Academic business writing - Functions of Intro, conclusion.pdf

What are some typical functions of an introduction?
Can one sentence include multiple functions?

1. CAES9920
Academic Communication for Business and Economics
Week 4: Evaluating academic writing
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2. §By the end of week 4, you will have:
§understood the key functions of an introduction in an academic essay
§better understood the grading criteria for assessment 1
§judged the quality of academic writing samples using the grading
criteria
§evaluated your peers’ introductions in order to improve upon your own
introduction
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3. 1.What are some typical
functions of an
introduction?
2.Can one sentence
include multiple
functions?
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4. 1.Are criteria for writing
easy to determine in
most cases?
2.Is it possible to make
implicit criteria more
explicit?
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5. Typical functions of an introduction:
vDefinitions of key terms that are unclear in the title
vBackground Information
vReference to other writers/research discussing the topic
vPurpose/ Objective of writing and the significance of the topic
vLimitations of the discussion (if any)
vSummary of main points that you intend to cover
§On Moodle, open the PDF file “Introductions_Conclusions” from former students
§Identify the functions that you can find in the 2 introductions
§Provide feedback on any missing functions and/or poorly expressed functions
§Which is more effective? How does the intro help organize the essay for the reader? 5

6. Typical functions of an conclusion:
vSummarize the main points/arguments and the main findings
vRelate to the wider context, show the relevance of your conclusions to other situations
vMay point out the limitations of the discussion
vMay make predictions or recommendations/ suggestions
vMay point out variables that need to be examined more fully
vMay suggest further work or research
§On Moodle, open the PDF file “Introductions_Conclusions” from former students
§Identify the functions that you can find in the 2 conclusions
§Provide feedback on any missing functions and/or poorly expressed functions
§Which is more effective?6

7. §Analyze the assessment 1 grading criteria (more efficient to look at
the A row)
§Note any terms that are unclear or require more explanation
§Discuss with your groupmates what those terms potentially mean
(The remainder of the class will be extremely text heavy with evaluation)
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8. §In Moodle, open “Content_Samples”
§Read excerpt A and analyze it based on the content & use of sources
criteria (A grade criteria)
§Different perspectives have been identified and synthesized
without in any way trivializing their complexity.
§The perspectives have been consistently evaluated
demonstrating higher order thinking.
§Relevant information has been extracted from sources and has
been appropriately used to support claims and evaluations.
1.How does excerpt A demonstrate the above criteria? (Use
Google Doc to copy and paste the criterion into the parts
demonstrating the criterion)
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9. §Read excerpts B & C and grade each based on the content & use of sources criteria (from the A row criteria)
§Different perspectives have been identified and synthesized without in any way trivializing their complexity.
§The perspectives have been consistently evaluated demonstrating higher order thinking.
§Relevant information has been extracted from sources and has been appropriately used to support claims and evaluations.
1.According to the grading criteria, what was the difference between the two excerpts?
2.The structure of excerpt C is Topic sentenceàSourcesupportàEvaluationàSourcesupportàEvaluationàSourcesupportàConcludingsentence. Do all paragraphs need to be structured in this manner? Did excerpt A follow this structure?
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10. §Read excerpts D & E and grade each based on the content & use of
sources criteria (from the A row criteria)
§Different perspectives have been identified and synthesized
without in any way trivializing their complexity.
§The perspectives have been consistently evaluated
demonstrating higher order thinking.
§Relevant information has been extracted from sources and has
been appropriately used to support claims and evaluations.
1.Which excerpt more effectively achieves the above criteria?
2.What strategies are found in the more impressive excerpt?
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11. §Read the excerpts and use the guiding questions to analyze the
organization criteria (from the A row criteria)
§Purpose of writing is always very clear and is maintained
consistently throughout the text
§The paper is always very well-organized and fully meets an
academic reader’s expectations.
§Flow of ideas and argument is always very coherently developed
at document, paragraph and sentence level.
1.Since there is only one paragraph to analyse, hypothetically
consider how the intro, topic/summary sentences could enhance
organization at the text and paragraph levels?
2.Which excerpt better demonstrates the organization criteria?
Support your answer by identifying cohesive strategies used in
the two excerpts.11

12. §Read the excerpts and analyze them according to the language
criteria (from the A row criteria)
§Writing is always very clear, concise and easy to follow.
§Tone and style adopted are always appropriately formal, factual
and objective.
§Writing always exhibits excellent control of grammar and lexis
appropriate to an academic business audience.
§Hedging and boosting are used skillfully to enhance the
persuasiveness of claims made.
1.Which excerpt more effectively achieves the above criteria?
2.What differences in academic language features helped you
answer question 1?
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13. §Create additional copies of your introduction on Google Doc so that everyone in your group has a clean copy of your introduction to comment on
§your intro will appear 3 or 4 times in the same Google Doc
§your intro will receive feedback from multiple perspectives
§Use the feedback procedures
§clarifying the writer’s intention
§identifying the problem
§explaining the nature of the problem
§making specific suggestions
§Things to look for:
§missing functions or the appropriateness of a function
§cohesion
§missing academic language features or inappropriate use of a language feature (e.g. inappropriate figurative language or inappropriate attitude marker for academic audience)
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14. §There is only 1-hour in the week 5 class. It will be dedicated to evaluating 2 paragraphs of your CSR essay drafts.
§Bring in 2 WELL-ATTEMPTEDparagraphs for feedback
§could be your improved introduction + another body paragraph or any 2 paragraphs of your choosing
§bringing in poor drafts is unhelpful
§Your teacher can answer questions if you are able to show that your question relates to a part of your essay that has been evaluated using the 4 feedback procedure steps
§Examples of bad questions which will not be answered:
§“what grade will I get for this paragraph?”
§“is this sentence good or bad?”
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