The Functional Requirement Of Cladding System Essay

The Functional Requirement Of Cladding System Essay Strength and Stability A wall structure should have adequate strength to support its own weight between points of support or fixing to the structural frame, and sufficient stability against lateral wind pressures. To allow for differential movements, there has to be adequate support to carry the weight of the wall structure, and also restraint fixings that will maintain the wall in position and at the same time allow differential movements without damage to either the fixings or the wall material. Thin sheet wall materials such as GRP, metal and glass suffer rapid changes in temperature and consequent expansion and contraction which may cause distortion and damage to fixings or the thin panel material or both. In the design of wall structure faced with thin panel or sheet material, the ideal arrangement is to provide only one rigid support fining to each panel or sheet with one other flexible support fixing and two flexible restraint fixings. The need to provide support and restraint fixings with adequate flexibility to allow for thermal movement and at the same time adequately restrain the facing in place and maintain a weather tight joint has been the principal difficulty in the use of thin panel and sheet facings. Resistance to weather/exclusion of wind and rain The least thickness of solid wall material necessary to prevent penetration of rainwater to the inner face depends on the degree of exposure to driving rain. Common practice is to construct a cavity wall adequate thermal resistance to the passage of heat, and an attractive finish. Common practice is to construct solid cladding systems with an outer leaf of light weight block for insulation. Material used to seal joints is required to be resilient enough to accommodate movement and resist weather deterioration. The rain screen principle is designed to provide a separate outer skin, to screen wall panels from scouring by wind and rain and deterioration by sunlight, and to improve the life and efficient of the joint seals. Durability and freedom from maintenance The durability of a wall structure is a measure of the frequency and extent of the work necessary to maintain minimum functional requirements and acceptable appearance. For example, masonry required a little maintenance because the dirt stained due to slow run-off of water from open horizontal joints. Panels of glass will maintain their finish over the expected life of buildings but will require frequent cleaning of the surface if they are to maintain their initial appearance, and periodic attention to and renewal of the seals. Another material that can be used is metal. bronze and stainless steel, both materials, will weather by the formation of a thin film of oxide that is impermeable and prevents further oxidation. Fire safety/fire Resistance Primary precautions are the internal spread of fire across the surface materials of the wall and ceilings, external fire spread over the fabric and fire spread such as cavities. The Building Regulations prohibit the use of materials that encourage spread of flame across their surface when subject to intense radiant heat and those which give off heat when burning. Limits of using thermoplastic materials in roof lights and lighting diffusers set in Building Regulation. To limit the spread of fire between buildings, limits to the size of unprotected areas of walls. The term unprotected area is used to include those parts of external walls that may contribute to the spread of the fire between buildings such as windows. The Regulations also limit the use of materials of roof coverings near a boundary that will not provide adequate protection against the spread of fire over their surfaces. Resistance to the passage of heat/thermal property Addition insulation need to be provided by lining of the cladding material. The interiors of building clad with large areas of glass may gain through large part or the whole of their internal heat from a combination of solar heat gain through glass cladding and from internal artificial lighting. Solar heat gain can be controlled through the use of simple shading devices fixed externally or internally to the building fabric. Control of internal temperatures As we know, solar is gain through glass panel. The thermal control can be achieved by deep recessed window used in conjunction with external vertical fins, non-transparent external louvers and used of special solar control glass. Another way is minimized the air leakage in the building. We need to maintain the temperature in the building like the concept of green house effect that can traps the heat in the building in the cool day. Resistance to the passage of sound/sound insulation There are several ways to overcome this problem. Firstly, used the resilient pad to prevent sound originating within the structure to be transferred vertically through cladding members. Airbone soung can be prevented by utilizing double glazing panel to window area. B) A client requires a road that requires little maintenance with reasonable non-skid properties. With the aid of diagramme, suggest a type of road and the construction methodology for the proposed used. A client requires a road that requires little maintenance with reasonable non-skid properties. With the aid of diagramme, suggest a type of road and the construction methodology for the proposed used. Type of Road: Flexible Road Sub-grade: original soil or backfilling soil Sub base: small aggregates. The surface of the compacted sub-base should be close textured to prevent migration of sand from the bedding course. Example: sand or quarry dust. Road base: crusher run Surfacing : pre-mix bituminous. Prime coat as binder of particles. Construction Methodology Site Clearing Right of way The corridor of the road has to be cleared to the required width (prevention of soil erosion) Make sure that the accessibility of the road is permitted legally. Clearing and grubbing of the site Using dozer or grader for the works. The hedges and grass roots can be removed by using dozer. Grader is usually for grubbing works where the topsoil needs not to remove form site Cut and fill of the road Cutting: Formation level is lower than original ground level. Filling: Formation level is higher than original level. Preparation of sub grade layer Make sure that the base and subgrade layers must provide adequate and moisture resistant strength and modulus, in addition to durability and stability. Before subgrade can start, make sure the installation of services has finished such as ground surface drainage, piping for water supply and electrical. Subgrade is started and compacted until reaching uniform density for the whole width and to falls. Replaced the unsuitable material such as rock or not useful soil. Subgrade, and base materials frequently require treatment with additives such as asphalt, cement, fly ash, and lime.   Should have unsoaked C.B.R (California bearing ratio) of 15% in the subgrade. CBR is a penetration test for evaluation of the mechanical strength  of  road  subgrades Preparation of sub base 300mm thick of sand/quarry dust. Compacted with 8-10 tonne smooth wheeled roller at 125mm layer 12 times. Rolling start from one side of the road to the center of road in horizontal direction by using roller-compactor. Road base construction Constructed into two layers with same thickness with each layer not more than 150mm thick. Materials (crusher run) leveled following chambers. Lastly, using compactor to compact the mixing tar of the road. Surfacing Construction the graded subgrade or the top granular base layer may be prepared with a prime coat A prime coat is a sprayed application of a cutback (MC-30 or MC-70) or emulsion asphalt applied to the surface of untreated subgrade or base layers.   The size of the premix: 12.5mm to 19mm Compaction should be done quickly Underseal which is a sprayed application of asphalt binder (emulsion or hot applied asphalt binder) immediately covered by a layer of one-sized aggregate. The last step is Road surface marking by using white paints. C) Describe the performance and specify of the material that can be used to fill the void of disused structures e.g. culverts, redundant sewers, cellars and basements and also for soil stabilization, e.g. bridge abutments tunnel stabilization and embarkments. Describe the performance and specify of the material that can be used to fill the void of disused structures e.g. culverts, redundant sewers, cellars and basements and also for soil stabilization, e.g. bridge abutments tunnel stabilization and embarkments. Materials used: Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Developed in Sweden in the late 1920s, autoclaved cellular concrete (ACC) is a lightweight precast concrete building material that is cured under elevated pressure inside special kilns called autoclaves. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (often shortened to AAC) is effectively concrete with lots of closed air pockets in it. It is lightweight and energy efficient, and is produced by adding a foaming agent to concrete in a mould, then wire cutting blocks or panels from the resulting cake, and cooking it with steam (autoclaving). Performance Appearance It contains many small voids (similar to those in aerated chocolate bars) that can be clearly seen when looked at closely. The closed air pockets contribute to the materials insulating properties and also its aerated nature. Although there is no direct path for water to pass through the material, an appropriate coating is required to prevent water penetrating into the AAC material. AAC can be sculpted with wood working tools, but its softness means that it is rarely used as an exposed finish owing to its need for surface protection. Structural Capability The compressive strength of AAC is very good and load-bearing structures up to three storeys high can be safely erected. Entire building structures can be made in AAC from walls to floors and roofing with reinforced lintels, blocks and floor, wall and roofing panels available from the manufacturers. AAC panels and lintels contain integral steel reinforcement to ensure structural adequacy during installation and design life. Thermal mass With its mixture of lightweight concrete and air pockets, AAC has a moderate overall level of thermal mass performance. The temperature moderating thermal mass is most useful in climates with high cooling needs. Sound insulation With its closed air pockets, AAC can providevery good sound insulation. As with all masonry construction, care must be taken to avoid gaps and unfilled joints that can allow unwanted sound transmission. Combining the AAC wall with an insulated asymmetric cavity system will provide a wall with excellent sound insulation properties. Fire resistance AAC is inorganic and incombustible and is thus especially suited for fire-rated applications. Depending on the application and the thickness of the blocks or panels, fire ratings up to four hours can be achieved. AAC does not harbour or encourage vermin (ulat). Durability and moisture resistance The purposely lightweight nature of AAC makes it liable to impact damage. With the surface protected to resist moisture penetration it is not affected by harsh climatic conditions and will not degrade under normal atmospheric conditions. The porous nature of the material can allow moisture to penetrate the material to a depth but appropriate design (damp proof coarse layers and appropriate coating systems) prevents this happening. AAC will not easily degrade structurally when exposed to moisture. Toxicity and Breathability There are no toxic substances and no odour in the final product. If low toxic, vapour permeable coatings are used on the walls and care is taken not to trap moisture where it can condense, AAC may be an ideal material for homes for the chemically sensitive. Environment Impact AAC has manufacturing, embodied energy and GH emission impacts similar to those of concrete, but can be up to one quarter to one fifth that of concrete based on volume. Its much higher insulation value reduces heating and cooling energy consumption. As an energy and material investment it can often be justified for buildings intended to have a long life. Buildability, availability and cost AAC is relatively easy to work, is light and easily carved, cut and sculpted. Very large block sizes may require two-handed lifting and be awkward to handle but can result in fewer joints and more rapid construction. Low waste component, as the offcuts can be re-used in the construction of the wall. *Figure show the principle of heat insulation and sound insulation D) Briefly describe the activities involved in external works at the start of the contract. Briefly describe the activities involved in external works at the start of the contract. External work is means by the work or the construction is carried out outside of the building or the work generally done externally from main building. At the contract commencement, there are many types of external work can be carry out such as drainage, temporary access, temporary storage, temporary car parks, temporary site facilities, and public utilities such as water, electricity and telecom. Those external works must be prepared before the construction can be started. Most of the activities will span the whole contract period but bulk of activities will fall under early stages of construction and toward the end of the construction. In early stages of construction, there are many external work s need to prepare. For examples, drainage main runs, access arrangement, storage facilities, car parks, place to settle the machinery for foundation construction, and services to the construction sites. The first activities involves in external works at the start of the contract is drainage system. There are two categories of drainage which are surface drainage and sub-surface drainage. Surface drainage is the removal and disposal of water from the surface of the pavement. Whereas sub-surface drainage is the use of underground pipes and other fittings to corect the flow of water from where it is not wanted to some other place. This includes land drainage that removing and disposing of surplus groundwater from gardens, fields and other plots of open land. A subsurface drain is a perforated conduit, such as tile, pipe or tubing, installed below the ground surface to intercept, collect or convey drainage water. *The picture show the surface drainage and sub-surface drainage Besides drainage that need to take consider in the early stages of external work, temporary access also an importance in construction site. Ususally, a geotextile is used as a temporary road access. A geotextile is a synthetic permeable textile material used with soil, rock, or any other material. Geotextiles extend the service life of roads, increase their load-carrying capacity, and reduce the incidence of ruts. These benefits are accomplished by separating aggregate structural layers from subgrade soil while allowing the passage of water. Geotextiles should be considered for use on any section of road requiring an aggregate (rock) layer for surfacing. Geotextiles can reduce the amount of aggregate required, thus reducing the cost of the road, as well as providing the benefits described in the previous paragraph. * The picture show how the geotexile work. Next, temporary site storage and car park (empty area) also consider as external work that need to prepare in construction site. The uses of the temporary site storage is to keep important material or the expensive material. For example, the cement which cannot put outside space, it must be covered by the roof to avaid raining. The cement also need to keep in a dry place because it is easily chemically react with water. Car park or empty area also need in construction site because it is for the lorry to loading or unloading the things for the construction. Car parks also need for the site manager or outsides visitor to keep their vehicle. * The picture show the temporary car park at the site of construction Apart from that, at the commencement for external works, public utilities such as water supply, electricity and telecom also need to prepare in the site of construction. The piping work must be installated at early stage of external work in order to easy the work. The electricity supply need for the lighting, and machinery used. Telecom is used for the communication purposes.

The Ming Dynasty Essay -- Chinese Empire China History Essays

The Ming Dynasty The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much. The purpose of this paper is to tell the history of the Ming Dynasty’s impact on the Chinese Empire, and to explain why the Chinese Empire was in fact an empire. The Ming Dynasty had created an empire. They had the government, the military, and the economic system to prove it. At different points in time, The Chinese Empire was the greatest in the world, for trade, military, and other key factors in a society. The main reason for the creation of the Ming Dynasty was the collapse of the Yuan dynasty. The word Ming means â€Å"brilliant† and â€Å"bright.† The creator and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty was Chu Yuan-chang, who later changed his name to suit him and his new government. Chu Yuan-chang was the youngest of the Yuan dynasty and due to the collapse of the dynasty; Chu never got to rule, and was left as a peasant. So after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, Chu created the Ming dynasty. Chu’s new name, Hongwu, was made to describe the new government that he wanted to create. The name Hongwu means, Vast Military and it reflects the increased prestige of the military during his reign. Due to the fact that Hongwu was a peasant before his reign, he established rules and laws that applied only to those who were peasants. The laws sort of boosted their lives; he kept the land tax low, and the granaries stocked to guard against famine. During his reign he also attempted and succeeded in building up the class of those of the peasant and working class. Hongwu’s new government did not cause any change for those in other social classes. Hongwu’s reign affected the government of China greatly. In Hongwu’s government, he felt that â€Å"Principle was the diffusion of the imperial government.†(www.travelchinaguide.com). So in order to correct the situation of the government, he tried to strengthen rule into absolute rule by emperor. One of the single most important innovations that Hongwu made to the Chinese government was the abolishment of the Chief Minister. By eliminating the Chief Minister, Hongwu essentially took over the administration. In a way he was proclaiming absolute... ...lmost all of Asia, and is the largest empire that Asia has seen. If the Chinese Empire is not considered a true empire, then I will ask you this: Why has the Chinese Empire been called one of the most powerful empires of its time? Author Unknown. Empires Past: China: Ming Dynasty. 9 Dec. 2004 http://library.thinkquest.org/16325/c-min.html . Author Unknown. Ming China, 1368-1644. 9 Dec. 2004 http://www.stockton.edu/~gilmorew/consorti/2feasia.htm . Author Unknown. Ming China(1368-16440). 8 Dec. 2004 http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/ming.htm . Davis, Richard L. Ming Dynasty. 9 Dec. 2004 http://www.virtualology.com.virtualmuesamofnatuarlhistory/hallofanthropology/china/themingdynasty.com/ . Hall, John Whitney and Rene Grousset. â€Å"The Establishment of the Ming Dynasty.† 1300’s Headlines in History. San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc., 2001. 241-261 â€Å"Ming Dynasty(1368-16440† World Eras. Imperial China. Volume 7, 2003 Richard Hooker. Ming China. â€Å"The Decline of the Ming.† 8 Dec. 2004 http://www.wsu.edu:800/~dee/MING/DECLINE.htm . Richard Hooker. Ming China. â€Å"Ming China.† 8 Dec. 2004 http://www.wsu.edu:800/~dee/MING/MING.htm .

Elc1013 Unit 1

ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Unit 1 Achieving an Academic Writing Style Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit, you should be able to: †¢ †¢ use appropriate language to demonstrate academic style in writing express ideas and views in tentative rather than assertive language where appropriate Introduction This unit is divided into three sections providing reference and practice material on various aspects of academic writing style. Section 1 Features of academic writing style Section 2 Improving the style of your writing Section 3 Hedging in academic writingReferencing note: This unit uses IEEE referencing style for all in-text referencing. Pre-Unit 1 IndiWork Activities Go to eLearn (http://elearn. elc. polyu. edu. hk/) and complete the Pre-Unit 1 IndiWork Activities. IndiWork 1 Academic Style Go to eLearn and complete the What is Academic Style? Activity. Section 1 The features of academic writing style What do you think are the differences between the essays that you wrote at secondary school and the essays that you will need to write at university? Make sure you think about style* when considering these differences. Style often refers to level of formality. For example when writing to a friend you would use an informal style.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 1 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 1 Reading How do the language choices in this first essay draft below create a non-academic / inappropriate style? Read the passage and identify (highlight / circle) the style problems. Note down your ideas at the end of the passage. Be prepared to share your observations with the rest of the class.How often do PolyU students use English outside the classroom? Because many people think PolyU students don’t use English much outside of class, I wanted to find out the answer to this question so I decided to do a survey. I worked out a questionnaire and then handed it out to lots of students from eight 5 departments. The students filled in the questionnaire and then gave it back to me. I did the survey in April 2011. A total of 707 students took part in the survey, which is a really huge sample. In fact, this is the biggest survey of its kind ever done in Hong Kong which is terrific!And when I got the questionnaires back, I looked closely at the data and put it into a number of figures. Grandparents Parents Domestic helper Social functions Brothers / sisters Situations Private tutors Restaurants / bars PolyU friends Part-time jobs Relatives Non- PolyU friends Overseas holidays 0 0. 5 1 1. 05 1. 32 1. 69 1. 95 1. 95 1. 99 2. 11 2. 12 2. 4 2. 45 2. 55 2. 72 1. 5 Mean 2 2. 5 3 Figure 1: Speaking in English outside university 10 The first area I’d like to look at is speaking in English. Basically, what I wanted to know was how ofte n students speak English outside the classroom.The questionnaire asked the students to say how often they use English when they talk to friends, parents etc. When they filled in the questionnaire, the students had to circle a number from 1 (never) to 6 (very often). If they circled 15 the numbers 1-3, it means that they don’t use English very much. If they circled the numbers 4-6, it means that they use English fairly often. As you can see, I’ve put all the data about speaking in English in Figure 1. Let’s now talk about the data in Figure 1. First and foremost, it’s crystal clear that students don’t have many opportunities to speak English outside the 20 classroom.You can tell this because all the means are under 3. 00. Clearly, PolyU students don’t have any need to speak to parents etc. in English. This is undoubtedly because their family members are Cantonese speakers.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 2 E LC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Obviously, there’s no point in speaking English when everyone can speak C a n t o n e s e . A s yo u c a n s e e , Po l y U s t u d e n t s n e v e r s p e a k t o t h e i r 25 grandparents in English.This is not surprising because, as we all know, old people in Hong Kong can’t speak English. That’s because the education system wasn’t very good in the past. But, you can see that there are a few situations (overseas holidays and so on) where students do get a golden opportunity to use their English, even though this is not really very often. In a 30 nutshell, then, the data in Figure 1 prove that PolyU students don’t speak English much outside the classroom. Note down the style problems you found in the box below. For each problem you identify, write an appropriate solution.Problem (inappropriate language) Solution (appropriate language) 1. 2 . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 3 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Section 2 Improving the style of your writing In this section you will learn how to improve the style of your academic writing. Read through the following twelve subheadings and complete Activities 2 to 7. 1. Avoid informal verbs Use formal (i. e. ingle-word verbs) such as examine rather than phrasal / multi-word verbs such as look at. This report looks at ? [examines] ? the problem of juvenile delinquency. Hong Kong has got over ? [recovered from] ? the latest recession. University-linked companies have not taken off ? [been successful]? in recent years. Activity 2a Formal verbs Fill in the blanks with five of the following formal verbs. Make sure that you put the verbs into the correct form / tense. discover conduct fluctuate establish devi se increase investigate assist reduce discuss ) The team (came up with) _____________________ an imaginative solution to the problem. b) In this essay, I will (talk about) _____________________ the issue of genetic engineering. c) The study was (carried out) _____________________ between May and July 2012. d) A research associate was appointed to (help out) __________________ with the analysis of the data. e) Researchers (found out) __________________that the chiller was the source of the problem. Activity 2b Formal verbs With a partner, write five sentences using the unused formal verbs from Activity 2a. )†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ b)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ c)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ d)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ e)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 4 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) 2. Avoid Colloquial expressions Avoid informal or colloquial expressions such as a lot of in your written assignments. ? a lot of research ? a great deal of / a considerable amount of lots of studies ? numerous / a large number of / myriad / a plethora of a really interesting study ? very / extremely / particularly a bit disappointing ? somewhat / rather / fairly it is a must ? essential / necessary / crucial / vital 3. Avoid Cliches Cliches are expressions that have become overused. The expressions below are dull and unoriginal. In addition, the meaning of some cliches, such as ‘in a nut shell’, may not be clear to a global audience as the words and meaning may not be closely related.Avoid using them in your written work. ? ? ? hot topic heated debate last but not least every coin has two sides all in all as we all know first and foremost crystal clear golden opportunity In a nutshell†¦ financial tsunami a double-edged sword 4. Avoid vague, everyday language Avoid common, informal everyday words. Use more precise words instead. Adjectives Pollution has been a big ? [major] ? problem in Hong Kong in the past thirty years. The facilities in the lecture theatre are bad ? [inadequate]?. The students felt she was a good ? [organised / enthusiastic] ? instructor. Verbs Bonny got ? [obtained] ? er degree from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Chan [1] says ? [comments] ? that the English standard of students is improving. Others This issue has raised the attention of everyone ? [the public]. ? There are many things ? [elements] ? to a successful presentation. 5. Be objective As well as being impersonal, academic writing should be as objective as possible. Subjective and strongly emotional language should be avoided. Do not use words such as: fantastic, wonderful, lovely, absolutely, totally, terrific, excellent! Objectivity can also be boosted through hedging techniques (see section 3). English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 5 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 3 Academic style Change the underlined words in the following sentences to improve the style. a) The student did a presentation last week. c) The results of the survey were shockingly bad! e) Freedom of the Internet is a double edged sword. 6. Avoid Repetition Repeating the same words and phrases in your written assessments may make your work appear boring and unsophisticated to the reader.To make your writing more interesting, use appropriate synonyms. For example: findings inquiry ? ? results investigation appear argue ? ? seem contend b) It is a good essay. d) It was a poor presentation. f) The analysts obtained a lot of data. Tip: When using Microsoft Word, if you right click on a word it will give you a list of synonyms that you could use. Note that not all the words will be suitable to use in a particular sentence, so you should ensure that the alternative language choices convey the meaning you intend to express. Academic writing should be easy to follow. 7.Avoid contractions Avoid using contractions such as it’s and they’re in academic writing. won’t ? will not don’t ? do not I’ve ? I have It’s ? [It is] ? widely acknowledged that English plays an important role in Hong Kong’s business sector. 8. Avoid personal references Avoid directly referring to yourself as ‘I’ or ‘we’, or to the reader as ‘you’. Academic writers generally avoid using the personal pronoun ‘I’ because it makes their work seem too subjective. You can see the findings in Table 1. ? I have presented the findings in Table 1. ? As you can see, the findings are in Table 1. We can see the findings in Table 1. ? The findings are presented in Table 1. ? The passive voice is useful for this and achieves a more impersonal, action-focused style appropriate for academic writing.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 6 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) 9. Avoid informal sentence starters Starting sentences with And, Because, or But is considered poor style in academic writing. Use a more formal alternative instead. For example: And ? In addition, Apart from But ?However, Because ? Due to, This is because 10. Avoid rhetorical questions Avoid using rhetorical questions as they can make your writing appear unsophisticated. In my report, I will answer the following question: What are the causes of stress? ? This report examines the causes of stress. ? Whether exams cause stress is examined in this report. ? The above analysis concludes the first part of my essay regarding the problems of teenage drug abuse. Now, how about the solutions? ? The next part of my essay examines some solutions to teenage drug abuse. ? Activity 4 Academic styleImprove the style of the following sentences. a) Has China been af fected by the financial tsunami? She’d appear to be managing quite nicely. b) And it’s high time we started to think about the wealth gap. c) Some business leaders make some bad business decisions. 11. Avoid ‘Run-on’ expressions Limit the use of ‘run-on’ expressions such as etc. and and so on in academic writing. Use the term such as to inform the reader that not all possible examples are given. Professionals often need to write reports, memos etc. at work. ? Professionals often need to write documents such as reports and memos at work. ? 12.Use positive forms Avoid informal negative forms such as not much and not many. Use the positive (without ‘not’) forms little and few. Not much ? [Little] ? research has been conducted into job stress in universities. Not many ? [Few] ? studies have investigated Hong Kong society in the 19th century.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 7 ELC1013 English for Unive rsity Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 5 Academic style There are style errors in the sentence below. Identify the error and change the language to improve the style of the sentences.Then match the error to the style issues in the box below. Most sentences have more than one problem. emotional / subjective colloquial expressions vague/everyday cliche contraction / negativity personal reference sentence starter a) The problem of air pollution has become more and more serious in recent years. b) In the past decade, a lot of research has been done into indoor air quality. c) The results let everyone see that the quality of service in Hong Kong restaurants is bad. d) Hong Kong companies value employees who have good communication skills. ) And language policy in secondary schools has been a hot topic for many years. f) We all know that students learn better when they are taught in their mother tongue. g) The students didn’t e ncounter many problems finding good data for their project. h) Ensuring a big sample of subjects for a questionnaire survey is a must. i) j) Researchers got their data by doing telephone interviews. Tong’s [2] interpretation of the data is totally wrong.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 8 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 6 ReadingThe following essay is a more appropriately written academic essay than the draft analysed in Activity 1. Discuss with a partner the ways in which this passage is more academically appropriate than the earlier Activity 1 version. Students’ use of English outside university (A) This essay investigates the perceived problem of Hong Kong students’ lack of English use outside university. The data reported below were derived from a questionnaire survey of a substantial sample of first-year undergraduates from eight departme nts at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. (B) The survey was conducted between 12 and 23 April 2011.The subjects completed the questionnaire during their English for University Studies classes under the supervision of a research assistant. A total of 1,283 questionnaires were distributed and 707 correctly completed copies were returned and subsequently analysed. The questionnaire required the respondents to indicate the frequency with which they speak, listen, read and write in English outside the formal setting of the English-medium classroom. (C) The first section of the questionnaire asked the subjects to indicate on a six-point scale how often they speak in English in a range of nonacademic situations.On the evidence of the findings presented in Figure 1, it would appear that tertiary students in Hong Kong generally have little need to speak in English outside the classroom. (D) The evidence suggests that undergraduates rarely communicate with their parents or grandparents in English. This finding is perhaps not surprising as census data indicate that the overwhelming majority of people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese [1]. In the intimate family domain, young people understandably have little need or desire to speak English, apart from special circumstances such as preparing for English language examinations. E) The results indicate that the situation in which tertiary students use English least is in interactions with their grandparents. When interpreting this finding, it is worth noting that recent surveys have revealed that English is less widely known among Hong Kong people in their sixties and seventies than among those in the 4060 and 20-40 age groups [2]. This largely stems from the fact that the provision of Englishmedium secondary education was limited in the 1940s and 1950s [3]. The majority of citizens in the 60-70 age group are likely to have received only a Chinese-medium primary education [4]. F) While the data in Figure 1 suggest that tertia ry students tend not to speak English very frequently outside class, there are apparently several situations where spoken English has some degree of importance in the subjects’ lives. As might be expected, the situation where the subjects need to speak the language most is on overseas holidays. As Cantonese is not widely spoken outside China, it is perhaps understandable that students need to communicate in English on trips to Europe, North America and other parts of Asia. (G) As noted above, students rarely talk to their immediate family members in English.However, it is interesting that some of the subjects apparently have some need to communicate with their relatives in English. One possible factor behind the use of English in this situation is that their relatives live in an Englishspeaking country. In the case of younger relatives (e. g. cousins), it is possible that they have no knowledge of Cantonese, while older relatives (e. g. uncles, aunts) may feel more comfortabl e using their adopted language.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 9 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 7Improving academic style Use the academic writing advice above to complete the following exercises. 1. Skim through the Activity 6 essay and find formal verbs with similar meanings to the following informal phrasal verbs. The paragraph is given in brackets to help you. filled in (B) handed out (B) ____________________ ____________________ looks into (A) ____________________ found out (E) ____________________ 2. Find words in the Activity 6 passage which have similar meanings to the following vague, everyday words: done (B) ____________________ later (B) ____________________ big (A) ____________________ got (A) ____________________ . To avoid repeating the words students and findings, the writer uses a number of synonyms. List the synonyms used. students: findings: _ __________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ 4. How does the writer avoid using informal negative forms? Underline one example in the passage in Paragraph D. 5. The draft that you read in Activity 1 included the following inappropriate sentences: This is not surprising because, as we all know, old people in Hong Kong can’t speak English.That’s because the education system wasn’t very good in the past. How does the writer revise this part of the report? ‘Li Wei falls to Hong Kong’ reproduced with kind permission of Li Wei  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 10 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 8 Writing This activity gives you the chance to apply the features of academic writing style covered so far. By being able to write in an appropriate academi c style, you will be more able to successfully complete assignments at university.Situation For a course that you have been doing at university, you have been researching whether the consumption of organic produce can affect the health of a population. You are also interested in whether a subject’s positive opinion of their well being* has an effect on their general level of health. The area that you are investigating for an assignment is whether Hong Kong subjects also feel better about themselves after consuming organic produce. In Table 1 below, the results of two surveys are presented.First, a large scale survey was conducted by Wallace and Welbeck [1] among 4619 students in the UK about consumption of organic produce and self health ratings. The questions were adapted by your group to survey 89 students in the Polytechnic University. In the survey, subjects were asked to say whether they felt the following illnesses would increase or decrease on a scale from 0 (increase a great deal) to 3 (no effect) to 6 (decrease a great deal) after the consumption of organic produce. XuanXuan 13’ reproduced with kind permission of Li Wei *Note: â€Å"well being† describes the state of feeling healthy and happyIn pairs, discuss the data in Table 1. How would you explain the findings? When you have completed your discussion, write a short text of 3 or 4 paragraphs in which you describe and discuss the data. Table 1: Reduction and increase of illnesses after consumption of organic produce Features Headaches Colds Coughs Aches and pains Skin complaints UK students 4. 9 3. 1 2. 2 4. 5 3. 4 Polytechnic University students 5. 5 4. 1 5. 4 3. 2 4. 5 Source: Figures for UK students from Wallace and Welbeck [1]  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 11 ELC1013 English for University StudiesUnit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Section 3 Hedging in academic writing One of the main problems in the Act ivity 1 text is the writer’s use of assertive (overly strong or sure) language when discussing the data. Examples of assertive language are highlighted below. Let’s now talk about the data in Figure 1. First and foremost, it’s crystal clear that students don’t have many opportunities to speak English outside the classroom. You can tell this because all the means are under 3. 00. Clearly, PolyU students don’t have any need to speak to parents, etc. n English. This is undoubtedly because their family members are Cantonese speakers. Obviously, there’s no point in speaking English when everyone can speak Cantonese. As you can see, PolyU students never speak to their grandparents in English. This is not surprising because, as we all know, old people in Hong Kong can’t speak English. That’s because the education system wasn’t very good in the past. You can see, though, that there are a few situations (overseas holidays and so on) where students do get a golden opportunity to use their English, even though this is not really very often.In a nutshell, then, the data in Figure 1 prove that PolyU students don’t speak English much outside the classroom. Expressing opinions or making claims in overly strong language leaves you open to attack by critical readers. Such statements will often be doubted by readers thereby reducing your power and authority as a writer. A reader who does not believe a writer will rarely read on. To avoid such a situation, when stating ideas or discussing data you should use tentative rather than assertive language. You should avoid expressions such as: clearly ndoubtedly obviously definitely without a doubt there is no doubt that certainly absolutely Be very careful about using words like always (very common in Chinese), never, every and all because these suggest absolute certainty, which is inappropriate, and often incorrect, in many situations. Compare the following sentenc es: 1. The Hong Kong economy will grow next year. (Too strong! The writer is open to criticism if the Hong Kong economy does not grow next year) 2. The Hong Kong economy might grow next year. (Ok. The writer is hedging by using the modal verb ‘might’) 3.Some economists believe the Hong Kong economy will grow next year. (Ok. The doubt is transferred to a third party (economists). This means that the readers' confidence in you is not reduced) Techniques used in the sentences two and three above are known as hedging.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 12 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Hedging Techniques Activity 6 illustrated a number of hedging techniques. These are summarised below: 1.Use hedging verbs The following ‘hedging’ verbs are often used in academic writing: suggest indicate estimate imply The results indicate that the situation in which te rtiary students use English least is in interactions with their grandparents. The verbs appear and seem are used to ‘distance’ the writer from the findings (and therefore avoid making a strong claim and be subject to criticism from readers). On the evidence of the findings presented in Figure 1, it would appear that tertiary students in Hong Kong generally have little need to speak in English outside the classroom.Note that the writer also ‘protects’ himself / herself by using the phrase on the evidence of. The following expressions are used in a similar way: according to, on the basis of, based on. 2. Use modal verbs Another way of appearing ‘confidently uncertain’ is to use modal verbs such as may, might and could. In the case of younger relatives, it is possible that they have no knowledge of Cantonese, while older relatives may feel more comfortable using their adopted language. 3. Use adverbs The following adverbs are often used when a wri ter wishes to express caution. robably apparently possibly seemingly perhaps presumably arguably conceivably This finding is perhaps not surprising as census data indicate that the overwhelming majority of people in Hong Kong speak Cantonese [1]. 4. Use adjectives Another technique is to use an adjective. probable possible arguable unlikely likely One possible factor behind the use of English in this situation is that their relatives live in an English-speaking country.  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 13 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) 5.Use nouns The following nouns are often used to hedge:: probability possibility evidence likelihood indication The evidence suggests that undergraduates rarely communicate with their parents or grandparents in English. 6. Softening generalisations There are several ways in which you can soften and hedge a generalisation. (i) Use the verb tend or the noun (have / be a) tendency (to). While the data in Figure 1 suggest that tertiary students tend not to speak English very frequently outside class, there are apparently several situations where spoken English has some degree of importance in the subjects’ lives. ii) Use an adverb such as: generally predominantly largely mainly primarily usually for the most part to a great extent This largely stems from the fact that the provision of English-medium secondary education was limited in the 1940s and 1950s [3]. (iii) Use a hedging expression such as most or the majority of. The majority of citizens in the 60-70 age group are likely to have received only a Chinesemedium primary education [4]. (iv) Identify exceptions by using expressions such as except for or with the exception of.In the intimate family domain, young people understandably have little need or desire to speak English, except for special circumstances such as preparing for English language examinations. 7. Avoid negative words You should also avoid direct, negative words such as lies, cheat, false, rubbish, cheap, useless and worst. Try to use cautious, indirect language when expressing negative ideas. Without a doubt, the worst aspect of Dr Wong’s teaching is the lack of feedback. ? Giving feedback is perhaps the least successful aspect of Dr Wong’s teaching.?The president told lies to the media during his rubbish handling of the crisis. ? The president may have misled the media during the less than satisfactory handling of the crisis. ?  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 14 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 9 Hedging Choose the most appropriate option below. a) Everybody knows / It is generally accepted that all / the majority of English people always / often fail to learn any language other than their own. ) Perhaps / clearly the world will / is like ly to face major / total environmental destruction in the next fifty years. c) Without a doubt / It is widely believed that assertive writing is never / unlikely to be positively regarded by most / all readers. Activities 10a and 10b gives you an opportunity to practise the hedging techniques outlined in Section 3. By being able to use hedging techniques while writing in an appropriate academic style, you will more be able to successfully complete assignments at university. Activity 10a WritingIn 2011, the English Language Centre of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University surveyed 978 Form 7 school leavers about their preferences when studying in higher education. A summary of the results is presented below. Table 1: First Choice of University Hong Kong University The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The Hong Kong Polytechnic University City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Baptist University The Open University of Hong Kong Lingnan Univer sity Hong Kong Shue Yan University 21% 17% 15% 14% 11% 11% 8% 7% 4% A pause for humanity 3’ reproduced with kind permission of Li Wei Read what the writer said about the reason why Hong Kong University and Chinese University were the most favoured. Note the underlined language. The survey results indicate that the preferred universities were Hong Kong University and Chinese University. A probable reason for this is their long history, and the preference of employers for employees who graduate from these institutions. Write two or three paragraphs giving possible reasons for the ranking of the other universities. Use the hedging techniques from Section 3. English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 15 ELC1013 English for University Studies Unit 1 – Achieving an Academic Writing Style (IEEE / Vancouver) Activity 10b Writing The school leavers were asked a similar question regarding their first choice of course when applying for University. Examine Table 2 below giving the results, and write two more paragraphs providing some possible explanations. Table 2: First choice of course when applying for University Engineering Law Nursing and Health Sciences Design Business Computing Textiles Construction Logistics Others 15% 4% 8% 12% 20% 15% 4% 7% 16% 5%Further Learning Materials Besides IndiWork, you are also strongly encouraged to complete the Further Learning Materials found at the end of each unit. By doing so, so will be able to perform better in this subject’s assessments. Go to eLearn (http://elearn. elc. polyu. edu. hk/) to complete the following activities. 1. Unit 1 Review of learning 2. Unit 1 Further Learning Materials  © English Language Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University 16

The Tragic Hero And Butterworth s Johnny Byron - 1446 Words

Jez Butterworth undeniably flaunts the conventions of comedy in Jerusalem to create a profound but amusing philosophical satire, observing and mocking modern society. Morally objectionable ideals present in everyday life are examined and ridiculed, inevitably leading to the development of morally objectionable characters and social groups. As a result, Johnny Byron doesn’t neatly fit the definitions of either a tragic hero or a comedic protagonist but instead has traits of the two. He is both an outrageously hedonistic Falstaffian character whist arousing pity and fear, able to question the motivation of other characters whilst himself being hubristic and unable to admit error. Despite his comedic attributes, Byron’s character undoubtedly lends itself more to the tragic arc as the audience witnesses his bloody downfall from relative grace, evoking both pity and disgust. The most obvious parallel between the Aristotelian tragic hero and Butterworth’s Johnny Byron is the uncovering of his tragic flaw. Throughout the drama Byron demonstrates an inability to move on or mature, symbolised by his â€Å"fairly permanent† caravan along with the many relics of a time gone by scattered about his clearing. It’s possible that Butterworth intended this to be a metaphor for England and traditional views of Englishness (most obviously symbolised by a sign reading â€Å"Waterloo† on the side of the caravan), and that through this satire he is lamenting man’s fate as Englishness is lost through