English for Academic Purposes

I didn't come to graduate school with the Ph.D. as the primary goal. So this test result forced me to answer the basic question "Why the hell am I doing this?" After much soul searching, I found my answer and decided to take the test again, passed it, and went on to get my Ph.D. I got the Ph.D. because I wanted to get a research position after leaving graduate school. I wanted to work with the state of the art and extend it. I did not want to "bring yesterday's technology one step closer to tomorrow." I wanted a job that would I find interesting, challenging and stimulating. While an M.S. would give me a chance at landing a research position, the Ph.D. would give me a much better chance. And I did not want to live with regrets. If I took the Doctoral Written Exam again and failed again, then I could say that it wasn't meant to be and move on with my life. I would have no regrets because I had given it my best shot and was not able to make it. However, if I left with an M.S. without taking the test a second time, and five years later I was in a job that was boring and uninteresting, then I would have to lie awake every night for the rest of my life wondering "What if?" What if I had taken the test again and passed? Would I then be in the job that I really wanted? That was not a situation I wanted to be in. I did not want to live the rest of my life regretting what might have been. In hindsight, I think one of the main reasons I successfully completed the Ph.D. was the fact that I didn't pass the exam on the first try. It's ironic, but life sometimes works in strange ways. That initial failure caused me to answer the basic question, providing the mental fortitude to keep going despite the hurdles and problems I would later face. My answer is you should get a Ph.D. if it is required for your goals after graduate school, such as becoming a professor or a researcher in academia, government or industry. Your answer may differ from mine. As long as you have an answer that you believe in passionately, then that's enough. If you don't have an answer, then save yourself a lot of grief and don't get the Ph.D. Academia is a business "Remember the Golden Rule: Those who have the gold make the rules." Academia is a business, and "graduate student" is a job title. This is especially true at private universities. Academia is very peculiar type of business. It is certainly not the Real World and does not work in the same way that the ordinary corporate world does. However, it is a business nonetheless and as a graduate student, you must treat it that way. Graduate school made a lot more sense and became much easier for me after I realized this. If you think of graduate school as an "Ivory Tower" free of politics, money problems, and real-world concerns, you are going to be severely disappointed. If you don't believe me, read The Idea Factory by Pepper White (listed in the references) for one account of graduate life at MIT. A few graduate students are independently wealthy or have fellowship and scholarship money that cover all their expenses for their total stay in graduate school. Such students are rare, however. Most of us needed financial support, in the form of Teaching Assistantships or Research Assistantships (RA's). In general, RA's are more desirable to students since those can directly fund the research you need to finish. Where does the money come from to fund RA's? Your professors have to raise funds from external organizations. These include government agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and others. Private companies also fund some university research, although this tends to be less common, in smaller amounts, and in the form of equipment donations. These organizations don't just give money away as charity. They expect their money to accomplish something. Increasingly these days, this takes the form of a contract for a working demonstration that must be shown at the end. That means once the money is delivered, your professors must come through with the working demonstration. It is rare that they do this by themselves. Instead, they find some very capable, young, self-motivated people who are willing to work long hours for small amounts of pay. In other words, they fund RA's. The RA job is crucial to the academic business. If the RA's cannot successfully conduct the research, then the demonstration will not work in the end and the funding agencies may not be happy. They may choose not to fund your professor in the future, which will bring his or her research program to a halt. And there are many professors and other researchers chasing too few research dollars these days; it is a competitive market. Thus, each professor wants the best

EAP | 6111 | English for Academic Purposes | lecture notes | I didn't come to graduate scho

Comparison of Academic and Informal Writing Audience How do the intended audiences of the two articles differ? What are the concerns of these audiences? What do these audiences already know? What are their expectations when they read the article? What do they want to know and/or feel? What elements of the articles indicate the intended audience? Tone Writing conveys a certain tone or “feeling” about the author and the author’s attitude towards the topic of a text. When referring to more expressive texts, tone is often discussed in terms of voice—the idiosyncratic features of a writer’s style. How does the tone or voice of the two articles differ? Provide some examples from the text. Authority Audiences are interested in reading informative writing (or listening to informative oral presentations) because of the author’s authority or expertise in a given domain. What is the basis of the two authors’ authority? How is this established in the texts? Rhetorical Structure Texts are more than collections of words: They have a structure that sets up and meets readers’ expectations. What is the structure of the two texts? How and why does the structure differ? What purpose do the structural elements serve? Argument How do the texts put forth their arguments? Are there different standards of proof in the two texts? How do they treat claims, reasons, evidence, counter-arguments, and basic assumptions? Do they position their discussion within the previous discourse of a particular community? If so, what is this community? Scope What is the scope of the two texts? Which text deals with a wider, more general topic and which one deals with a more focused topic? What factors are responsible for the difference in scope? Sentence Mechanics and Grammar Academic and informal texts have different requirements in terms of grammar. In broad terms, how does the grammar of the two texts differ? What specific features differ? Provide some examples from the text. Examples should include punctuation rules. Style Do the two texts include colloquialisms and casual expressions? Provide some examples. Reference to Others’ Ideas What conventions do the two texts use to refer to others’ ideas? What’s the purpose of the citations in each text? What determines the citation style used in each text? The ! st uses citation that are motivating,more grad school   Vocabulary How does the vocabulary used in the two texts differ? Discuss the differences in detail and provide concrete examples.

EAP | 6111 | English for Academic Purposes | study guides | Comparison of Academic and Inf

EAP6111 Finance ‘Finance in the News’ presentation rubric Criterion Points Comments Article/source choice is appropriate 1 2 3 4 5 Summary of key points is sufficient 1 2 3 4 5 Presentation includes commentary on aspects of language use 1 2 3 4 5 Includes a question for discussion/Q&A 1 2 3 4 5 Uses appropriate manner and eye contact for presentation 1 2 3 4 5 Stays within time limit 1 2 3 4 5 Total EAP6111 Finance ‘Finance in the News’ presentation rubric Criterion Points Comments Article/source choice is appropriate 1 2 3 4 5 Summary of key points is sufficient 1 2 3 4 5 Presentation includes commentary on aspects of language use 1 2 3 4 5 Includes a question for discussion/Q&A 1 2 3 4 5 Uses appropriate manner and eye contact for presentation 1 2 3 4 5 Stays within time limit 1 2 3 4 5 Total

EAP | 6111 | English for Academic Purposes | study guides | EAP6111 Finance ‘Finance in th

Name- Khushbu Dedhia GWID-G40158751 Comparison between Azuma and Thurk The two passages given by the professor clearly show the different purpose of papers. The Azuma is a blog writing or a student sharing his thoughts and ideas about being in PhD and the Thurk is a research paper in biomedical field of study. Reviewing both passages helped me in understanding the different organization styles that should be used to convey a particular message. Organization styles could be in consideration with the audience, tone, structure, authority and many more. I would like to briefly compare about the audience, scope and vocabulary used in both these passages. The Azuma is an informal writing which shows the author describing his feelings after completing his PhD and the advice he wants to give to people who think of joining graduate school. He illustrates the qualities required to be in a grad school and shares his examples on how he had demonstrated them. His audience expects to gain something from his experience and make themselves educated for grad school. Thurk on the other hand is a research paper which can be understood by people who are experts or studying that field. They show certain research in bio signals and the way they designed their model giving suitable assumptions and drawbacks. Thurk shows use of words which are very scientific and also some short forms which can’t be understood by layman. The second comparison is the scope of the texts. Both have targeted different aspects but Azuma has a wider scope than Thurk. Azuma is a general topic and the author touches some key highlights like academia, difference in grad school, flexibility and tenacity which are required in PhD. While Thurk is specifically dealing with biomedical research data. He gives examples of data system that are used widely and what are its drawbacks. He has also prepared a model to reduce the drawback based on his assumptions. He gives detailed examples and purpose of his findings. Both text have targeted different audience and this can be clearly seen by the vocabulary and citations used. Finally, the vocabulary used is different in both texts. Azuma is using general terms which are easy to understand. But he still uses words having good connection. In case of Thurk the vocabulary is complicated for a person other that an expert to understand it. Without knowing the basics of the subject it was hard for me to understand it. To conclude, it is very important to know the audience when writing any particular text. This will help to layout other structures like style, citation, vocabulary and the tone that should be used. Following this organization style will help to keep the audience engaging and will benefit in all kinds of writing.

EAP | 6111 | English for Academic Purposes | lecture notes | Name- Khushbu Dedhia GWID-G401

Comparison of academic and informal writing Blog response rubric 100% = 1 point 75% = 0.75 point 50% = 0.5 point 25% = 0.25 point n/a = not applicable Response to task/genre and/or directions Both sources are clearly identified and referred to. Introduction includes a preview of two texts and comparison criteria. The response addresses three criteria from the list. Suggested structure is observed (sufficient/ adequate body paragraphs, conclusion). The length is at least half a page in Word. Text produced Content Grammar choices Vocabulary and tone Cohesion (logical and clear local organization) Mechanics (spelling and punctuation) Total: ________ (out of 10)

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