sábado, 31 de julio de 2010

Edit the following paragraph to make any sentences as short as possible without changing their meaning.

Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics, proposed a theory in the eighteenth century that has made him controversial ever since. This British economist, who was born in Scotland and educated in England, wrote the first complete study of political economy. The Wealth of Nations was published in the same year that Americans declared their independence from England – that was 1776. Smith’s book pointed out and directed attention to the interdependence of freedom an order, economic processes, and free trade laws. Although his thinking did not really affect economic policies significantly during his life time, its influence in the next century was considerable. Among economist, “the invisible hand” and “ laissez- faire” are synonymous with Smith’s name. History has made Smith’s ideas more controversial. “Adam Smith” to conservative businesspeople, and those same people will smile and make a response with words like “He was a good man – really understood how business works!” “Say Adam Smith” to liberal reformers and they will grimace and mutter something along the lines of “He was a idol man – really sold the average citizen down the river.” Both of these reactions are extreme, but such responses indicate that the controversy aroused by Smith’s ideas is still alive.

Shorter Paragraph:

Adam Smith, the founder of modern economics, became controversial because of his theory proposed in the eighteenth century. This British economist educated in England, wrote the first study of political economy. In 1776, year of the American independence declaration, the Wealth of Nations was declared. Smith's book directed attention to the freedom interdependence economic processes and free tarde laws. Although his theory did not affect economic policies significantly during his life, its influence in the next century was considerable. Other economist named Adam Smith "The invisible hands". To bussiness people, Adam Smith will be a good man who really understood how bussiness works. “Say Adam Smith” to liberal reformers and they will grimace and mutter something along the lines of “He was a idol man – really sold the average citizen down the river.” Both of these reactions are extreme, but such responses indicate that the controversy aroused by Smith’s ideas is still alive.

Article

Physical Side Effects of Oversleeping

When it comes to sleep, can you have too much of a good thing? It's true a good night's sleep is essential for health. But oversleeping has been linked to a host of medical problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and increased risk of death.

Researchers are careful to note, however, that two other factors -- depression and low socioeconomic status -- are strongly associated with oversleeping. Those two factors may be the reason for the observed negative health effects. For example, people of lower socioeconomic status may have less access to health care and therefore more undiagnosed illnesses, such as heart disease, which, in turn, may cause oversleeping.

Oversleeping: How Much Sleep Is Too Much?

The amount of sleep you need varies significantly over the course of your lifetime. It depends on your age and activity level as well as your general health and lifestyle habits. For instance, during periods of stress or illness, you may feel an increased need for sleep. But although sleep needs differ over time and from person to person, experts typically recommend that adults should sleep between seven and nine hours each night.

Why Do People Sleep Too Much?

For people who suffer from hypersomnia, oversleeping is actually a medical disorder. The condition causes people to suffer from extreme sleepiness throughout the day, which is not usually relieved by napping. It also causes them to sleep for unusually long periods of time at night. Many people with hypersomnia experience symptoms of anxiety, low energy, and memory problems as a result of their almost constant need for sleep.

Obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that causes people to stop breathing momentarily during sleep, can also lead to an increased need for sleep. That's because it disrupts the normal sleep cycle.

Of course, not everyone who oversleeps has a sleep disorder. Other possible causes of oversleeping include the use of certain substances, such as alcohol and some prescription medications. Other medical conditions, including depression, can cause people to oversleep. And then there are people who simply enjoy sleeping for long periods of time.

Medical Problems Linked to Oversleeping

Diabetes. In a study of almost 9,000 Americans, researchers found a relationship between sleep and the risk of diabetes. People who slept more than nine hours each night had a 50% greater risk of diabetes than people who slept seven hours per night. This increased risk was also seen in people who slept less than five hours per night. The researchers did not draw conclusions about the physiological link between long sleep and diabetes. But they did suggest that oversleeping could be indicative of underlying medical problems that increase the likelihood of diabetes.

Obesity. Sleeping too much could make you weigh too much, as well. One recent study showed that people who slept for nine or 10 hours every night were 21% more likely to become obese over a six-year period than were people who slept between seven and eight hours. This association between sleep and obesity remained the same even when food intake and exercise were taken into account.


CONCISENESS

Monica has sent her summary to the evaluative committee of the magazine "TESOL QUATERLY" to be considered for future publication. However, it was sent back because the word limit was 115. Help Monica to reduce it and fullfil the demands of the audience to be accepted

(1) This study went through 1,600 marginal and end comments written on 110 first drafts of essays by 47 university ESL students who are advanced, considering both the pragmatic goals for and the linguistics features of each comment. (2) After this, drafts of each individuals essay were examined to observe the influence of the first draft commentary on the students’ revision and asses whether the changes that we made in response to the teacher’s feedback actually improved the essays. (3) The author thinks that a really significant proportion of the comments led to substantive students revision, and that there were particular types or kinds and forms of commentary that were more helpful than other commentaries. (4) The final result are suggestive of several important implications for 12 writing instructions and for future studies on a vital but surprisingly neglected topic.

This study went through 1.600 comments about 110 drafts of essays made by 47 university ESL advanced students, considering pragmatic and linguistid features. Each draft were eximined to observe the influence of the first draft commentary to see if the students corrected them following the teacher's recomendations. The author thinks that a significant proportion of the comments led to sustantive revision and that some commentaries were more helpful than others. The results suggest important implications for L2 writing instruction and for future studies on a vital topic.

miércoles, 14 de julio de 2010

Outlining and Summery excersices
EXERCISE 3
WRITE A 100 WORD SUMMARY FROM THE ORIGINAL ESSAY TITLED “STUDENT RIGHTS”

OUTLINE
Thesis: Students’ participation in important issues such as faculty selection, curriculum planning and scheduling.
I (Main Idea): University administrations do not let the students participate to make important decisions about University issues.
II (Main Idea): The faculty selection is the main problem in our campus.
III (Main Idea): Scheduling and curricula planning process are other two problems in which students’ opinion is no taken into account.

SUMMARY

Students should participate in their University issues such as Facuty selection, curriculum planning and scheduling. if they don`t, something must be done.
Let`s examine the facts about this situation in our campus. First of all, the students have never been permited to examine the credencial of Professors. All hiring is done by a committee that rarely have contact with them. since students careers will be governed by professors, they are equipped to evaluate teachers comunication abilities. Students are the best ones to ascertain a professor`s professional training level and experience.
Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing means to make a shorter version of a text by using our own words, but keeping the author's idea. Paraphrasing is a strategy for understanding an author’s meaning and it must be used carefully, using synonyms and changing the sentence structure.

Exercise 1
Paraphrase each sentence. There may be more than one way to rewrite each one. Remember to change vocabulary, phrases and sentence structure wherever you can.

a. Despite their massive size, elephants are known for being agile.
Despite elephants are big, they are very agile

b. Because elephants consume up to 500 pounds of food a day, they are able to strip a forest bare in no time.
Elephants eat too much food daily; they could leave a forest desert

c. Over the centuries, lions have been used in art to represent power and magnificence.
A representation of power and magnificence has been seen in lion’s figure, for many years in art.

d. Lions are social animals with one dominant male in each pride.
Lions live in a social way, with a dominant male for each herd

e. George Washington Carver was a dedicated teacher; in addition, he was known as a talented artist, musician, and researcher who made valuable contributions to his people and his country.
George W. Carver helped his country and people as a dedicated teacher, a talented artist, a musician and a researcher.

f. Archibald McLeish, known for his poetry, was appointed head of the Congress by President Roosevelt in 1993.
President Roosevelt appointed as head of the Congress to Archibald McLeish, a poet, in 1939.

Exercise 2
Read each paragraph and state the main idea in your own words.

1. Main idea: There is too much water in the world, but because of the problems to use it, there are too many people without enought of it.

2. Main idea: New oil fields are explored to replace the old ones.

3. Main idea: There is a religious group called Quakers that defend the human rights and they live a simple and pacific life.