenes, hinting at character or other instances of
foreshadowing and developing emotion in the audience; the Golden
Globe Awards offers a category for ‘best instrumental’.
3. Country music is known for its clever storytelling; without words,
songs such as Pasty Cline’s ‘I Fall to Pieces’ would not be as
effective in demonstrating her feelings of sadness.
 40 / 115

How far do you agree with the idea that wordless

music is meaningless?

4. Rhythmic beats of tribal Africa are often used in religious

ceremonies.
5. Rap music is known for its frank and open style of storytelling; songs
often reveal a hard and painful life that not everyone experiences.
6. According to the Center for New Discoveries on Learning in
California, listening to wordless music with 60 beats per minute can
increase learning potential; activities that activate both the left and
right sides of the brain, such as playing an instrument, can make the
brain more capable of processing information.

Read the two sample conclusions, which address the

question:

In today’s society, to what extent does the

use of accurate grammar still matter?

Discuss the similarities and differences between them.

 41 / 115

Conclusion 1 : Argumentative
Clearly, there is a link between good grammar skills and
professionalism. Good grammar skills play a role in how we build
relationships and how we present ourselves to others, particularly
in the business world. Although it may be true that our attitude
toward grammar is changing because of technological progress, a
professional approach to the way we speak is still expected. And
while it is true that speech can depend on context, there is no
denying that the words we use communicate our level of respect
for our audience. Therefore, good grammar is certainly good for
business.

In today’s society, to what extent does the use of accurate grammar still matter?

Conclusion 2 : Discursive
Clearly, the ways we communicate with one another will continue
to evolve in the digital era, and the traditional rules of grammar
are bending with each turn we take. Accurate grammar can be a
powerful tool in formal contexts, such as on the political stage or
in the professional world, and it establishes our credibility to an
audience that is sometimes skeptical. However, in a world where
texting and abbreviation are the norm, our language is not
necessarily wrong if grammatically inaccurate. It therefore
appears that to keep up with the present, where we are willing to
sacrifice form for content, grammatical accuracy should not
matter as much today as it traditionally has in the past.
In today’s society, to what extent does the use of accurate grammar still matter?
 42 / 115

■ Introduce topic ■ Signal ending

■ Provide context ■ Freshly restate thesis
■ Define scope/ interpret key terms ■ Offer new insights based on
evidence presented
■ Thesis
■ Look to the future and
consider consequences
■ Provide closure
■ Use key words from the question
■ Provide reasons and explanation
■ Provide evidence to support reasons
■ Use transitions to link ideas
■ Connect evidence back to reason
 43 / 115
TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 5 Topic: Argumentative Essay Practice

Key Points to Remember About Argumentative Essays:

● An argument takes a clear position on an issue and uses a logical line of reasoning to effectively
communicate it. It has a more forceful tone for this reason, making it different from other approaches of
writing.
● Argumentative writing is distinguishable from persuasive writing because it considers the opposition fairly
through counter argument strategies.
● The thesis statement of an argument is often referred to as the ‘main claim’.
● An argument should contain a main claim, reasons to support this claim and evidence which supports your
reasons. Stronger arguments effectively link evidence back to claims.
● A variety of appeals should be used to convince your audience rather than relying on just one.
● Analysing the elements of someone’s arguments, or tracking those of your own, can help you identify
weaknesses in reasoning.
● It is important to build the trust of your audience in order to strengthen your own credibility. You can do this
by employing a variety of strategies. Including fair considerations of the opposition.

Group Exercise:

In groups of 4-5, do an outline of the following question using the argumentative essay approach. You may refer to
your lecturer once you have completed this exercise.

‘Wealth makes health’. To what extent do you agree?

You may write your points below:

● Main Idea 1

● Main Idea 2

● Main Idea 3

● Main Idea 4
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 6a Topic: Parts of Speech

Every sentence you write or speak in English includes words that fall into some of the parts of
speech. These include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions,
articles/determiners, and interjections. You will gain a basic understanding of sentence
structure and the English language by familiarising yourself with these labels.
 45 / 115

Complete the table below with suitable parts of speech.

NOUN VERB ADJECTIVE ADVERB

Eg: action act active actively
beauty beautiful
care careful
definition definitely
education educationally
hope
ignore ignorantly
decide
significant significantly
strength strong
succeed
decoration decorate
increase increasingly
energy
sadness sadly

Sentence Construction
A sentence is a set of words that contain:
1. a subject (what the sentence is about, the topic of the sentence), and
2. a predicate (what is said about the subject)

The simplest sentence consists only of a noun and a verb. For example, in the sentence “Peter
jumps”. Peter is the naming noun and jumps is the action verb.
Most sentences have a subject noun and an object noun. For example, in the sentence “Peter jumps
into the river”.
➢ Peter is the subject noun (a person or thing performing the action of jumping)
➢ The river is the object noun (a person or thing towards which the action is directed).
A good sentence is a complete sentence. A complete sentence requires a subject and a verb and
expresses a complete thought. A sentence begins with a capital letter, has a subject and verb, and
ends with a punctuation mark.
For example, define the word ‘cat’.
According to Oxford dictionary, cat is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal with soft fur, a short
snout, and retractable claws. It is widely kept as a pet or for catching mice.

Next, which of the following sentences best explains the word ‘cat’?

A. I have a beautiful cat at home. (Is cat a furniture? An accessory? A vehicle?)

B. I usually feed the neighbour's cat while she's away. (Is cat an animal? A child? How does
it/he look like?)
C. Our black cat likes to sharpen her claws on the legs of the dining table. (What clues can you
get from this sentence that cat is an animal?)
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Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.

The respondent's email (null) was recorded on submission of this form.

* Required

1.

2.

3.

Read the passage below and answer questions 2(i) -

2(ix)
47 / 115
 48 / 115

4. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. creativity.

B. unique mind

C. human capacity

5. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. he proposed a revolution in educating young people and determining factors of

success.

B. he advocated that graduates are mere followers of the thoughts of others.

C. he tarnished the image of academicians by wearing a cap front to back.

6. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. they are unable to generate new ideas.

B. they merely learn what they already know.

C. they do not have the courage to put forward their own ideas.
 49 / 115

7. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. Snyder thinks creative people dare to take risks.

B. Synder thinks creative people are up to no good.

C. Synder thinks people are creative to cause trouble for others.

8. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. is hidden in the unconscious mind.

B. is developed through everything we see and read.

C. can be aroused through a particular gene in the subconscious mind.

9. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. we have learned all about them.

B. we have seen them many times.

C. we have real-life experiences about them.

10. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. Autistic savants are seen as those with limited intelligence.

B. Autistic savants also have remarkable skills despite their limited abilities.

C. Autistic savants are able to develop mental skills through training and obsessive
practice.
 50 / 115

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Forms
 51 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 7 Topic: Contextual Clues

Using the Helpful Grid

Read the passage below about the Declaration of Independence. Pay special attention to the
bolded words. Complete the grid at the bottom of the page.

The U.S. Declaration of Independence

On a sweltering summer’s day, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
They were about to sign the most important document of the time: the Declaration of Independence.

It had taken several weeks for a committee of five members to draft the declaration. The committee
included some of the most noteworthy names in American history, such as John Adams, Benjamin
Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.

After the document was completed, the members of the Congress debated the issues in the document.
They made revisions and changed some of the wording. Finally on July 4, 1776, the final version was
adopted.

Word Part of Speech What do you think it means? What were your clues?
sweltering

document

committee

draft

noteworthy

issues

revisions

adopted
 52 / 115

“Words in Context” measures your understanding of the meaning and use of words and phrases in
the context of passages in Reading component.
In order to answer these questions, you will need to use context clues to determine a word’s
meaning, figure out what a particular word or phrase is doing (i.e. analyse its effect or impact), or
make choices about which word or phrase to use in a particular writing situation.

To better understand the meaning of the word context, let’s look at the meaning of its parts:
“con-” and “text.”
Con- This prefix means “with” or “together”
Text You might know that “text” means “reading material,” but did you know that the Latin root of this
word, texere, means “to weave?”
When you put them together, con and text make a pretty important and powerful word that could be
defined like this:
Context = the surrounding circumstances, ideas and words woven together to form the setting or
background for an event, statement, or idea.
Context—the words or ideas expressed before and after— provides us with the information we need
to fully understand, evaluate or interpret the ideas in the passage.

Example: “You misinterpreted my words because you took them out of context. I did say that I was
hesitant to bake cookies for the fundraiser, but it’s not because I don’t want to participate, as you
claim. I also told you I ran out of butter, and the last time I made cookies, nobody bought them.”

Here are a few examples to show you how words can change depending on their context:

Example: “restrain”

Depending on context, restrain can mean several things:

• To hold back physically: “His classmates had to restrain him from eating the last cupcake.”

• To control emotions: “I wasn’t able to restrain my excitement upon winning the tournament –

I threw my ping-pong paddle into the crowd and hit my poor brother on the forehead, knocking

him out.”

• To limit: “The embargoes and tariffs were designed to restrain trade.”

Example: “discriminate”

Discriminate is often used in a negative way, but it also can be positive:

• To judge, or make an unfair distinction about people based on their race, age or

gender: “Widespread racial discrimination led to the disenfranchisement of thousands.”

 53 / 115

• To tell apart: “Death doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints.”

• To note subtle differences: “The dolphin’s electroreception enables it to better discriminate

between shrimp and crayfish on the muddy river bottom.”

Some questions also require you to figure out the precise meaning of a given word or phrase based

on how it’s used in a particular passage. Generally, these words or phrases have more than one

dictionary definition, so the extended context will help you decide which of the choices makes the

most sense.

Example: “intense”

Maybe you associate “intense” with emotion or attitude, as in “He’s an intense person,” or perhaps

with determination, as in “She worked intensely for six hours to ace the quiz.” However, neither of

these quite matches how “intense” is used in the following excerpt from a longer passage:

[. . .] The coming decades will likely see more intense clustering of jobs, innovation, and productivity

in a smaller number of bigger cities and cityregions. Some regions could end up bloated beyond the

capacity of their infrastructure, while others struggle, their promise stymied by inadequate human or

other resources.

Question: As it is used in the passage, the word “intense” most nearly means...
(A) forceful
(B) concentrated
(C) energetic
(D) passionate

In this case, “intense” is more about degree: the clustering of jobs, innovation, and productivity in the

coming decades is likely to be denser—or more concentrated— in fewer large cities and city-regions,

according to the author. While prior knowledge of what “intense” often means could be useful here,

you also have to interpret the context to determine exactly how the word is being used in this case.

Now, let’s see if you can understand the meaning of ‘stable’ in this context!

Hey, did you hear about the dude who was hospitalized with
5 toy horses inside his stomach?

The doctor described his condition as “stable”

 54 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 8 Topic: Listening and Speaking

Speaking
Idioms about Family

1. Blood is thicker than water

Relationships with family members are stronger and more important than relationships with
people outside of the family.

Do you agree that blood is thicker than water? Do you have any examples to support your
opinion?

2. To follow in someone’s footsteps

Someone tries to achieve the same things that (usually) a/another family member has already
done.
Have you tried to accomplish the same things as your parents? Are you following in their
footsteps? Why or why not?

3. Black sheep
The black sheep of a family is someone who brings shame or embarrassment to their family by
being different or doing something wrong.
Is there a black sheep in your family? Who is it? What makes this person the black sheep? Are
any of your friends the black sheep of the family? Explain.

4. To run in the family

If something runs in the family, it means that many members of the family have that quality, skill,
interest, problem, disease, etc.
What runs in your family? Explain.

5. Born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth

Someone was born into a wealthy and privileged family.

Do you think life is easier if you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth?

1
 55 / 115

Speaking Practice

Individually, write down your points for one of the following impromptu speech topics and
then present your speech when you are asked to do so.

2
 56 / 115

Listening

Part I (Track 31)

For Question 1, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

1. Lunch Actually’s target clients are _____________________.

For Questions 2, 3 and 4, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN FIVE WORDS.

The Process
Sign Up

Attend pre-screening consultation

2.

Meet date over lunch

3. 4.

For Questions 5 and 6, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

5. Most women look for ________________________ and a sense of humour in their dates.

6. Men tend to go for ________________________.

For Questions 7 and 8, circle the correct answer.

7. Staff of Lunch Actually will visit clients in their premises to

A. gauge their financial standing
B. investigate their work premises
C. make notes about their background
D. make notes about what the clients like

8. Which of the following statements is true?

A. A lunch date can stretch till after lunch time.
B. The blind dates are limited to lunch time only.
C. The clients must take turns to pay for the meal.
D. The maximum number of dates per year is thirteen.

3
 57 / 115
TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 9 Topic: Discursive Essay Practice

Key Points to Remember About Discursive Essays:

● A discursive approach to thinking and writing is an unbiased attempt to understand the various
perspectives surrounding an issue before arriving at a conclusion about them.
● Evaluating evidence, which is a part of the critical thought process, can occur in the body of an essay, not
just at the end.
● Since you will not know exactly how you will feel about an issue until the end of your essay, a discursive
thesis statement should be broad, stating your general intention to explore both sides without listing
specific reasons.
● To avoid sounding contradictory or indecisive, use transitions carefully and meaningfully to move from one
perspective to the next.
● There is no set formula for a discursive essay, just remember to sustain each point and use an unbiased
tone.
● Though you are an objective observer for most of the essay, be sure to conclude your discussion by firmly
evaluating the issue in the end.

Group Exercise:

In groups of 4-5, do an outline of the following question using the discursive essay approach. You may refer to your
lecturer once you have completed this exercise.

Should everyone go to college?

You may write your points below:

● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
● ●
●
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 10 Topic: Writing Practice

In groups, write a complete essay (argumentative or discursive) based on the question given
below. Your essay should be between 700 - 800 words. You may write your draft on this page
and submit a typed essay to your lecturer.

Is homework harmful or helpful?

 59 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 11 Topic: Listening and Speaking

Source:https://www.ted.com/talks/joachim_de_posada_don_t_eat_the_marshmallow?langu
age=en

A. PRACTICE 1
JOACHIM DE POSADA
Joachim de Posada is a highly 1. What did the last girl in the video do?
qualified international 2. What does Joachim de Posada think this tells us about her?
motivational coach and author 3. Where are they teaching children the principle of ‘learning
from Puerto Rico. He specializes to wait’?
in sales, management, 4. According to Joachim de Posada, where should they be
leadership and team building. teaching this principle and why?
His books include How Survive B. PRACTICE 2
Among the Piranhas and Don’t
Eat the Marshmallow … Yet. Complete these two paragraphs with one word or number in each
space.
THINK ABOUT IT 5. The marshmallow test was the idea of a ______________
professor at Stanford University. He placed children aged
1. Do you feel that the amount ____________ alone in a room with a marshmallow. He told
of time, 15 minutes, was a those children that he would give them ______________
good choice? Predict what marshmallow when he returned, if they did not eat the
you think might have marshmallow. He then left them for ____________ minutes.
happened with more time or ___________ out of ____________ children ate the
less time left alone with the marshmallow.
marshmallow.
6. According to Joachim de Posada, the most important
2. Do you think you would have principle for success is ___________________. _______________
been able to last 15 minutes years later, __________ per cent of the kids that had not
in the room without eating eaten the marshmallow were successful.
the marshmallow at the age
of 4 years old? 7. The kids who ate the marshmallow, on the other hand, were
in ____________________; they had bad ________________.
3. Will the study show the same Hence, Joachim de Posada wanted to know if Hispanic kids
outcome with Malaysian would react in the same way. So he repeated the
kids? Why? experiment in Colombia.
1
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 11 Topic: Listening and Speaking

C. PRACTICE 3
8. Key words

Read these sentences and match the words with their definitions.

(a) Everyone needs a lot of self-discipline to  follow a career in

learn something by yourself.
 rules and basic ideas that one
(b) According to Forbes magazine, the three
principles of success are be passionate, love follows
to fail and remove excuses.
 the ability to control yourself and
(c) Don’t give up – you will feel a great sense of
gratification. apply yourself to your work
(d) Danny should not go into banking, for
 left before the end of the course
example, or work as a cashier.
(e) Some of the kids dropped out.  pleasure and satisfaction

D. PRACTICE 4
Listening (Track 17)

For Questions 9 and 10, complete the sentences using the letters A - F from the box below.

A. helps sharpen memory

B. helps improve IQ
C. helps one read quickly
D. helps the mind be active
E. helps develop parts of the brain
F. helps keep the mind alert

Learning to play a musical instrument makes a child more intelligent because it

9. ________________________________

10. _______________________________

2
 61 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 11 Topic: Listening and Speaking

For Questions 11, 12, 13 and 14, circle the correct answer.

11. Why is discipline important when a child is learning to play an instrument?

A. Because the child is learning to speak another language
B. Because the child has to sit next to his parent and learn to play
C. Because learning to play an instrument requires a lot of practice
D. Because learning to play an instrument requires a lot of encouragement

12. Learning to play a musical instrument can teach a child all the following except
A. life is full of hardship and frustration
B. hard work will be rewarded in the end
C. it is important to persevere and never give up
D. accomplishing a difficult task gives one great satisfaction

13. From the talk, we can conclude that music education could provide the following except
A. financial benefits
B. intellectual growth
C. psychological benefits
D. communicative improvements

14. The speaker is very

A. aggressive
B. indifferent
C. persuasive
D. entertaining

3
 62 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 12 Topic: Listening and Speaking

A. PRACTICE: STANDARD OF LIVING VS QUALITY OF LIFE

Individually, write down your points for one of the following impromptu speech topics and then present your
speech when you are asked to do so.

1. Your happiness comes from…

2. Fast food that you eat
3. Money you earn from a part-time job
4. Hours you spend on reading
5. Stress you have in your work
6. Vehicles you own
7. Time you spend with friends
8. Sleep you get each night
9. Bags/ pairs of shoes you have

Write down your points here:

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

●
 63 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 13 Topic: Listening and Speaking

One of the Greatest

Speeches Ever by
Oprah Winfrey
(Law of Attraction)

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=272yj-bmQiA

PRACTICE 1
_____________________________________________________________________________________

What are the THREE things mentioned by Oprah Winfrey in her speech?

1.

2.

3.

PRACTICE 2
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Watch the speech again and complete Oprah Winfrey’s ideas 1-8.

1. I don’t want to be just ________________, make a mark or have a legacy in the world. I want to fulfil the

highest, the _____________________________ of myself as a human being.

2. You must have some kind of _______________ for your life even you don’t have a plan. You must have

___________________________ in which you choose to go. You want to be in

_________________________________________________because if you are not,

_________________________________________________.

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3. We live in the world where everybody wants to be __________________. We ______________ people

for just being famous. We think being known brings us value but the truth is all of that

_____________________________________. Martin Luther King said “not everybody can be famous

but everybody can be great because ________________________________________________.

4. Look at all the successful people in the world, they have ________________________________ -

service through medicine, _________________________________, using whatever it is. You produce

your product as a way of giving back to the world. When you shift the paradigm of whatever it is, you

choose to do, to service and you bring _________________________ to that.

5. Let _____________________________________. What I recognise now is that my choice in every way,

in every example and every experience to __________________________________ and the excellent

thing is what has created the brand. When you are excellent, you become unforgettable. People

remember you as you ________________________. You become an unforgettable woman and that is

what we all want, we want to ____________________________________________________.

6. ______________________________________________ even when nobody knows you’re doing the

right thing. You just have to do the right thing and the right thing will follow you even when people don’t

support it

7. Everyone has the potential for ______________________________ but there is a price that comes with

that. People don’t always like you and they’re not always happy for you. If you surround yourself with

people who are not _______________________________________, they become fearful and scared

because you are reflecting back something to them that they don’t recognise.

8. People who want the best for you, _____________________________________________. So

surround yourself with the right people. The biggest choices begin and end with you. Your internal big

questions – who do I want to be in the world?

PRACTICE 3
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Work in pairs and discuss the questions.

Does listening/ watching to motivational speeches help? Elaborate.

Why are there so many motivational books, videos or podcast?

Do motivational/ inspirational speeches/ quotes work? Explain with examples.

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PRACTICE 4
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Listening

Part II (Track 12)

For Questions 9, 10, 11 and 12, circle the correct answer.

9. A person who is ‘born a leader’ is a

A. true leader
B. natural leader
C. capable leader
D. necessary leader

10. The main idea of this talk is that

A. there are many kinds of leaders in the world
B. everybody has the potential to become a good leader
C. there are ways to identify a person with leadership potential
D. different leaders have different characteristics, qualities and traits.

11. A person who has held a position of leadership in the past shows that
A. he is not afraid of anything
B. he is very good at making decisions
C. he enjoys having power and position
D. he is willing to be held accountable for his actions

12. Mental toughness is a quality potential leaders must have for the following reasons except
A. they will face a lot of criticism from others
B. they cannot allow anyone to discourage them
C. they must pay for everything when they are a leader
D. they will not always have close friends among their colleagues

For Questions 13 and 14, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

13. Respect from your colleagues is also known as ________________________________________.

14. According to the speaker,

● subordinates may like a leader but may not _______________________________ .

● if subordinates respect a leader, they will follow him.

Part III (Track 3)

For Questions 15 - 20, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN FIVE WORDS.

15. The caller felt _______________________________ about the plight of single mothers.

16. The caller felt good because he thinks there still ___________________________________.

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(Track 4)

17. Employees who are ______________________________ become negative, uncooperative, sceptical,

less creative and less productive.

18. Leaders need to adopt personal and praising attitudes in order to _____________________________.

(Track 5)

19. White bread has been made a controlled item because it is ________________________________.

20. The bakeries’ dilemma with regards to white bread production is due to the ______________________.

4
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CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 14 Topic: Listening and Speaking

PRACTICE: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

Individually, write down your points for one of the following impromptu speech topics and then present your
speech when you are asked to do so.

1. Three personal challenges in life

2. The greatest problem faced in my country
3. My goals
4. Three ways to learn a foreign language
5. Fail to get something I really wanted
6. My definition of ‘Freedom’
7. The best place that I have ever visited
8. My hero
9. A baby-sitting experience
10. I spend money on experiences, not things
11. The biggest problem to study/work in another country
12. Solo travelling

Write down your points here:

Introduction
●
●

Body
●
●
●

Conclusion
●
●
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FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 15 Topic: Listening and Speaking

How to succeed?

Get more sleep

Source: https://www.ted.com/talks/arianna_huffington_how_to_succeed_get_more_sleep?language=en

PRACTICE 1
_____________________________________________________________________________________

She is Ariana Huffington. Tell us more about her.

PRACTICE 2
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Watch the TED talk again and complete the sentences.

1. Adriana Huffington says she learned the value of sleep ‘the (a) ________________’. Two and a half
years ago, she (b) _______________ from (c) ______________ and hit the head on her desk.
2. According to Adriana, a life with more sleep is a ‘more (a) _______________, (b) __________________,
and (c) __________________’.
3. She finds that the sleep (a) _______________________ is going to be led by (b) _______________.
She thinks the problem is that men boast about (c) ___________________ deprivation.

PRACTICE 3
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Key words: The words in bold are used in the TED Talk. Match the words (sentences 4-7) with their definitions
(a-d)
4. If you are deprived of sleep, you may find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things.
5. Most of us are hyperconnected these days and some can’t even survive without their mobile phone.
6. The guy braded that he had only gotten 4 hours sleep the night before.
7. A great manager will focus on the big picture and stop drowning in details.

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(a) Said proudly

(b) Being without something that you need or want
(c) The overall view
(d) Being connected with others through many different digital media

PRACTICE 4
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Discuss the following questions with your classmates

8. What might someone living on the streets be deprived of?

9. Why might somebody faint?

10. Are the any shops near where you live open 24/7?

11. How often do you go to these shops?

12. What technologies allow us to be hyperconnected these days? How?

13. Can a good night’s sleep help us? How?

14. How many hours of sleep do you normally get? Why?

2
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PRACTICE 5
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Listening

Part III (Track 3)

For Questions 15 and 16, circle the correct answer.

15. Why are the stolen slippers considered very valuable?

A. The gemstones can be removed and sold.
B. The stones are cloudy, decorative-level gems.
C. The slippers were once worn by a 19th century Indian prince.
D. The slippers are decorated with diamonds, emeralds and gold.

16. The main idea of this news item is

A. Many factors contribute to one’s aging well.
B. Research findings will help older people age better.
C. Having good friends and being happy will help you age well.
D. Being rich and having a luxurious lifestyle will enhance aging.

(Track 4)
For Questions 17 and 18, write your answer in NOT MORE THAN THREE WORDS.

The crucial factors that lead to positive ageing are

17. ____________________________________

● lifestyle

18. ____________________________________

● humour

● positive outlook

(Track 5)
For Questions 19 and 20, circle the correct answer.

19. The real reason why the woman did not tell her husband of the lottery win was because she was afraid
A. her husband would be jobless
B. her children would ask for more treats
C. her husband would demand more holidays
D. her husband would go back to his bad habits

20. We can conclude that Jane is all of the following except

A. stingy
B. thrifty
C. sensible
D. responsible
3
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CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 16 Topic: Listening and Speaking

Mock Test: Impromptu Speech

TIME ALLOWED: 3 MINUTES TO PREPARE & 3 MINUTES TO PRESENT

Instructions to students:
● You have to turn on your webcam and unmute yourself for this mock test (from
preparation to presentation).
● You have 3 minutes to brainstorm your ideas (no usage of Google search engine,
mobile phone, books and dictionary), outline the speech, and deliver the speech for 3
minutes.
● If you wish to draw another topic, a penalty of 10 marks deduction from the overall score
obtained will be imposed.

Write down your points here:

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

●
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CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 17 Topic: Listening and Speaking

Mock Test: Impromptu Speech

TIME ALLOWED: 3 MINUTES TO PREPARE & 3 MINUTES TO PRESENT

Instructions to students:
● You have to turn on your webcam and unmute yourself for this mock test (from
preparation to presentation).
● You have 3 minutes to brainstorm your ideas (no usage of Google search engine,
mobile phone, books and dictionary), outline the speech, and deliver the speech for 3
minutes.
● If you wish to draw another topic, a penalty of 10 marks deduction from the overall score
obtained will be imposed.

Write down your points here:

Introduction

Body

Conclusion

●
 73 / 115
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FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 18 Topic: Writing

There are three basic things you need to structure the writing task:

1. Introduce the graph

2. Give an overview

3. Give the detail

To analyse this, look at a line graph. Look at the following question and the graph.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The line graph below shows changes in the amount and type of fast food consumed by
American youngsters from 1995 to 2020.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

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1) Introduce the Graph

● You need to begin with one or two sentences that state what the writing task shows. To do this,
paraphrase the title of the graph, making sure you put in a time frame if there is one.
● Here is an example for the above line graph:

The line graph illustrates the amount of fast food consumed by teenagers in America between
1995 and 2020, a period of 25 years.

● You can see this says the same thing as the title, but in a different way.

2) Give an Overview

● You also need to state what the main trend or trends in the graph are. Don’t give detail such as
data here – you are just looking for something that describes what is happening overall.
● One thing that stands out in this graph is that one type of fast food fell over the period, whilst the
other two increased, so this would be a good overview.
● Here is an example:

Overall, the consumption of fried chicken declined over the period, whereas the amount of
noodles and cheeseburgers that were eaten increased.

● This covers the main changes that took place over the whole period.
● You may sometimes see this overview as a conclusion. It does not matter if you put it in the
conclusion or the introduction when you do a writing task, but you should provide an overview in
one of these places.

3) Give the Detail

● You can now give more specific detail in the body paragraphs.
● When you give the detail in your body paragraphs in your writing task, you must make reference
to the data.
● The key to organizing your body paragraphs for the writing task is to group data together where
there are patterns.
● To do this you need to identify any similarities and differences.
● Look at the graph – what things are similar and what things are different?
● As we have already identified in the overview, the consumption of fried chicken declined over the
period, whereas the amount of noodles and cheeseburgers that were eaten increased.
● So it is clear that noodles and cheeseburgers were following a similar pattern, but fried chicken
was different. On this basis, you can use these as your ‘groups’, and focus one paragraph on
fried chicken and the other one on noodles and cheeseburgers.
● Here is an example of the first paragraph:

In 1995, the most popular fast food with American youngsters was fried chicken, being eaten 100
times a year. This was far higher than noodles and cheeseburgers, which were consumed
approximately 5 times a year. However, apart from a brief rise again from 2000 to 2005, the
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consumption of fried chicken gradually declined over the 25 year timescale to finish at just under
40 times per year.

● As you can see, the focus is on fried chicken. This does not mean you should not mention the
other two foods, as you should still make comparisons of the data as the question asks.
● The second body then focuses on the other foods:

In sharp contrast to this, youngsters ate the other two fast foods at much higher levels. Noodles
consumption increased gradually until it overtook the consumption of fried chicken in 2010. It
then leveled off from 2015 to 2020. The biggest rise was seen in cheeseburgers, increasing
sharply throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, exceeding fried chicken consumption in 2005. It
finished at the same level that fried chicken began, with consumption at 100 times a year.

Full Answer:

The line graph illustrates the amount of fast food consumed by youngsters in America between 1995 and
2020, a period of 25 years. Overall, the consumption of fried chicken declined over the period, whereas
the amount of noodles and cheeseburgers that were eaten increased.

In 1995, the most popular fast food with American youngsters was fried chicken, being eaten 100 times a
year. This was far higher than noodles and cheeseburgers, which were consumed approximately 5 times
a year. However, apart from a brief rise again from 2000 to 2005, the consumption of fried chicken
gradually declined over the 25 year timescale to finish at just under 40 times per year.

In sharp contrast to this, youngsters ate the other two fast foods at much higher levels. Noodles
consumption increased gradually until it overtook the consumption of fried chicken in 2010. It then
leveled off from 2015 to 2020. The biggest rise was seen in cheeseburgers, increasing sharply
throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, exceeding fried chicken consumption in 2005. It finished at the same
level that fried chicken began, with consumption at 100 times a year.

(192 words)
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Example 2

You should spend about 4 portions of Pupils Attending Four Secondary School Types Between
Between 2000 and 2009

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

Secondary School Attendance

2000 2005 2009

Specialist Schools 12% 11% 10%

Grammar Schools 24% 19% 12%

Voluntary-controlled Schools 52% 38% 20%

Community Schools 12% 32% 58%

Model Answer

The table illustrates the percentage of school children attending four different types of secondary school
from 2000 to 2009. It is evident that the specialist, grammar and voluntary-controlled schools
experienced declines in numbers of pupils, whereas the community schools became the most important
providers of secondary school education during the same period.

To begin, the proportion in voluntary-controlled schools fell from just over half to only 20% or one fifth
from 2000 to 2009. Similarly, the relative number of children in grammar schools -- just under one quarter
-- dropped by half in the same period. As for the specialist schools, the relatively small percentage of
pupils attending this type of school (12%) also fell, although not significantly.

However, while the other three types of school declined in importance, the opposite was true in the case
of community schools. In fact, while only a small minority of 12% were educated in these schools in
2000, this figure increased to well over half of all pupils during the following nine years.

(168 words)
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Connective Words

Addition ● however
● on the other hand
● in addition ● despite
● similarly ● in spite of
● likewise ● though
● as well as ● although
● besides ● but
● furthermore ● on the contrary
● also ● otherwise
● moreover ● yet instead of
● not only … but even ● rather
● besides ● whereas
● nonetheless
● even though
● compared with
● in contrast
Sequence
Other Helpful Phrases
● first(ly) initially
● second(ly) etc.to begin with ● Rise (to)

● next ● Increase (to)

● after this/that ● Grow (to)

● following this/that ● Climb (to)

● Boom
Consequence ● Peak (at)
● Fall
● as a result ● Decline
● thus ● Remain stable (at)
● so ● Stay constant (at)
● therefore ● Dramatic/dramatically
● consequently ● Sharp/sharply
● it follows that ● Huge/hugely
● thereby ● Enormous/enormously
● eventually ● Steep/steeply
● then in that case ● Substantial/substantially
● admittedly ● Considerable/considerably

Contrast
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FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 19 Topic: Writing - Line Graph

Verbs to describe charts in general

show(s), depict(s), illustrate(s), demonstrate(s), give(s)

Verbs and Nouns for Line Graph

If something is increasing (upward trend)

Verbs Noun

rise → (past tense) a rise

increase → (past tense) an increase

climb → (past tense) a climb

grow → (past tense) a growth

go up → (past tense)
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If something is decreasing or a situation is getting worse (downward trend)

Verbs Noun

decrease → (past tense) a decrease

drop → (past tense) a drop

fall → (past tense) a fall

decline → (past tense) a decline

plunge → (past tense) a plunge

plummet → (past tense) a plummet

Other trends

Verb Noun

fluctuate → (past tense) a fluctuation

dip → (past tense) a dip

double → (past tense) increase/decrease by double

Other Vocabulary

hit a high of hit a low of

remain steady remain stable

remain unchanged level off (stay at the same level)

peak at reach a peak of

bottom out (to reach the lowest point) plateau (stay the same)

remain constant

Appropriate 'time expressions' helps to describe the changes shown in a line graph.

four days later in the following two years over the next seven days

at the beginning of the period/ semester/ month the first year

at the end of the period/ semester/ month the last year

the first quarter of the year the last quarter of the year

from … to between …. and over the period

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Practice 1:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The line graph shows thefts per thousand vehicles in four European countries between 2000
and 2009.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

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FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 20 Topic: Writing - Bar Graph

Percentage/ Fraction

15% increase 20 percent decrease

increased by 17% dropped by 10 per cent

fall at 50% reached to 70%

triple/double/ half declined to about 45%

three-quarters stood exactly at 33%.

one-fourth 3 times higher/ 5 timers lower

over a quarter of people less than a fifth

Fraction Percentage Written Form

½ 50% a half

⅓ 33.33% a/one third

⅔ 66.66% a two-thirds

¼ 25% a/one quarter

¾ 75% three quarters

⅕ 20% a/one fifth

⅟10 10% a/one tenth (or one in tenth)

e.g. a quarter of the profit is donated to charity organisations.

What can we do if the percentages are not exact as above? Here are some examples of using qualifiers
in describing charts.

Percentage Qualifier

around 35% more than a third

around 30% less than/ nearly a third

around 77% just over three quarters

around 49% nearly a half

These words may help you to overcome repeated words in your report
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About Over Under

approximately, around above, more than, just over, below, slightly under, nearly, less
slightly over, more than, than, close to, almost, well
marginally above, well over under, just under, considerably
considerably more than less than

Practice 1:
Number of research students studying different subject in 2018

Linguistics showed little interest approximately 40 natural sciences

least preferred studied engineering were more female

programming most popular male 200

female illustrates research

● The bar chart (1) _____________ how many (2) _____________ and (3) ______________
(4) ________________ students (5) _________________six different subjects, namely (6)
_________________________________________________in 2018.
(for number 6, fill in with your own answer)

● Overall, there (7) ___________ research students than males in 2018.

● Although the (8) _____________ subject for both genders was (9)________________, with a
total of 200 students each.
● Female students (10) _______________________ linguistics while male students
(11)________________________ in mathematics.
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● (12) _________________ was the only subject that was favoured by male more than female
research students.
● A difference of about half was evident in (13) ___________and (14) ______________where 150
females chose both subjects.
● There was a similar number of (15) _______________female research students in psychology,
natural sciences and mathematics.
● Interestingly, 200 female research students selected mathematics which had (16) ____________
males.

Practice 2:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The bar chart shows the divorce rates in two European countries from 2016 to 2020

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons
where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

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FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 21 Topic: Writing - Pie Chart

Pie Charts are circular charts that are divided into sections or pie slices usually representing the
percentages. Each section of the pie chart shows the percentage of data that it represents. When we put
all the sections together it forms a circle.

The Pie charts are most commonly used in the multimedia and the business world and less commonly
used in scientific and technical publications.

To write an overview for a pie chart or two pie charts, we have two options to to describe key features:

1. find the biggest and smallest slices of each pie chart/ two biggest slices of each pie chart.
2. find which slices became bigger/smaller or didn't change

Each option is fine, but don't write both of them as we need to keep our overview short.

Let's look again at the pie charts below and identify the biggest/smallest slice:

Boy's cultural and leisure Girl's cultural and leisure

activities activities

% %
The biggest
slice
% %

The smallest
% %
slice

Overview: Boys generally prefer _______________________________ while girls mostly

_______________________________________.
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Practice 1:Complete the report.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The pie charts below show the type of cultural and leisure activities among boys and girls in
the year 2019.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

The two pie charts _____________________________________________________ in 2019.

Overall, boys generally prefer ____________________________________ while girls mostly
___________________________________________________________.

In the first pie chart, ______________ of boys play computer games than taking other activities.
Playing basketball came in second, practiced by ____________________________ of male
children. Skateboarding and listening to music were less preferable activities as
_____________________ of boys like to do skateboarding and _____________________ of
them chose listening to music. Reading was ____________________________ activity where
only __________ of them read.
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Moving to the girls’ activities, playing computer games was _____________________________
as it was among boys. The _________________________________ among girls was
___________________________________. Reading was chosen by
_______________________ of all girls. Among outdoor sports and activity,
______________________________________ were common among female children as 11%
and 15% participate in these two activities. Interestingly, the ratio of reading among girls was
considerably higher than that of boys while listening to music was enjoyed by
_________________________________of boys and girls.
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Tutorial: 22 Topic: Writing - Diagram

A diagram is also known as a process. Sometimes we are required to describe a process with a series of
pictures. Since a diagram generally shows the stages of how something is made or how something
works, we have to find a starting point and write the process as a series of steps.

Steps for writing a process:

➔ Analyze the diagram and the process thoroughly

➔ Follow through the given information
➔ Understand the key stages and concepts
➔ Interpret the task in a better and clear way
➔ organize the data well for a better understanding
➔ Structure the report in a way that it matches with the stages and concepts
➔ The speech and tense used should influence the impression of readers
➔ Use simple present and present perfect tenses. Be careful while using active and passive verbs.

Practice 1:Filling the blanks with a word or phrase from the box below.

The following diagram shows how greenhouse gases trap energy from the Sun.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.
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as a result of an increase main emissions of carbon dioxide

result in Exhaust gases is removed are felled absorbing

is trapped reaches fossil fuels is trapping serve to remove

subsequently radiated are released reflected back natural process

Energy from the Sun (1) _________________________ the Earth as heat. Some of this heat energy is

(2) _____________________ into space, while some of it (3) __________________ by greenhouse

gases in the atmosphere and (4) __________________ to Earth. This is a (5) ___________________,

but in recent decades, human activities have led to (6) ________________ in the amounts of

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which (7) __________________________ too much heat.

One of the (8) ___________________ greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, and extra quantities of this

(9) _______________________ into the atmosphere (10) ____________________________ burning

(11) ___________________________ as a source of energy in power stations, factories and homes.

(12) ______________________ from cars and lorries (13) _____________________________ further

(14) ___________________________________________.

Plants (15) ______________________________ some of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by

(16) ________________________________ it through their leaves. However, as large areas of forest

(17) ____________________________________ in the Amazon and elsewhere, less carbon dioxide

(18) __________________ in this way.

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Practice 2:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The diagrams below give information about the manufacture of frozen salmon fish pies.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons
where relevant.

Write between 150-200 words.

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Plan:
- Introduction: The manufacture of frozen salmon fish pie involves a few processes.
- Overview: Preparation of ingredients are prepared separately.
- Main ingredients of a salmon fish pie.
- Preparation of potatoes, salmon fish, peas and sauce
- Process of inspect, wrap, freeze and store/dispatch.
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FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 23 Topic: Writing - Multiple

Practice 1:

The following model answer has been divided into sentences (A-H). Put them in the correct order.

A) In terms of the source of fish transportation, Canada supplied the overwhelming majority in
1988 (60%) compared to China and other countries which provided only 13% and 27% respectively.

B) Regarding the table, the value of imports started at $6.57 billion in the first year, increasing to
$8.52 in 1992 and reaching $10.72 in the last year.

C) Overall, the value of imports rose by just under double over the period given.
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D) Likewise, imports from China went up over the period to reach 30% in 2000.

E) At the start of the period, the US imported fish predominantly from Canada but, by the final year,
other countries had become the main source.

F) Conversely, by 1992, other countries had replaced Canada as the main supplier and made up
46% of all imports in 1992 and 42% by 2000.

G) The table depicts the value of fish that was imported to the US (measured in billions of dollars)
in 1988, 1992 and 2000, while the three pie charts illustrate the amount of fish that the US brought
in from China, Canada and other countries in the same three years.

H) The imports from Canada then proceeded to fall to 28% in the final year.
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Practice 2:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The pie charts show the electricity generated in Germany and France from all sources and
renewables in the year 2009.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
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Read the TWO passages below and answer the questions that follow.

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* Required

1.
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2. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. Jules Vern’s version of an underground world

B. A city beneath the earth’s surface

C. A world faced with mushrooming population

3. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. It is cut off from the world above.

B. It is not affected by weather.

C. It has its own skyscrapers.

4. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. extraordinary city

B. complex city

C. underground city

5. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. It has rainbows throughout the year.

B. It is well lit throughout the year.

C. It is built underground.
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6. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. The high level of technology.

B. The waterfall-in-reverse.

C. The rainbow effect on the ceiling and walls.

7. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. Rainbow Town is a haven for shoppers.

B. Rainbow Town is a maze of roads and streets.

C. Man’s every material need is never adequate.

8. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. The total sales reach US$1.6 million a year.

B. The town is still going strong after 12 years.

C. There is a 100% occupancy rate.

Read the passage below and answer questions 3(i) -

3(vii)
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9. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. It is a common problem among people.

B. It is a serious problem that is hardly curable.

C. It is caused by environmental and biological factors.

10. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. Behaviour Therapy

B. Neuro-Linguistic Programming

C. Cognitive Behaviour Therapies

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11. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

1. make the tension and fear go away

2. allow them to control their fear

3. calm their body and spirit

A. 1 and 2

B. 2 and 3

C. 1 and 3

12. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. majority.

B. limited.

C. variety.

13. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. helps to reprogram the thoughts and eliminate the phobia.

B. reduces the fear and allows patients to calm down.

C. enables one to cope effectively with the stress due to fear.

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14. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. phobias are inherited.

B. phobias are learned behaviour.

C. phobia patients take some time to recover.

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 104 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Tutorial: 25 CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES TOPIC: VOCABULARY
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Advertising

beneficial misleading blatant brainwash implicit catchy jingles

exploit ubiquitous bombard watch-dog subtle informative

Modern advertising contains hidden messages. The (a) ______________ in the advertisement showing the pretty girl in the new car

or the smiling children round the packet of washing powder is the message that if we buy the product, we also achieve success and

happiness. It is a (b)______________ approach since it seeks to (c) ________________our secret dreams, and it is inescapable since

advertising is (d)___________________. Giant street hoardings and (e)______________________ on television (f) _______________

us from all sides. They (g)________________ us into believing that we can realize our ambitions quickly and easily. On the other hand,

defenders of advertising say that it is (h) ______________. Advertising is (i)______________. Advertising tells us about useful new

products. They brighten our lives with colour and music. They increase demand, stimulate industry and so keep prices down. Whether

for or against advertising, most people would agree that some kind of (j)____________body, appointed by the government or by the

advertising industry itself, is necessary to maintain standards of honesty and to discourage the more (k)_________________ types of

(l)____________ advertisements.

Attitudes to Work and Leisure

constructively rewarding challenge conditioned aimless initiative creativity

9 to 5 regimentation scope aspire fulfillment

Most adults (a) ____________ to more leisure but in fact, not many people have the necessary (b)_____________ to use the free

time they already have very (c)_________________. The sad fact is that we need work because it imposes the discipline we need. Life

seems (d)_____________ and we secretly look forward to our work again. We dream about personal (e)___________________ but

probably find it more in our work than our leisure time. This depends on age. The young are free from work and responsibility, and freedom

comes naturally to them. However, after they begin jobs they become (f) _______________________ to work. They find they need it

however much they complain about its routine and (g) _____________. Obviously, this again depends on the kind of work. Those with

(h)____________ jobs, or jobs which require (i) _____________ receive genuine satisfaction from their work, but most of us are in

conventional (j) ___________ jobs which offer little (k) ___________ for imagination. We leave our work early only to face a leisure that

we find difficult to cope with. Our mistake is regarding leisure as a chance to do nothing, whereas in fact it should be looked as a

(l)________________.

1
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Tutorial: 26 Topic: Writing - Table

Practice 1:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The table below shows the percentages of mobile phone owners using various mobile
phone features.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

The table gives (1) ________________________________________________________________.

Overall, making phone calls (2) ___________________________________________________, while
(3) ________________________ and (4) _____________________________ became much more
popular once (5) ______________________________.

In (6) ___________ and (7) __________, , all phone owners used their phones to make calls, although
this figure (8) ___________________________ in 2010. The (9) ________ most popular feature was
(10) _________, which had a small increase over the period, (11) ____________________ of users in
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2006 (12) ______________ in 2010. Additionally, taking photos also(13) _______________________,
with a (14) ______________ increase from 66 to 76 percent over (15) ___________________________.

Playing games and playing music both (16) ______________________________ where17 percent of
people were playing games on their phones in (17) ___________ and (18) __________ just over 40
percent in 2008. Playing music however, grew from (19) __________________________________ to
(20) __________________________.

Finally, searching the Internet went from being unavailable in (21) ___________ to (22)
______________ of phone owners using this feature in 2010. While recording video also became a new
feature at the same time, only (23) __________________________________ of people used this feature
by 2010.
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Practice 2:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The table illustrates the proportion of monthly household income of five Asian countries spend on food
and drink, housing, clothing and entertainment.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make
comparisons where relevant.

Write between 150 - 200 words.

Food and Drink Housing Clothing Entertainment

(%) (%) (%) (%)

Thailand 25 31 7 13

Singapore 22 33 15 19

Indonesia 27 37 11 11

Malaysia 36 20 12 10

Vietnam 31 18 8 15
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6/24/22, 5:37 PM Reading Comprehension (Tutorial 27)

Read the TWO passages below and answer the questions that follow.

The respondent's email (null) was recorded on submission of this form.

* Required

1.

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6/24/22, 5:37 PM Reading Comprehension (Tutorial 27)

2. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. every bit of information is valuable.

B. all information is important.

C. each information is great.

3. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. Shakespeare’s past is too much of a mystery for a great man like him.

B. too little is known about Shakespeare to recognise his contributions.

C. the information we have about Shakespeare does not match his popularity.

4. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. one who became a genius by learning the art of seeing and listening.

B. intelligent because he kept his eyes and ears open all the time.

C. not only intelligent but also alert and observant.

5. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. It made people question the authenticity of all the other playwrights.

B. It proved that Shakespeare did not write all the plays and sonnets.

C. It initiated an ongoing debate on Shakespeare’s authenticity.

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6/24/22, 5:37 PM Reading Comprehension (Tutorial 27)

6. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. The upper class would have felt insulted if the public knew it was Edward de
Vere who wrote the plays.

B. The public would not have watched the plays if they knew the playwright was
Edward de Vere.

C. Edward de Vere was from the class of the aristocrats.

Read the passage below and answer questions 3(i)

- 3(vii)

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 111 / 115
6/24/22, 5:37 PM Reading Comprehension (Tutorial 27)

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6/24/22, 5:37 PM Reading Comprehension (Tutorial 27)

7. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. why eating disorders affect mainly teenage girls.

B. why families are responsible for causing eating disorders.

C. why teenage girls want to lose weight.

8. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. the loss of the body’s store of fat leads to hypothermia.

B. in order to keep warm, the anorexic’s body grows fine, downy hair.

C. upon recovery, she will suffer from osteoporosis and a weakened heart.

9. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. taking laxatives and diuretics

B. eating and vomiting

C. eating and maintaining the weight

10. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. mental and emotional

B. physical and intellectual

C. mental and physical

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6/24/22, 5:37 PM Reading Comprehension (Tutorial 27)

11. 2 points

Mark only one oval.

A. As bulimic life is less life threatening, patients do not die from complications.

B. Before suffering from anorexia, a person is happy and confident.

C. It is easier to recognise an anorexic than a bulimic.

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 114 / 115

TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Tutorial: 28 CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES TOPIC: VOCABULARY
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Women’s Rights

male chauvinist the weaker sex feminist exploitation unisex second class citizens
militant sexist discrimination sex-objects male-dominated battle of the sexes

A (a) ____________________ is a person, usually a woman, who believes that women should be regarded as equal to men. She or

he deplores (b)_____________________________ against women in the home, place of work or anywhere, and her principal enemy is

the (c) _________________, who believes that men are naturally superior. Tired of being referred to as (d) _________________, women

are becoming more and more (e) ___________________ and are winning the age-old (f) ________________. They are sick to death of

(g) _____________ jokes which poke fun at women. They are no longer content to be regarded as (h)_____________ in terms of

economic, political and social status. They criticize beauty contests and the use of glamorous female models in advertisements, which

they describe as the (i) _____________ of female beauty, since women in these situations are represented as mere

(j)______________________. We no longer live in the (k) _______________________ societies of the past. Let us hope, however, that

the revolution stops before we have a boring world in which sex doesn’t make much difference. We already have (l)_______________

hairdressers and fashions. What next?

Modern Values

status image welfare state mercenary affluence acquisitive

motivated spiritual priorities materialistic idealism status-symbols

People nowadays have more money, and some say this new (a) ______________ has made people more (b) _________________,

which means they place too much importance on money, comfort and luxury goods, and more (c) ______________________ which

means they want to buy, own, possess more and more. We are not only money-oriented but also over-concerned with social and

professional (d) _____________________. We care too much about our (e)_________________________, how other people see us.

We like to own (f) _____________ like unnecessarily fast cars, the latest hi-fi equipment, fashionable clothes. Another factor is that many

of us now live in a (g) __________________, in which all our basic needs are provided by the government. In fact, care for those in need

is now so highly organized that there is less scope for personal (h) _________________. What can a mere individual do to change the

world? But is the picture so black? Are we really reduced to being (i) ____________________________ creatures, (j) _______________

only by money? Perhaps it is time we examined our (k)______________ and decided what is really important in life. Perhaps we should

try to find self-fulfilment by exploring our capabilities and finding satisfaction in the (l)______________ aspects of life: an appreciation of

art and nature, service to others, the improvement of our minds.

1
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TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Tutorial: 30 CENTRE FOR PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDIES TOPIC: VOCABULARY
FPEN1033 ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The Purpose of State Punishment

wrongdoer deterrent law-abiding misdeeds reform death penalty

crime doesn’t pay barbaric humane retribution rehabilitate corporal punishment

What is the purpose of punishment? One purpose is obviously to (a)______________ the offender, to correct the offender’s moral

attitudes and anti-social behaviour and to (b)__________________ him or her, which means to assist the offender to return to normal life

as a useful member of the community. Punishment can also be seen as a (c)_____________________, because it warns other people

of what will happen if they are tempted to break the law and so prevents them from doing so. However a third purpose of punishment lies,

perhaps, in society’s desire for (d)______________________ which basically means revenge. In other words, don’t we all feel that a

(e)__________________ should suffer for his (f)___________________? The form of punishment should also be considered. On the

one hand, some believe that we should make the punishment fit the crime. Those who steal from others should be deprived of their own

property to ensure that the criminals are left in no doubt that (g)_____________________. For those who attack others,

(h)___________________ should be used. Murderers should be subject to the principle ‘an eye for an eye’ and automatically receive the

(l)__________________. On the other hand, it is said that such views are unreasonable, cruel and (j)_____________ and that we should

show a more (k)_____________________ attitude to punishment and try to understand why a person commits a crime and how society

has failed to enable him to live in a respectable (l)_____________________ life.

How Much Freedom Should Children Have?

possessive upbringing permissive rebelliousness suppress formative

juvenile delinquency run wild inhibited authoritarian adolescence

It is often said that we live in a (a)_______________________ age, one in which people are allowed to do almost anything they like. Is

this good for children? They are going through their (b)______________________, which is a very (c)_________________________

stage of their development since their final adult characters are beginning to take shape. Some parents think it is good for children to be

allowed to (d)____________________ without control or supervision. They say that this enables children’s personalities to develop

naturally and that they will learn to be responsible by the mistakes they make. However, this might lead to

(e)_________________________ with the children ending up in the courts, or it might make children self-centred, without any

consideration for others. Other parents believe in being strict, but taken to extremes this can produce a too (f)___________________

atmosphere in the home, with the children being dominated and ruled by their parents. Parents can also be very (g)__________________

and try to keep their children dependent on them. These last two attitudes can encourage (h)____________________ (against parents,

school, authority) in a child, or conversely, (i) ____________________________ a child’s natural sense of adventure and curiosity. A

strict (j) ________________ by over-caring parents can make a child so timid and (k)______________________ that he or she is unable

to express freely his or her emotions and form mature relationships. To bring up children to be normal, well-adjusted human beings

requires great wisdom, and perhaps a bit of luck.