English for Academic Study

Frederika GEBHARDT & Geraldine LUDBROOK

Dispensa per gli studenti del corso LINGUA INGLESE 2
Laurea Specialistica
Anno Accademico 2009-2010
Facolt di Lettere e Filosofia

INDEX
Introduction

p. 3

UNIT ONE

SOME GENERAL POINTS

p. 4

UNIT TWO

WRITING SENTENCES

p. 11

UNIT THREE

WRITING PARAGRAPHS

p. 17

UNIT FOUR

CHRONOLOGICAL ESSAY: Writing a biography

p. 21

UNIT FIVE

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY: Describing an art work

p. 27

UNIT SIX

DISCUSSION ESSAY: Arguing for and against

p. 36

UNIT SEVEN

CRITICAL ESSAY: Writing a review

p. 41

ACADEMIC SPEAKING SKILLS

p. 48

ANSWER KEY TO EXERCISES

p. 60

APPENDICES
Structure and Cohesion
Citing References

p. 70

Introduction
English for Academic Study is intended to provide students with a series of models, techniques and
practice to help them begin writing in an academic context at a low intermediate level.
Starting from the sentence level, the work gradually moves to the paragraph and then the simple 4
and 5-paragraph essay.
Further exercises draw attention to specific language needed for each kind of text, as well as useful
grammar forms.
The second section of the text contains work to be used to develop speaking skills useful for
university students.
An answer key allows students to correct their own work.
Writing in a foreign language requires practice, even using very simple exercises of transformation
or extension. We therefore invite students to write out the answers to the exercises, rather than
simply inserting information.
We also hope that the general guidelines given throughout the book will enable students to acquire
some autonomy when writing, and to develop an understanding of common mistakes made by
Italian speakers of English as well as an awareness of their own personal errors.
Frederika Gebhardt

Geraldine Ludbrook

UNIT ONE SOME GENERAL POINTS

When writing in English, it is very important to re-read your work to check for:
1. grammar mistakes
2. spelling
3. punctuation
Some hints when proofreading:
If you have time, leave the first draft for a day before reading it again.
Remember that the longer a sentence, the more likely it is to contain errors: Keep sentences
short.
Use a computer spell-check, but be careful as it may not detect all the errors as some words
may be spelled correctly but are in the wrong context (fist instead of first, for example).
Read carefully for common mistakes Italians make when writing in English.
Check also for mistakes you know you make personally.
1.1
Capitalization
English capitalization differs from the Italian system in some ways:
-

The pronoun I
Proper nouns: specific people, places, organizations
Titles: Queen Elizabeth; the Queen of England; President Bush
Directions in names: the North Pole, the North of England
Days of the week, months of the year, holidays: Monday, February, Christmas
Names of countries, nationalities and languages: England, English, the English
The first word in a direct quote: He said, Go home.
The major words in titles, but not articles or short prepositions. The Catcher in the Rye
Periods and events: the Victorian Era, the Great Depression

EXERCISE 1
Rewrite the text adding capital letters where necessary.
westminster palace, rebuilt from the year 1840 on the site of important medieval remains, is a fine
example of neo-gothic architecture. the site which also comprises the small medieval church of
saint margaret, built in perpendicular gothic style, and westminster abbey, where all the
sovereigns since the 11th century have been crowned is of great historic and symbolic
significance.
in the 1040s king edward (later st edward the confessor), last of the anglo-saxon kings,
established his royal palace by the banks of the river thames on land known as thorney island.
close by was a small benedictine monastery founded under the patronage of king edgar and st
dunstan around 960 ad. this monastery edward chose to enlarge, building a large stone church in
honour of st peter the apostle. this church became known as the west minster to distinguish it
from st pauls cathedral (the east minster) in the city of london. unfortunately, when the new
4

church was consecrated on 28 december 1065 the king was too ill to attend and died a few days
later. his mortal remains were entombed in front of the high altar.
1.2
Punctuation
Most punctuation marks are used as in Italian. Here are just a few points.
Full stop: English sentences tend to be shorter than Italian sentences. Check your sentence length
and separate into two shorter sentences with a full stop.
Exclamation mark: It is better not to use exclamation marks in formal written English.
Question mark: This is only used in direct questions. What is the time? She asked what the time
was.
Colon: In English the colon is used
- to introduce lists. He bought many objects: pens, pencils and books.
- to explain a point made in the earlier part of the sentence. Queen Elizabeth I: A rare
monarch.
Semicolon: The semicolon is generally used to link two sentences which are grammatically
independent but related in meaning. Riding was a sport she enjoyed; she felt that she could never
give it up.
Comma: A comma is often used before and and or, and usually before but, when these
words are used to link sentences together. Finish that job now, and come inside. It is also inserted
before and when it introduces the last item of a list. I bought a book, a ruler, and some pens.
Commas are also used in relative clauses:
Defining: The line which concludes the poem is longer than the others.
Non-defining: The third verse, which concludes the poem, is longer than the others.
Connecting: I read the poem, which made me feel sad.
Dash: The dash is a fairly informal stop. It can be used to replace parentheses or commas.
Apostrophe: The apostrophe indicates the possessive of nouns (Saxon genitive), Marys book, and
the omission of letters in contractions, cant, wont. Remember that contracted forms are not
generally used in formal English.
Hyphen: The hyphen is used to form compound words, dining-room. But there are no fixed rules
for its use. Check your dictionary if you are in doubt. It is also used to form compound adjectives.
Note the difference in these two forms: the eighteenth century; an eighteenth-century building.
EXERCISE 2
Re-write the sentences punctuating them correctly.
1. Several countries signed the Treaty Britain France Italy and Spain
2. English is full of idiomatic expressions Some are so old their origins are lost others have recent
easily identifiable roots
3. Although mention of the churchs existence was mentioned by the historian in the 1450s its
location is still unknown
5

4. Hamlet is however a highly developed character

5. I look after two year old children [two possibilities; what is the difference in meaning?] while
studying twelfth century literature.
6. The Tower of London an impressive castle is situated by the Thames
7. The age of Shakespeare and of Marlowe Kyd Chapman and Ben Jonson extends roughly from
1590 to 1625
8. Restoration projects on buildings at risk have been completed at Betchworth Castle Surrey
Cowdray House West Sussex and Halswell House Somerset
9. The Lord of the Rings was nominated as the British Nations best loved novel in 2007
10. Occupied since Roman times the site is rich in historic associations.
1.3
Grammar
Some points Italian learners often get wrong. Revise the grammar points and make sure you know
where you tend to make mistakes.
Articles (use and non-use)
Time and tense (past vs present perfect; present perfect continuous; future time and tenses)
Aspect (simple vs continuous forms)
Word order (S + V + O; adding adjectives and adverbs; final prepositions; indirect questions)
Subject-verb agreement
Dummy subjects (it and there as subjects)
Modal verbs
Conditionals (subjective forms, present and past conditional forms)
Passive (continuous form)
Reported speech (say or tell, other reporting verbs)
Nouns (singular/plural; countable/uncountable)
Relative clauses and pronouns (whom/whose and that/which)
Verb forms (infinitive or gerund)
EXERCISE 3
Always check carefully for grammar mistakes in your own writing. There are 20 common
grammar mistakes in the text below.
Historical revisionism
All writings of the history are in some way revisionist. If there would be a universally accepted
view of history there were no need to research it. Many historians which write revisionist exposs
want correct history. Up to now many great discoveries came as a result of the research of men
6

and women that have been enough curious to revisit certain historical events and explore it again
in depth from a new perspective.
Those historians who work within the existing establishment, who have a body of existing work
from which they claim authority, have the most to gain by maintain the status quo. This may be
called an accepted paradigm. Revisionist historians, such as feminist historians, or ethnic minority
historians, contest often the mainstream or traditional view of historical events and raise views at
odds with traditionalists, that must be freshly judged. Between the mainstream of accepted beliefs
and the new perspectives of historical revisionism, informations are either changed, or solidified
and clarified. If over a period of time the revisionist ideas will become the new establishment
status quo a paradigm shift said to have occurred.
Is the spirit of the times that influences historians. Developments in other academic areas, and
cultural and political fashions, all help to shape the model and outlines of history that are been
currently accepted (the historiographical paradigm). As time passes and this influences change so
did most historians views on the explanation of historical events. The accepted model is revising
to fit in with the current agreed-upon version of events. Some of the influences whom features
may change over time are language, nationalism, culture and idealogy.

EXERCISE 4
Correct the mistakes in the following sentences.
1. You can go out now. It does not snow any more.
2. I was cutting my finger while I cooked.
3. She not had much to do at all yesterday.
4. How many plays has Goldoni written?
5. Italian is an European language.
6. We studied the Latin at school.
7. If I knew you were coming, I would have come to get you at the station.
8. He is doing many researches on the subject.
9. The building should be saved because is an outstanding example of industrial architecture.
10. The professor will let me to study this topic.
11. The French President, accompanied by his new wife, are going to Egypt.
12. Look at the ground. It has rained all night.
13. What is the world going to be like in 50 years time?
14. The ancient town had an intensive economic and social life, that flourished for centuries.
15. Is said that he has written 40 novels.
1.4 False friends
Many words to be found in the English language seem familiar to Italian students, but in fact the
meaning is often different. Make a list of the false friends you find and learn to use them correctly.
EXERCISE 5
Re-write the sentence replacing the incorrect words in italics with the correct word. Then write
sentences using the words in italics in an appropriate context.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

We went to buy some books from the local library.

The museum is actually undergoing restoration.
Admission prices were extremely economic.
The professor spoke on the argument of archaeology in the Near East.
The painting was attacked to the wall.
Damage to the vase was irrelevant.
7

7. Have you heard the latest notice?

8. Have you seen the curator ultimately?
9. Summarise the lecture in this book.
10. The number of visitors this year has broken all primates.
1.5

Plagiarism

Plagiarism (using another persons work and pretending it is your own) is a very serious offence in
the British and American university systems and can lead to failure of a course or expulsion from
university. It is therefore very important to know how to incorporate other writers work into your
own writing correctly.
There are three different ways of doing this:
Quoting: Direct quotations must be identical to the original. They should be acknowledged with
the correct reference conventions and listed at the end of your writing. (See the Appendix for
information on how to cite references in the Bibliography.)
Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing involves using your own words to report someone elses writing,
attributing it nevertheless to the original source. Paraphrases are usually shorter than the original
passage.
Summarizing: Summaries are much shorter versions of an original text, and generally include only
the main points expressed in your own words. The original source must always be acknowledged.
a) Quoting
Quotations can be added to your text in different ways. A short quotation can be integrated into a
sentence whereas longer quotations can stand alone.
There are different styles for citing sources. The most common one used in the humanities is the
Modern Language Association (MLA) style, which will be followed here.
Double quotation marks () should be used at the beginning and end of the quotation. Single
quotation marks () should be used only when something is being quoted within your quoted
passage.
The punctuation of the original should be followed. MLA style requires that a final comma or full
stop should come inside the quotation marks, even when you are quoting a single word.
If you abbreviate the quotation by omitting words, put three dots () in place of the missing words.
Always place the name of the author, the date of the publication and the page number(s) after the
quotation. This is called parenthetical citation. If you are quoting more than one author, separate
the names with a semi-colon.
Examples:
As James states: The term utilitarianism is often misunderstood (2000:53).
That view () is incorrect, observes Lagrange in his article (2005: 23-4).
This is a genre, claims Clark, that seems to have been invented in France (1999:10).
8

Some scholars have argued against this idea as it is considered invalid(Healy 2001; Smith
1998).
Longer quotations (more than three lines) are set off from the text:
They are generally indented on left and right margins, single spaced, and should
not be enclosed in quotation marks. End the sentence in your text that comes
immediately before the quotation with a colon. Be careful to retain the
punctuation of the material you are quoting.
Some useful reporting verbs:
add, answer, argue, claim, complain, deny, explain, observe, remark, reply, say, state, suggest.
b) Paraphrasing and summarising
Here are some tips on how to write paraphrases or summaries:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Quickly skim through the text to get an overall idea of its content.
Re-read it more carefully, identifying the main points, until you understand its full meaning.
Make brief notes of the main points, using your own words.
Write out any important phrases or sentences that you might want to quote. Be careful to
copy them precisely and indicate omitted text with three dots.
Always cite the name of the author, date of publication and page number in brackets after
the paraphrase or summary.
Put the original away and write your summary or paraphrase.
Check the text with the original.
Edit the text for mistakes.

REMEMBER: Changing around a few words and phrases, or changing the order of the original
sentence is not sufficient to avoid plagiarism. You must record the information in the original
passage accurately, using your own words, indicate direct quotations using quotation marks, and
provide the source of your information.
Look at these examples and identify why they are either correct or plagiarised:
The original passage:
Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations
in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as
directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of
source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 4647.
A legitimate paraphrase:
In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a
desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize
the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47).
An acceptable summary:
Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount
of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

A plagiarized version:
Students often use too many direct quotations when they take notes, resulting in too many of them
in the final research paper. In fact, probably only about 10% of the final copy should consist of
directly quoted material. So it is important to limit the amount of source material copied while
taking notes.

EXERCISE 6
Paraphrase then summarise the following passage
Earlier this year the former chief inspector of English schools, Mike Tomlinson, described Britons
as "barbarians" when it came to learning foreign languages. Research published this week, which
suggested fewer than one in 10 British workers could speak a foreign language, even to a basic
level, appeared to show the accusation was well-founded. Recruitment firm Office Angels poll of
1,500 workers found less than 5% could count to 20 in a second language - even though a
majority of the respondents said they would like to live abroad. Some 80% said they thought they
could get by at work because "everyone speaks English". A European Commission survey in 2001
found 65.9% of UK respondents only spoke their native tongue - by far the highest proportion
among the EU countries polled.
(Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/3930963.stm
Published: 2004/07/29 08:43:13 GMT)
Paraphrase

Summary

10

UNIT TWO WRITING SENTENCES

2.1
Basic syntax
The basic pattern of the English sentence structure is Subject Verb Object : Hes painting a
lion.
This simple sentence can be expanded to form more complex sentences, adding adjectives, adverbs
or relative clauses, for example. Adjectives are generally placed before nouns. Adverbs of manner
(quickly, slowly), place (here, there, away), and time (today, last week, next year) are placed at the
end of the sentence, in this order:
Hes painting a huge lion.
Hes painting a lion slowly in his studio at the moment.
Hes painting a lion which is running in the jungle.
Adverbs never separate the verb and its complement:
I love Shakespeares poetry very much.
I studied the chapter very carefully.
EXERCISE 1
Basic sentence syntax
Put the words in the correct order to form a sentence.
1. a newspaper / reads / every day / John
2. meat / dont like / very much / I
3. such / beautiful / I / seen / have / never / a / film
4. slowly / Jane / the letter / read
5. on / the shelf / he / the book / put
6. a lot of / homework / yesterday / did / I
7. at the concert / met / some / friends / we
8. speak / dont / very well / English / they
9. 1996 / we / since / have / worked / here
10. a present / her / I / sent
2.2
Emphatic structures
In written English, emphasis is placed on one element of the sentence by shifting the element to be
stressed to the beginning or to the end of the sentence.
Sometimes the Subject Verb pattern remains the same:
Im working today.
Today Im working, but tomorrow Im on holiday.
She ran into the room:
Into the room she ran.
Sometimes the Subject Verb pattern is inverted:
He had never seen such a lovely painting. Never had he seen such a lovely painting.
Different structures can be used to place focus on one element of the sentence:
Paul won the prize.
The prize was won by Paul.
It was Paul who won the prize.
Participial phrases can create more variety in a sentence.
Present Participle: He stood outside the cathedral. He admired the statues.
Standing outside the cathedral, he admired the statues.
11

Past participle: The collection is housed in the local museum. The collection is priceless.
Housed in the local museum, the collection is priceless.

EXERCISE 2
Emphatic structures
Complete each of the following sentences in such a way that it has the same meaning as the
original sentence.
1. Christopher Wren designed this church.
This
__________________________________________________________________.

church

2. If the present demographic trend should persist, the population will fall by 20 million.
Should
the
present
_____________________________________________________________.
3. Galileo Galilei laid the bases of the modern science of mechanics.
It
_______________________________________________________________________.

was

4. The films strengths are greater than its weaknesses.

Greater
_____________________________________________________________________.
5. The National Trust, which was founded in 1895, is the largest independent conservation
charity.
Founded ____________________________________________________________________.
6. The Tower, a famous landmark, can be seen for many miles.
A
____________________________________________________________________.

famous

7. I have never read such a good book.

Never
_______________________________________________________________________.
8. The sculpture is again on show, as it has recently been restored.
Having
______________________________________________________________________.
9. The radio broadcast an interesting play yesterday.
An
interesting
_____________________________________________________________.

play

10. The theory is extremely fascinating.

What
_______________________________________________________________________.

12

Negative sentences are formed by adding not to the auxiliary verb : She isnt a model.
In formal English, the contracted form is generally not used: Students must not arrive late.
In English, negative sentences usually contain only one negative element. In formal English, the
verb may remain positive and another negative element is added to the sentence:
I havent any time for you now.
I have no time for you now.
I cant see anyone in the room.
There is no-one in the room.
EXERCISE 3
Formal negative sentences
Re-write the negative sentences in a more formal way.
1. I dont know anybody.
2. He didnt go anywhere.
3. We havent done anything wrong.
4. Some people dont have any respect.
5. They dont have any money left.
6. Firm evidence of prehistoric dwellings has not been found.
7. They havent said anything new about the subject.
8. We wont be able to afford to live there any longer.
9. This book by the author is not any better than the last one he wrote.
10. The use of the machine doesnt require any prior technical knowledge.
Direct questions are formed with the use of an auxiliary verb:
Is he here? Can I come in?
Does he like Matisse?

Did they study in London?

Wh- interrogative words are also used for content questions:

Where is the university?
Who did he draw?
Where has the Mona Lisa been housed?
Indirect questions retain the Subject Verb pattern:
What did you study?
He asked me what I studied.
Can we help you?
They asked us whether we could help them.
EXERCISE 4
Direct question forms
Complete the spaces with an appropriate question.
Biography of Ian McKewan
Ian McEwan was born on 21 June in 1948 in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. (Where?
__________) He spent much of his childhood in the Far East, Germany and North Africa where
his father, an officer in the army, was posted. (How long?__________) He returned to England
and read English at Sussex University. (What?__________) After graduating, he became the first
student on the MA Creative Writing course established at the University of East Anglia by
Malcolm Bradbury and Angus Wilson. (Who?___________)
13

His first novel, The Cement Garden (1978), (When?__________)is the story of four orphaned
children living alone after the death of both parents. (What?__________) It was followed by The
Comfort of Strangers (1981), set in Venice, a tale of fantasy, violence and obsession. His novels
have won several awards, including the Whitbread Novel Award, the Booker Prize for Fiction, W.
H. Smith Literary Award and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. (What?____________)
In addition to his prose fiction, Ian McEwan has written plays for television and film screenplays,
including The Ploughmans Lunch (1985), an adaptation of Timothy Mos novel Sour Sweet
(1988) and an adaptation of his own novel, The Innocent (1993). (Has?____________) He also
wrote the libretto to Michael Berkeleys music for the oratorio Or Shall We Die? and is the author
of a childrens book, The Daydreamer (1994). Film adaptations of his own novels include First
Love, Last Rites (1997), The Cement Garden (1993) and The Comfort of Strangers (1991), for
which Harold Pinter wrote the screenplay, (Who?___________ ) and Atonement (2007).
Ian McEwan lives in London. His latest novel is On Chesil Beach (2007), (What?___________)
shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

EXERCISE 5
Indirect question forms
Report the following questions.
1. What is the time?, Anne asked.
2. Why did you run out of the room so suddenly?, James asked.
3. Are we going to visit the castle?, asked the student.
4. Did you see the new art exhibition yesterday?, Clare asked.
5. What do you think of our new neighbours?, my husband asked.
6. Would you do it if you could?, she asked.
7. Will nothing be done until tomorrow?, John asked.
8. Do you know how many people live in this town?, asked Robert.
9. Can we postpone the meeting until next week?, asked Jane.
10. Where has the office been moved to?, asked Susan.
2.3

Formal style

2.3.1 Syntax
In informal English, sentences tend to be shorter, and basic punctuation is used (comma, full stop).
In formal English, sentences are usually longer are more complex; the full range of punctuation
devices is used (colon, semi-colon, quotation marks).
In informal English, personal pronouns (I, we) are used: I think this is correct. You must be right.
In formal English, personal pronouns are not generally used and are replaced by impersonal
constructions: It is thought to be correct.
He was believed to have died in Spain.
In informal English, the active voice of the verb is used: He painted the portrait in three months.
In formal English, the passive voice of the verb is often dominant: The portrait was completed in
three months.
In informal English, prepositions are placed at the end of the sentence:
14

Who are you speaking to? The man he looked at.

In formal English, prepositions precede relative and interrogative pronouns:
To whom are you speaking? The man at whom he looked.
EXERCISE 6
Formal syntax
Rewrite the sentences in more formal English.
1. The professor, who I talked to, was very helpful.
2. The hotel where we stayed was marvellous.
3. They believe he is writing another novel.
4. Thats the book Im interested in.
5. They completed the restoration of the building in 5 years.
6. They will consider the issue of historical revisionism.
7. Thats the university Im studying at.
8. This studyll help us make connections which we were previously unaware of.
9. Hes a person Im really proud of.
10. They proved that the statements he had made were false.

2.2.2 Lexis
In informal English, the use of vocabulary is less precise; formal language is generally precise and
avoids ambiguities.
In informal English, short, vernacular words are used: to be sorry; to go up; to get.
In formal English words of Latin and Greek origin are generally preferred: to regret; to increase; to
receive.
We were obliged to return earlier than planned due to poor weather conditions.
We had to go back sooner than wed planned because the weather was so bad.
In formal written English idioms and slang are generally avoided unless they are introduced to
provide colour, especially in titles to articles:
Blakelys arguments do not hold water.
Blakelys arguments can be shown to be wrong.

A new course is in the pipeline.

A new course is being planned.

In informal English, emphasis is added using bold or italics, or CAPITALS, or an exclamation

mark! Formal language avoids such devices. Other emphatic words such as great, terrific,
amazing, awesome, should also be omitted.
EXERCISE 7
Formal lexis
Substitute the informal words in italics with the formal words below.
demonstrated
repeatedly

consequence comprehension
incorrect
decrease

raised

investigating
initially
producing

1. The question of taxes was brought up at the students meeting.

15

2. The people have no understanding of what the issue is about.

3. At first the scientists were sceptical about the results of the experiment.
4. It would be wrong to suggest that the vaccine is harmless.
5. The lecturer showed that the impact on climate change was inevitable.
6. The death of the patient was a direct result of negligence.
7. The newspapers bias has been proved again and again.
8. There has been a noticeable drop in the number of museum visitors.
9. The staff is looking into the problem.
10. The University is turning out an online catalogue of ancient manuscripts.
2.3
Cautious language
In academic writing, particularly when research is being undertaken, cautious language is adopted
to show the writers position on the subject. Various forms can be used to convey caution:
Cautious verbs: The presence of insects suggests / implies that food was consumed in the area.
Hedging with modal verbs: Food could / may / might have been consumed.
Impersonal statements: It is believed / It is alleged that food was consumed.
It could be the case that / It might be suggested that / It may be said that food was consumed.
Cautious adverbs: The presence of insects seems to be / is probably / is possibly / is perhaps the
result of food consumption.
EXERCISE 8
Rewrite the sentences using more cautious language.
The Portland Vase at the British Museum
1. The Portland Vase is the most famous and influential piece of ancient glass in the world.
2. Its blue and white cameo appearance served as a source of inspiration for the potter Josiah
Wedgwood.
3. The scenes on the vase are Roman and it is of Roman date.
4. The Vase was made by the skilled glassmakers of Renaissance Venice.
5. In 1845 the Vase was permanently damaged by a visitor to the Museum who was mentally
unstable.

EXERCISE 9
Re-write the text, inserting the phrases below in the appropriate spaces..
imply
probably used
believed to be
suggest

perhaps
could have been used may also have displayed
appears to be might also be suggested
probably displayed

Ancient moon computer revisited

The delicate workings at the heart of what is 1) __________a 2,000-year-old analogue computer
have been revealed by scientists. The Antikythera Mechanism, discovered more than 100 years
ago in a Roman shipwreck, was 2) __________by ancient Greeks to display astronomical cycles.
Using advanced imaging techniques, an Anglo-Greek team probed the remaining fragments of the
complex geared device. The results, published in the journal Nature, show it 3) _________to
predict solar and lunar eclipses. The elaborate arrangement of bronze gears 4) __________
16

planetary information. The mechanism is 5) __________ as important for technology as the

Acropolis is for architecture. Although its origins are uncertain, the new studies of the inscriptions
6) __________ it would have been constructed around 100-150 BC, long before such devices
appear in other parts of the world. Writing in Nature, the team says that the mechanism 7)
__________ "technically more complex than any known device for at least a millennium
afterwards". It 8) __________ that the device was used for teaching or navigation.
Inscriptions mention the word Venus and the word stationary which would 9) __________
that it was looking at retrogressions of planets and it also 10) ___________ Mercury.

17

UNIT THREE

WRITING PARAGRAPHS

Paragraph structure
1. Topic Sentence:
- the first sentence in a paragraph
- it summarises the main idea of the paragraph
2. Supporting Details:
- make up the body of the paragraph
- provide supporting facts, details and examples
3. Closing Sentence:
- the last sentence in a paragraph
- restates the main idea of the paragraph, using different words
- or leads on to the next point
Example
The apparent realism of much Dutch art can be deceptive. Many floral still lifes, for instance, show
combinations of flowers that do not bloom at the same time of year. Likewise, some lavish banquet
tables are set with partially uneaten meals, interrupted in mid course. And the landscapes may stress
the hopeful light of a new dawn or the dark threat of an approaching storm. These incredible
illusions of space, solidity, texture, and light often assume the role of memento mori (a memento of
mortality)a reminder that life is fleeting and that God is good, but his judgment is stern.
Example
English staff at the University of Michigan have just published preliminary results of their research
on student writing. The educators used student surveys delivered to first-year students three times
during the year. The surveys asked questions about past writing experiences, enjoyment of the
writing process, and how much time students have for homework. The project was initiated in
hopes of improving the quality of instructing writing and the actual process of writing at the
University and at area high schools. The study found that many high school teachers are unaware of
the college writing process and what is expected of students, and the goal of the research is to
change this problem.
EXERCISE 1
Re-write the jumbled sentences to create well-structured paragraphs with a topic sentence,
supporting details and a closing sentence.
Paragraph 1
- In addition, artworks are highly susceptible to light.
- The provision of a suitable environment for cultural artefacts can make the difference between
preservation and destruction.
- The environment of art and artefacts has a major impact on their preservation.
- Therefore, preventive conservation is the most direct and uncomplicated way of caring for works
of art.
- It includes the effect of differing levels of relative humidity and temperature, the presence of
insects and mould.

18

Paragraph 2
- Their conception of their role in the discovery of America is profoundly religious: it is
inseparable from the biblical metaphors of the Apocalypse and the coming of the millennium.
- Their destination, both spiritual and geographical, is America, the new Israel that marks the
beginning of the millennium.
- For many Puritans, Christopher Columbuss passage in America was one of the most important
historical events as the sign of a bigger historical destiny.
- Indeed, their historical and geographical position in America is closely related to their biblical
definition of themselves and of America.
- In the bigger divine plan, the Puritans are Gods chosen people.
Paragraph 3
- Our legal system is unique in that it embodies our concept of the individuals freedom.
- The latter has been adopted, in various forms, by the other English speaking nations, notably the
USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and Malta.
- However, these ancient rights are now under imminent threat from Brussels under a proposal
known as Corpus Juris.
- Many people see Britain as being the home of freedom as we created our unique system of
parliamentary democracy backed by our common law.
- Hence, it makes our laws quite different to those of our friends in Continental Europe.

Formal paragraphs: Writing an abstract

An abstract is a paragraph that is a formal summary of a piece of academic writing such as an
article or a thesis. You need to write an abstract when you submit an article to a journal or when
you make a conference proposal.
1. The topic sentence (or two) of an abstract provides a summary of the main point of the paper and
introduces the problem the paper discusses. It also says why the work is important.
2. After a summary of the main topic/problem/point of the paper, the abstract provides some detail
on how the project was carried out.
3. The abstract ends with what conclusions were reached.
The information provided in the abstract should follow the organization of the paper/report itself,
almost like providing an outline for the reader in text form. There is generally a word limit, so your
writing will have to be very compact.
Example 1
Susan Faludi and Molly Ivins: A Feminist Critique
The paper describes the importance of gender communication research and continues with
biographies of two best-selling authors: Susan Faludi and Molly Ivins. Speeches by these women
were examined using Campbells theory that womens rhetoric is a genre to determine their
similarities to or differences from male rhetorical styles. The substance, style, tag questions,
qualifiers, vocabulary, and disclaimers of the women suggested that both reflect a male perspective
while Faludi follows a feminist rhetorical pattern.

19

Example 2
Masculine Pleasures: Metropolitan Identities and the Commercial Sites of Dandyism, 1790-1840
This article examines the relationship between urban space, fashion and the changing forms of
masculine identity presented by the figure of the dandy in the West End of early nineteenth-century
London. It uses the evidence of biographical accounts, popular journalism and printed satire to
demonstrate the ways in which the city provided both a supportive framework, a physical resource
and a symbolic stage for the performance of a new version of fashionable masculinity. The article
complements those accounts of dandyism which stress the symbolic associations of the dandys
stance by insisting on a reading of consumption practices which acknowledge their material coordinates, highlighting the role played by the physical context of the metropolis in defining the
dandys attitudes and appearance.
Example 3
A Survey of the Coin Finds from the Antonine Wall
This is an up-to-date catalogue of the stratified and stray coin finds from the vicinity of the forts on
the Antonine Wall and its related outpost of Camelon. The evidence is taken from a variety of
sources, some nowadays of restricted availability, and compiled as a single list for the first time.
Extant coins have been rechecked where possible and their identifications updated to modern
references.
As a single-period site the Antonine Wall is highly unusual for Roman Britain. However, in contrast
to the more coherent pottery evidence, the body of coin finds carries within it background noise
from a minority that are either modern losses or deposits made by post-occupation activity. By
looking at the assemblage as a whole the article attempts to: draw the evidence back into focus and
reconcile it with the currently accepted chronology while considering whether the coins might
contain any shadow evidence of other periods of activity; and, if not, what such simple
archaeological sites reveal about coin use and loss in Roman forts.
Separating paragraphs
There are two ways of separating paragraphs: either indenting or leaving a blank line between
paragraphs. Although the Modern Language Association prefers indented paragraphs (see example
1 above), the convention is increasingly moving towards blocked paragraphs separated by a blank
line (see examples 2 and 3 above). Whatever style you choose, make sure you are consistent.
WRITING TASK
1. Read the notes given below.
2. Write a paragraph for each set of notes.
3. Proofread your work for:
a) spelling mistakes
b) grammar mistakes
c) clear paragraph structuring
Artists and Craftsmen in the Late Bronze Age of China (eighth - third centuries BC): Art in
Transition
Paper describes major social changes in China in Late Bronze Age (particularly 4 cent. BC)
Mirrored in organization of workshops and artistic production
20

Bronze and lacquer different media with specific properties

But both media played significant role in development of arts in ancient China
Specifically, respective styles interacted on several levels
Interactions explored to understand role of artists and craftsmen in art history of this particular
period
The Quadro da Portego: A Genre of Venetian Paining?
Lecture examines development of quadro da portego in 16th cent.
Explores how intention to hang painting in room influenced size and shape also subject and content
Portego - long salon-like space of Venetian home - extended from front to back of house
Most important display area
Seen as precursor of the gallery
Original purpose to house weapons and armour of noble ancestors
By sixteenth century room chiefly used for display, entertaining, and banqueting
But continued to be associated with family identity and civic virtue
Lecture uses quadro da portego as example
Lecture considers how location within house is significant in impact on both production and
interpretation of works of art
Celtic Origins: The Western and Eastern Celts
First part of lecture discusses concept of Celtic (primarily linguistic but also non-linguistic uses)
Second part refers to various Celtic movements and settlements
Ancestors of Celts as speakers of Indo-European dialect came from East
But established in Western Europe
Later from 5th cent. BC onwards Celtic groups migrated eastwards again
Settled in Noricum and Pannonia
Presentation of linguistic evidence for Eastern Celts
Consists mainly of personal and tribal names
Inferences drawn as to survival of Celtic speech social structures and cultural habits into Roman
times.

21

UNIT FOUR

CHRONOLOGICAL ESSAY: Writing a biography

Biographical accounts combine narrative and descriptive techniques. They are very often written
following chronological order, giving equal weight to different periods of a persons life.
Before you begin to write the biography, be sure you have taken an inventory of the persons
background, accomplishments, influence, and works. Always take notes to avoid copying
information from your source by mistake.
Structure
A chronological biography may have the following structure:
1st Paragraph:
Introduction that clearly defines the person and their work.
2nd Paragraph:
Early life, studies and works
Influence of teachers and other people
3rd Paragraph
Later life and mature works
Development of style/technique/themes
4th Paragraph:
Influence on other people
Best known works
5th Paragraph:
Conclusion: Legacy
Grammar review
Narrative tenses
Narratives in chronological order generally use the past simple and past continuous tenses.
He was born in London and later studied in Paris. (sequential actions)
He was studying in Paris when he met Picasso.
He was painting and she was writing. (parallel actions)
The past perfect is used to refer to a previous action in the past:
After he had finished the novel, he started writing poetry.
The present and present perfect tenses are used when the artist is still alive and working.
His work is housed in many galleries and has been described as being very avant-garde.
Some useful time expressions and prepositions:
In 1900 in June in the 20th century in the
1800s
On June 20th on Monday
At 5 oclock at Christmas
By the end of the century

At first / in the beginning

In the end / finally
Eventually
At last
After that time / afterwards

22

Less than a year later/earlier

At the age of 18
All his/her life
When / while /as soon as

While s/he was at university

After s/he had finished her/his studies
During the World War/the 1660s
When s/he was only 25

EXERCISE 1
Tenses
Re-write the sentences, putting the verb in brackets in the correct form.
1. Go on, I _________ (to listen) to you.
2. He _________ (to live) in India since he was ten.
3. Call me when you __________ (to get) home.
4. -You look tired. Yes, I __________ (to garden) all day.
5. -What __________ you (to do)? Im a lawyer.
6. I went to bed early last night. I __________ (to have) a long day at work.
7. We __________ (to listen) to the radio when someone knocked on the door.
8. The phone is ringing. I __________ (to answer) it.
9. At this time tomorrow they __________ (to travel) on the train.
10. She __________ (to finish) all her exams by next February.

EXERCISE 2
Time expressions
Match the time expressions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Two decades
By the early 1450s
Spanning two centuries
Between 1960 and 1997
From 1457 to 1459
Prior to WWI
In the middle of the 16th century
In the late 1950s

a. 1958/59
b. 1913
c. 1550s
d. 20 years
e. 200 years
f. 1453
g. for 2 years
h. for 37 years

EXERCISE 3
Time expressions
Complete the sentence with an appropriate time expression. More than one answer is possible in
some cases.
when he was a child at the moment
two years ago
yet
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

twice this year

on Sundays
by tomorrow
next week
this week
prior to

Were reading War and Peace __________.

They bought the house __________.
We always have a late breakfast _________.
Theyre studying 18th century philosophy _________ Kant.
You have been late every day __________.
Im seeing my professor __________.
Shes been to Paris __________.

8. He used to have a dog __________.

9. He hasnt completed his thesis, __________.
10. Theyll have painted the room __________.

EXERCISE 4
Rewrite the text below, noting the way it is divided into paragraphs.
a) Insert the time expressions in the correct place;
b) Write the verbs (active and passive) in the most appropriate form.
while
from

currently
early 1970s

since 2004
1969s

lately
over the course

at the 1993
four years later

ROBERT WILSON (1941- )

Introduction
Robert Wilson (to be) an avant-garde stage director and playwright. 1) __________of his eclectic
career, he (to work) as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound and
lighting designer. He (to be know) best for his collaborations with Philip Glass on Einstein on the
Beach, and with numerous other artists, such as William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Tom
Waits, and David Byrne.
Early life early works teachers
Wilson (to be) born in Waco, Texas, and (to study) Business Administration at the University of
Texas 2) __________ 1959 to 1962. He (to move) to Brooklyn in 1963, (to receive) a BFA in
architecture from the Pratt Institute in 1965. He also (to explore) painting under George McNeil,
and architecture with Paolo Soleri in Arizona.
Later life mature works
3) ___________ , Wilson (to found) an experimental performance company, the Byrd Hoffman
School of Byrds, (to name) after a dancer who (to help) him (to overcome) a speech impediment
4) __________he was a teenager. With this company, he (to create) his first major works, (to
begin) with 5) __________ The King of Spain and The Life and Times of Sigmund Freud. He (to
start) to work in opera in the 6) __________, (to create) Einstein on the Beach with Philip Glass,
which (to bring) the two artists world-wide fame.
Development of style best-known works
Wilson works (to be note) for their austere style, very slow movement, and often extreme scale in
space or in time. The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin was a 12-hour performance, while Ka
Mountain and Guardenia Terrace (to be stage) on a mountaintop in Iran and (to last) seven days.
Wilsons use of language (to be) highly innovative, often (to mix) different registers, and he
visually (to show) language on his set designs. Light (to be) another highly important element on
stage, according to Wilson, as he (to feel) that lighting design (to enhance) a production. 7)
__________, works like Black Rider, Alice and Woyzeck (to draw) heavily on the visual style of
German expressionism and also on its often apocalyptic view of mankind and his future.
Current period and legacy today
In addition to his work for the stage, Wilson (to produce) sculpture, drawings, and furniture
designs. He (to win) the Golden Lion 8) ___________ Venice Biennale for a sculptural

installation. 9) __________Wilson (to work) on dozens of high-definition videos (to call) the
Voom Portraits. Subjects (to range) from royalty and celebrities, (to include) Brad Pritt, to
animals, Nobel Prize winners and homeless people. He 10) __________ (to work) on the
European continent and (to appear) soon in a documentary (to entitle) Absolute Wilson by
Katharina Otto-Bernstein.
Look at the following examples of biographies.
VAN GOGH, Vincent 1853 1890 Dutch
Van Gogh is today one of the most popular of the Post-Impressionist painters, although he was not
widely appreciated during his lifetime. His works are characterised by expressive and emotive use
of brilliant colour and energetic application of impastoed paint.
Van Gogh was born in Holland, the son of a pastor. He became an apprentice at an art dealership,
but was fired in 1876. Over the next decade he was employed in various ways, including as a
preacher. By 1883 he had started painting. In 1885-6 he attended the academy in Antwerp. On his
return to Paris in 1886 he met artists such as Degas, Gauguin and Seurat.
In 1888 Van Gogh settled in Arles in Provence, where he was visited by Gauguin and painted his
now famous series of Sunflowers. In the following year a nervous breakdown brought him to a
sanatorium at St Remy; it was during this period that he painted A Wheatfield, with Cypresses.
In 1890, in the final days of his life, his work became more muted in colour and his line became
more tense, as can be seen in his late landscapes. That year, suffering from a new bout of
depression, he shot himself in the chest and died two days later.
Goghs revolutionary approach to painting had a strong influence on the next generation of artists,
beginning with Matisse and the French Expressionists. His innovative and radical use of unnatural
colour, his angular, heavy line, his compression of three- dimensional space into two-dimensional
discreet pictorial elements (like brushstroke and pattern), and particularly, his stylized distortion and
exaggeration of reality, often to grotesque ends, all appealed to the Expressionist artists.
FREUD, Lucian (1922- )
Freud was born in Berlin in December 1922, and came to England with his family in 1933. He
studied briefly at the Central School of Art in London and, to more effect, at Cedric Morriss East
Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in Dedham.
Following this, he served as a merchant seaman in an Atlantic convoy in 1941. His first solo
exhibition, in 1944 at the Lefevre Gallery, featured the now celebrated The Painters Room 1944. In
the summer of 1946, he went to Paris before going on to Greece for several months. Since then he
has lived and worked in London.
Until the mid 1950s, Freud worked in a tightly focussed style, which he had begun to use at the
East Anglian School of Drawing and Painting, run by Cedric Morris. Around 1956 Freud
exchanged his finely pointed sable brushes for stiffer hogshair and began to loosen his style,
gradually amplifying his touch. Also in the late 1950s Freud, who had until then always painted
sitting down, began to work standing up. This injected his work with a more athletic, energetic feel.
As a painter, Freud works extremely slowly and deliberately, wiping his brush on a cloth after every
stroke. Great piles of these rags lie on the floor of his studio, and have featured in several of his

paintings from late 1980s onwards. Often Freud will take several months to complete a painting,
and it is not unusual for works to be scrapped in the early stages. He usually has two or three
paintings on the go at once, and will work on them in shifts of two or three sessions a day. His
working day often starts early in the morning in his top-lit Holland Park studio, and ends in his
night studio where he works under artificial light.
Freuds subjects are often the people in his life; friends, family, fellow painters, lovers, children. As
he has said The subject matter is autobiographical, its all to do with hope and memory and
sensuality and involvement really. I paint people, Freud has said, not because of what they are
like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be.
WRITING TASK
1. Read the notes given under the headings below.
2. Write a paragraph for each heading.
3. Proofread your work for:
a) spelling mistakes
b) grammar mistakes
c) clear paragraph structuring
Introduction: Definition of person and work
Jacopo Bellini / Italian painter / born c. 1396 / died c. 1470 / worked Venice & northern Italy
two sons / Gentile & Giovanni / also painters / also son-in-law Andrea Mantegna
Paragraph Two: Early life early works teachers
Bellini / born Venice / pupil Gentile da Fabriano
1411-1412 worked Foligno / painted frescoes in Palazzo Trinci with Gentile
1423 moved Florence / saw new works by Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio
1424 opened workshop Venice / until death
Paragraph Three: Later life mature works development of style
Many greatest works disappeared / eg. Crucifixion in cathedral of Verona (1436)
c. 1430 painted panel with Madonna and Child / now in Accademic Carrara / once attributed to
Gentile da Fabriano
1441 Ferrara / service of Leonello dEste
With Leon Battista Alberti / portrait of L dEste / now lost
Madonna dell'Umilt / probably commissioned by one of Leonellos brothers
Influence of Masolino da Panicale / more modern, early Renaissance themes visible / eg
Madonna with Child (1448) / Pinacoteca di Brera
First time used perspective / more monumental figures

Paragraph Four: Best-known works influence on other people

Later works in Venice now lost / for churches of San Giovanni Evangelista (1452) and St. Mark
(1466)
1459 / painted Madonna with Blessing Child in Gallerie dellAccademia / use gold pigment /
elements from Byzantine art / higher decorative style (International Gothic) seen in Child's rich
robes and patterned background of angels
Soon after in Padua / trained Andrea Mantegna / perspective and classicist themes
Late phase / Crucifix (ruined) in Museum of Verona / Annunciation in Sant'Alessandro - Brescia
Ending: Final period and legacy today
Few paintings survive
Most important legacy / surviving sketch-books / British Museum and Louvre
Depict interest in landscape / elaborate architectural design
Drawings show variety of scenes
Used by artists as models for compositions until 16th century
Experiments with linear perspective
Was first to make figures diminish in space using rules of perspective / formerly applied only to
depictions of architecture.

UNIT FIVE

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY: Describing a work of art

1. Writing a caption
When you are writing a caption for an artwork, the following information should be included:
Artist
Title (in italics)
date
medium on support
dimensions in inches (h. x w. x d.) followed by dimensions in centimetres (1 inch = 2.54 cm)
Name of collection
City of collection
Examples
Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, ca. 1482, tempera on panel, 6 ft. 8 in. x 10 ft. 4 in. (2.03 x 3.15 m).
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.
Attributed to Cherubino Alberti, Piet, engraving after Michelangelo, ca. 1572. Albertina, Vienna
Follower (or workshop) of Jan Polack, Intercession of Christ and Mary before God to Halt the
Plague (Pestvotivbild), ca. 1517. St. Peters, Munich.
Sometimes, this information is included in a short text describing the artwork in more detail.
2. Structure
A description of a work of art may have the following structure:
1st Paragraph:
Details of the work: Title, artist, materials, shape & size, location.
2nd Paragraph:
Description: subject matter and structure
3rd Paragraph
Technique and colours.
4th Paragraph:
Interpretation: symbols, mood, theme.
Grammar review
Tenses
Note that, unlike biographical texts, when we are describing a work of art (or a book or a film), we
generally use the present simple tense:
The play describes the love story between Romeo and Juliet.
The Mona Lisa smiles at the viewer enigmatically.
Adjectives
Adjective position and formation
Adjectives generally precede the nouns they modify: a magnificent painting

When more than one adjective precedes the noun, there is generally a precise order:
number opinion
a
magnificent

age
old

shape
square

colour
brown

origin
French

material
mahogany

purpose
coffee
table

It is unusual, however, to find so many adjectives in the same sentence.

EXERCISE 1
Write out the phrases, putting the adjectives in the correct order.
1. shawl / a / wonderful / Spanish / old / silk / black
__________________________________________________________________________
2. French / a pair of / silver / candlesticks / 15th century
__________________________________________________________________________
3. sofa / hideous / a / plastic / modern / pink
__________________________________________________________________________
4. abstract / a / oil painting / bizarre / 20th century
__________________________________________________________________________
5. marble / delicate / Roman / white / two / statues
__________________________________________________________________________

Compound adjectives may be formed with a noun, adjective or adverb and a present participle or a
past participle:
square-shaped plates long-lasting fame a well-preserved triptych
EXERCISE 2
Complete the sentences to form compound adjectives.
1. The artist is known very well.

He is a ___________________________________ artist.

2. His face looks worn by time.

His has a __________________________________ face.

3. Attendance at the museum this year has broken all records.

This year there was __________________________________.
4. Leonardo painted himself dressed well. He was a _____________________ man.
5. The vase is painted by hand.

It is a _______________________________________ vase.

Many compound expressions contain numbers.

The tower is 90 feet high can also be written as It is a 90-foot high tower.
The walls are 15 feet thick can also be written as They are 15-foot thick walls.
Note how the adjective form does not retain the plural of the noun form.

EXERCISE 3
Complete the following sentences as shown above.
1. The castle was built in the 12th century. It is a
_______________________________________
2. The bridge is 400 years old.

It is a _______________________________________

3. The table is 2 metres long.

It is a _______________________________________

4. The wall is 5 metres thick.

It is a
_______________________________________
5. The project will continue for 5 years.

It is a _______________________________________

Morphology
Some common suffixes used to form adjectives
noun + -ic(al): history historic/historical (note y change to i)
noun + -y : sun sunny (note double consonant)
noun + -ous: fame famous (note dropped e)
noun + -ful: beauty beautiful (note y change to i)
noun + -less: colour colourless
verb + -ive: to attract attractive
verb + -able/-ible: to enjoy enjoyable; to flex flexible
past participle of verb: to bore bored; to grow grown; to break broken
present participle of verb: to interest interesting
EXERCISE 4
Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the nouns in italics with adjectives.
1. The painting was of great value.
2. The design was in the form of a circle.
3. The upper part of the canvas has an illumination.
4. The sight of the statue filled me with astonishment.
__________.
5. The fresco made a great impression on her.
6. The mask has many different colours.
7. The texture of the surface has a kind of roughness.
8. The use of glass in this work has a lot of imagination.
9. The landscape is very similar to reality.
10. The flowers provide decoration to the panel.

The painting was __________.

The design was __________.
The upper part is __________.
The sight of the palace was
She found the fresco __________.
The mask is __________.
The texture seems __________.
The use of glass is __________.
The landscape is __________.
The flowers are __________.

Definitions
A descriptive text may also require the definition of a term. This can be done in several ways:
1. by function (what the thing does or how it works):

A panel is a thin wooden board, used as a surface for an oil painting.

2. by structure (how the thing is organised or put together):
Tempera is a painting medium in which pigment is mixed with water-soluble glutinous materials
such as size or egg yolk.
3. by analysis (comparing the thing with another, illustrating the differences):
Unlike baroque music, classical music was secular; it was non-religious and it resided more in the
homes of nobles or in public works rather than in the church.
4. by derivation or origins:
The word baroque probably derives from the ancient Portuguese barroco, which is a pearl
that is not round but of unpredictable and elaborate shape.
4. by what the term does not mean:
Free software does not mean non-commercial.
Whatever kind of definition you use, it is important that the explanation is clear to the reader.
EXERCISE 5
Write a definition for each of the following:
1.
Sculpture______________________________________________________________________.
2. The Renaissance
_______________________________________________________________.
3. Trompe l'il
___________________________________________________________________.
4. A colour
palette________________________________________________________________.
5. An art patron
__________________________________________________________________.

Describing a work of art

Read the sample essay

Primavera or The Allegory of Spring, by Alessandro Filipepi known as Botticelli in about 1482, is
painted in tempera on panel measuring 6 ft. 8 in. x 10 ft. 4 in. (2.03 x 3.15 m). It is currently
housed in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence. The painting was probably painted as a wedding gift
for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de Medici, possibly from his cousin Lorenzo the Magnificent.
The painting is set in the garden of Venus, who is in the middle of the painting. Above her head is
Cupid, who is aiming a bow and arrow at the Three Graces. Mercury, wearing a helmet and
carrying a sword, is on the left of the painting. The right-hand side shows the metamorphosis of the
nymph Chloris - following her rape by the wind god Zephyr - into Flora, the goddess scattering
flowers.
The painting reflects Botticellis original style: highly detailed ornamentation, and a rich palette of
light colours evoking spring. The figures are slender and elongated, with a soft sensuous line. The
drapery of their translucent clothing is graceful and elegant. The figures float on the forward plane
of the picture against a decorative landscape backdrop.
Although Giorgio Vasari described the painting as Venus, the symbol of Spring, being adorned
with flowers by the Graces, a further level of meaning is derived from contemporary philosophical
views of ideal love and beauty. Spring heralds the awakening of human emotions and desires, and
Mercury drives the dark clouds of melancholy away with his staff. The group of Zephyr, Chloris
and Flora visually represents the conflict between lust, chastity and beauty. The elegantly clad
figure of Venus is highly reminiscent of a Virgin, and thus embodies the synthesis of earthly and
heavenly love. She is a typical "Venus humanitas", a symbol of spiritual, moral, divine love, an
example of perfect humanity.
Vocabulary
Before you write your description, you will need to gather your ideas and think about the
vocabulary you will need.
Some of the questions you might like to ask yourself are:
1. What art form, or type of art is this?

Painting: portrait, self-portrait, land/sea/cityscape, still-life, abstract

Print: engraving, etching, lithography, silkscreen, woodcut
Sculpture: statue, bust, statuette, equestrian statue, monument
Photograph: daguerreotype, digital imaging, montage, negative
Ceramics: earthenware, porcelain, stoneware, china, terracotta
Installation: site-specific, indoors/outdoors, temporary/permanent
is defined as
is an example of
2. What materials are used?
Painting: oil on canvas, watercolour, pastel on paper, chalk, tempera on board, on wood panel
Print: ink, paper, textile, mezzotint
Sculpture: clay, marble, stone, wood
Photograph: telephoto lens, wide-angle lens
Ceramics: clay, bone ash, glaze
Installation: wood, metal, glass, rubber, fibreglass, video
is made of
is painted in
is carved in
is formed of
3. What size and shape does it have?
It measures by (inches, cm)
It is long/wide/high/deep
4. Where is it located?
is housed in
hangs in
stands in
is located in
belongs to . permanent / temporary collection
5. What period is it from?
Pre-historic, Art of Antiquity, Medieval, Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Classicism,
Romanticism, Modern Art, Impressionism, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Cubism, Futurism,
Surrealism, Contemporary Art, Post-modern Art,
dates from
belongs to
early, mid, late-16th century
the early, mid, late-1900s
6. What technique is used?
Painting: perspective, sfumato, trompe loeil, imprimatura, glaze, fresco

Print: engraving, etching, lithography, silkscreen, woodcut

Sculpture: carved, modelled, constructed, cast, assemblage, in the round, relief,
Photograph: blow-up, close-up, double exposure,
Ceramics: glazing, majolica (tin glaze), biscuit, burnishing
Installation: video, computer, performance, environment, concept
The artists uses / makes use of / employs .
7. What is the subject matter? Name the figures and objects in the work.
Religious: Madonna and Child, Christ on the Cross, saint, apostle, angel, devil, heaven, hell
Landscape: scenery (mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, forests, sky)
Portraiture: family portrait, ancestor, nude
Still-life: flowers, books, fruit
History: mythology, ancient history, hero, soldier
To depict, to show, to represent, to illustrate, to interpret, to portray
8. What structure does the work have?
Foreground, middle ground, background.
Lines: straight, curving
Space: flat, three-dimensional, deep perspective
Lighting/shading/shadows
Brushstrokes: broad, loose, fine, blended
Shapes: geometric, organic, spherical, linear
Patterns: motifs, decoration, symmetrical/asymmetrical, balanced/unbalanced,
Textures: rough/smooth, glossy/opaque,
9. What are the major colours? Is a warm or a cool palette used?
Black and white, monochromatic
Primary colours
Warm colours: yellow, orange, red
Cool colours: blue, purple, green
Pale/bright, brilliant/soft, light/dark
Harmony / contrast
10. What interpretations can be made?
Symbols: mirror (vanity), book (learning), coral (blood of Christ), dog (fidelity), burning candle
(faith in God)
Mood: passionate, exciting cheerful, peaceful, gloomy, sad, violent, serene
Theme: myth, ritual, life and death, the natural world, domesticity
To symbolise, to be a symbol of, to represent, to stand for, to mean.
WRITING TASK
1. Read the notes given under the headings below.

2. Write a paragraph for each heading.

3. Proofread your work for:
a) spelling mistakes
b) grammar mistakes
c) clear paragraph structuring

Details of the work

Title: The Dance Class
Artist: Edgar Degas
Signed: Degas (lower left)
Dated: 1874
Materials: Oil on canvas
Shape and Size: 32 3/4 x 30 1/4 in. (83.2 x 76.8 cm)
Location : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bequest of Mrs. Harry Payne Bingham,
1986
Description
Subject matter
- dance class conducted by famous ballet master Jules Perrot
- one girl dancing
- other girls seem to be waiting, sitting, standing
- background, right, dancers mothers
- foreground, dancer adjusting skirts
Structure
- vertical structure emphasised by music stand and reflection in mirror
- one dancing ballerina is focus, not central but to right
- asymmetrical, fluid composition
Technique
- Impressionist

- complex articulation of forms

- unusual perspective
- not quick brushstroke of Impressionists
Colours and light
- use of light and reflection contrelumire light through colour
- middle ground, wall, left, mirror reflects other dancers
- mirror also reflects city outside, right
- unlike other Impressionists (Monet, Renoir) outdoor settings, natural light
- Degas depicted human figures un movement interior setting
- white of girls dresses
- colour red is flower, dance masters shirt, shawl of one of the mothers
Interpretation
Symbols
- figures reflect interest in psychology of movement and expression
- ballet dancers ideal subject for this
- athletic physicality
Mood
- modern, unstructured composition
- intimate, spontaneous
Theme
- scenes of Parisian life
- real life not traditional mythological or historical paintings
- dancers shown without artifice, in awkward moments eg dancer biting fingernails

UNIT SIX

DISCUSSION ESSAY: Arguing for and against

A discussion essay should present a balanced view of the topic under discussion, although the
concluding paragraph should contain your own personal views.
As with the other kinds of essays, the first step is to take notes under the heading of For and Against
so as to organise your thoughts. This is also a useful phase in which to review the vocabulary you
will need to develop your argument.
Then you will need to decide what your opinion on the topic is.
A discussion essay may have the following structure:
1st paragraph:
Introduce the debate, contextualise the issue by giving background information. If necessary,
define any key words.
2nd paragraph:
Present the argument in favour of the issue: advantages, improvements, benefits.
3rd paragraph:
Present the argument in opposition to the issue: disadvantages, problems.
4th paragraph:
Conclusion. In the last paragraph, you might sum up the two sides to the discussion before
expressing your own opinion.
Some useful phrases (also see Appendix)
First of all, To begin with
Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly
A first pointA second pointAn additional point
In addition,
What is more, Moreover,
Furthermore,
However,
Nevertheless,
Although / While (+ clause)
On the one hand on the other (hand)
In conclusion,
To sum up,
In my opinion
In my view
From my point of view,
I firmly believe that
Many people feel.
Others believe

It might be argued that

This essay will examine / discuss
2. Planning the essay
First of all, read the topic carefully and identify the key terms:
Topic: Should governments spend public money on the arts?
Next, brainstorm for useful vocabulary
Then take notes on ideas For and Against.
Finally make notes about your own opinion.
Read the sample essay.
Many peoples lives are richer because of the arts - music, paintings, pictures, sculpture, poetry and
dance, for example. However, some people feel that governments should be spending money on
housing, medical care, or defence, instead of on the arts. This essay will discuss whether
governments should or should not spend money on the arts.
There are several reasons why governments should not finance artists. First of all, artists should
have to follow the same rules as the rest of the market. If there is a demand for their music or
sculpture, then they will be successful without public subsidy. Secondly, politicians generally do
not have good taste. They will waste public money on popular art or on their own preferences. But
the main reason why governments should minimize spending on the art world is that there are more
important areas like housing, roads, hospitals, and factories which need the money first.
However, it would be wrong to say that governments should not spend any money at all on art.
Everybody needs some beauty in their life, but not everyone can afford a Picasso or a piece of
music. Governments should provide money for museums or concert halls for everyone. Another
point is that art allows people to express themselves, and this is good for society, culture and
thought. Thirdly, artists can be good for the economy by producing music, films, and attracting
tourists.
To sum up, I think governments should prioritize their spending carefully, but they should also
allocate some of their budget for the arts. I firmly believe that spending money on the arts is a vital
part of a governments responsibility to support organisations and activities that are part of our
cultural heritage. I also consider that public sponsorship can make the arts more accessible to more
people in more places.
WRITING TASK
Read the texts below on the debate regarding whether works of art should be returned to their
original owners.

GreekpupilsdemandElginMarbles

GreekschoolchildrenhavedemonstratedattheAcropolisinAthenstodemandthattheUKreturnsmarble
sculpturestakenbyLordElgin200yearsago.
Wearingorangejacketsbearingcampaignlogos,about2,000pupilsformedahumanchainaroundthemonument.
ThemarblesarepartoftheParthenon,a2,500yearoldtemple.
Greecehaslongcampaignedforthemarblesreturn.ButtheBritishMuseumsaystheyarebetteroffinLondon,safefrom
pollutiondamageinAthens.
OrganiserssaidthemarbleswereGreecesprideanddignity.TheysaidthesymbolofGreekdemocracyhadlainmutilated
fortwocenturies.
Campaignershavecollected65,000signaturesandsent900lettersofprotesttotheheadoftheBritishMuseuminLondon.
ThemarbleswereremovedbyBritishenvoyLordElginatthebeginningofthe19thCentury.
TheGreekgovernmenthasforyearscampaignedfortheirreturn,sayingtheywereillegallyremoved.
Themuseumsaysitisnotatlibertytogivethemback,andbelievestheyarewelllookedafterandavailableformillionsof
visitorstoseeinLondon.
ItsaysthemarblesaresafefromAthensspollutionthathasdamagedthosestillthere.
AnorganiserofTuesdaysprotestsaidcampaignerswouldsoonstageasimilareventattheBritishMuseum.
OthercitieswhichholdpiecesofthetempletothegoddessAthenaincludeParis,Vienna,PalermoandMunich,according
totheGreekcultureministry.
StoryfromBBCNEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr//2/hi/europe/6313953.stm
Published:2007/01/3016:26:19GMT

RomanringhandedbacktoTurkey
AnhistoricRomanringwhichwasillegallyimportedintotheUKfromTurkeyhasbeenreturned.
Theironandsilverband,whichdatesbacktobetweenAD161andAD169,isthoughttohavebeentakenfroman
archaeologicaldigatEphesus,Turkey.
ItwaseventuallyseizedbyHMRevenueandCustomsafteritwastakentoDerbyMuseumforavaluation.
TheringwashandedovertoTurkishEmbassyofficialsatEastMidlandsAirportonTuesday.
ThefindhasagemstoneengravingofLuciusVersuscoemperorwithMarcusAurelius.
ItwasseizedbycustomsofficialsafteritwastakenfromDerbytotheBritishMuseum.Noonehasbeenprosecutedfor
stealingthering.
Significantproblem

SerminOzduran,fromtheTurkishEmbassy,whocollectedtheringonbehalfoftheTurkishgovernment,saiditwas"an
importantpiece"ofTurkishhistory.
JohnMacmillan,detectionmanagerforHMRevenue&Customs,said:"Wearedelightedtobeabletoreturnthisimportant
historicalringtotheTurkishGovernment.
"Theinternationaltradeinillicitculturalartefactsisasignificantproblemandincreasinglybeinglinkedtootherformsof
organisedcrime.
"WewillcontinuetoplaceahighprioritytostopthoseattemptingtobringhistoricalartefactsintotheUKillegallyandrestore
seizedculturalobjectstotheirrightfulowners."
TheringwillbesenttoTurkeysMinistryofCultureandTourismandlaterbedisplayedinamuseuminthecountry.
StoryfromBBCNEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr//2/hi/uk_news/england/leicestershire/6680191.stm
Published:2007/05/2212:00:23GMT
BBCMMVII

Planning the essay

Read the topic carefully.
Brainstorm for useful vocabulary and ideas
Write notes under the headings below
Topic: There are numerous great works of art and antiquity taken during the Age of Imperialism
and held today by European and American museums. The Elgin Marbles are the most famous
example, but there are thousands of others. The nations of origin, supported by UNESCO, want
these cultural treasures returned, while the museums unsurprisingly prefer to keep them.
Should such works of art and antiquity be given back to their original owners?
Step 1: Brainstorming for useful vocabulary
Works of art and antiquity

Cultural treasures

To return

Step 2: Ideas for and against

For
1.
2.
3.
Against
1.
2.
3.
Step 3: My own opinion. Other solutions?
Re-read your notes and write five paragraphs for and against.

UNIT SEVEN

CRITICAL ESSAY: Writing a review

A review is a critical evaluation of an event, object, or phenomenon: books, films, plays, opera,
ballet, for example.
Unlike a descriptive text, a review makes an argument. As this is an analytical reading of the work,
after giving the reader initial information of the work and its context, you are able to express a
personal opinion and distinguish positive and negative aspects of the work.
Reviews are generally not long, but follow the same structure as other academic texts: a statement
of your thesis backed up with supporting body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
1. Writing a book review
1st Paragraph:
Give all relevant information about what you are reviewing: title, author, publisher, year of
publication etc. The introduction may also give a brief overview of the contents of the book, its
overall purpose, and the audience for the book. Specify the genre (for example, fiction, non-fiction,
biography, autobiography).
2nd Paragraph:
Give the reader some brief background information that helps place the book in context and
discusses criteria for judging the book. You also might like to give a short biography of the author,
and mention other examples of his or her work.
3rd Paragraph:
Give a summary of the main points of the book. If it is a novel, give a short summary of the plot
and the main characters.
4th Paragraph:
Then give your opinion on the book: if the book has achieved its purpose (and if not, why not), how
the book compares to others on the same subject or by the same author, and what aspects of the
book are not convincing.
5th Paragraph:
The conclusion should bring together all the issues raised in the review, and provide a concise
comment on the book.
Planning the essay
Vocabulary
What genre of book is it?
Narrative:
Short story
Novel
Biography
Diary
Mystery
Science fiction

Non-narrative:
Essay
Debate
Speech
Play
Poetry
Reference book

Who are the characters in the book?

Main characters: hero/heroine/villain
Minor characters
How is the work divided up?
Chapters, books, parts (novel)
Line, verse, couplet (poetry)
Positive adjectives
Interesting, fascinating, riveting, charming, delightful, humorous, impressive
Negative adjectives
Boring, lengthy, disappointing, unconvincing, unstructured, superficial
2. Planning the review
Take notes on the various aspects of the book you are reviewing.
Finally make notes about your own opinion.
Read the sample text.
A Life of Picasso. Volume 3: The Triumphant Years 1917-1932
by John Richardson, with the collaboration of Marilyn McCully
608pp, Jonathan Cape, 30
This is the third volume in John Richardsons fascinating biography of Picasso. The previous
volume, published ten years ago, looked at the Cubist period, and this one opens with Picasso's
journey to Rome in February 1917 to work on Parade, his first ballet for Diaghilev, and closes with
the massive retrospective exhibitions held in Paris and Zurich in 1932, which sealed his triumph as
the artist of his generation.
John Richardson got to know Picasso in the 1950s, and gives a personal interpretation of the artist
and his first wife, Russian dancer Olga Khokhlova. Thanks to his friendship with her grandson,
Richardson has been given access to personal effects, and this volume is filled with fascinating,
mostly unpublished, family photographs.
Like the previous volumes, this bulky book (608 pages) follows a chronological path and is divided
into short, fast-moving chapters. Richardson presents the array of classical styles Picasso
explored during the ballet period and the highly abstracted, decorative Cubist-style still lifes he
simultaneously produced.
Richardsons style is deliberately non-academic and he draws widely on his own friendship with
Picasso to express opinions in a more informal manner than in the previous volumes. Often his
comments on other artists who were close to Picasso in this period, such as Cocteau and Clive Bell,
are extremely harsh. Nevertheless, he examines their private letters for revealing scraps of
information that nobody has picked up before.
The general impression is on an agreeable sense of complicity between author and reader. The
mass of information is carefully documented, and there can be no question of Richardsons
profound knowledge of Picassos entire oeuvre. The one obstacle to following his narrative here is
that many of the works discussed are not illustrated at all. Hopefully this might be corrected in a
second edition.

WRITING TASK
1. Read the notes given under the headings below.
2. Write a paragraph for each heading.
3. Proofread your work for:
a) spelling mistakes
b) grammar mistakes
c) clear paragraph structuring
Title of book: If not now, when? (Se non ora, quando)
Author: Primo Levi
Translator: William Weaver
Year of publication: original 1984 translation 1995
Genre: Novel
Overall purpose: Description of Jewish partisans in Germany
Background information
- based on authors own experience in Auschwitz and after the war
- also on stories of partisans he met
Biography of author
- escaped Turin 1943 because of anti-Semitic laws
- was partisan in Resistance movement
- 1944 arrested and deported to Auschwitz
- liberated 1945, but long period as displaced person
Other examples of novels
- 1947 If This is a Man (Se questo un uomo)
- 1978 The Wrench (La chiave a stella)
Summary of plot
July 1943- Russian Jew Mendel, behind German lines - meets up with other partisans - joins a
Jewish band led by the violin-playing Gedaleh.
- families killed and home communities destroyed -nothing left but to fight for survival and,
where they can, against German supply lines and camps.
- journey takes them across Byelorussia and Poland into conquered Germany
- ends in Italy before
Evaluation
- fast moving novel
- a key war novel of the post-war era
- an important contribution to the literature of the Holocaust
Conclusion and concise comment
- simple but powerful story of human endurance
- human struggle in hostile world
- won both the Premio Campiello and the Premio Viareggio

2. Writing a performing arts review

In addition to the information needed to write a book review, a performing arts review might also
require you to add some information about the original (book) form of the film/play/opera/ballet.
You might like to point to differences in plot, mention whether the new version meets your
expectations given your knowledge of the original, note whether symbols and literary devices have
been successfully transferred to the new medium.
You might also want to make a comment on the actors and their performance. Was the cast well
chosen? Have they given better performances in other films?
When looking at a film, you might mention any special effects and film techniques used, and
whether these techniques and the sound track enhanced the setting and themes of the film.
When looking at a play/ballet/opera, you should also mention how well the event has been staged:
stage design, costumes, choreography etc.
Your closing paragraph should also be more persuasive than in a book review; you should advise
the reader whether he or she should go and see the event.
Vocabulary
Films and plays
Scriptwriter/playwright
Director/producer
Soundtrack - composer
Special effects
Set design
Lighting
Costumes
Audience
Characters
Cast
Actor/actress/star
Supporting actor
.. stars in
The star of the film is
Play/Opera/Ballet
Stage - On/off stage - Backstage
Wings
Orchestra pit
Divisions
Acts / scenes
Opera
Singer

Soprano / contralto / tenor / baritone / bass

Chorus
Composer conductor - score
Ballet
Dancer / soloist / principal
Ballerina / ballerino / male dancer
Corps de ballet / ballet company / troupe
Leading role / minor role
Choreographer / composer
EXERCISE 1
FILM CLASSICS
Read the short synopses of famous classic films and insert a genre from the box. Then try to match
the synopsis with a film title.
sci-fi
animation
Western
fictional biography

war epic
science-fiction
sentimental drama

comedy
musicals
epic drama

romance
horror/thriller
adventure films

1) Sweeping, surreal, still-controversial Vietnam___________. A masterful, thought-provoking

film about the nightmarish, moral madness of the Vietnam War, inspired by the novella Heart of
Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
*******
2) Moody futuristic, __________noirish thriller, with stunning, visually-dazzling effects and a
brooding atmosphere, about a detective hunting near-human "replicants." Based on the novel Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
*******
3) Quintessential, definitive __________of the 30s, with absurd physical gags, high-speed humour,
and witty dialogue. A non-stop profusion of comic disasters, coincidences and misunderstandings
ensue when an absent-minded, unfortunate palaeontologist encounters an uninhibited, accidentprone heiress.
*******
4) Perennially at the top of every all-time greats list, and indisputably one of the landmarks of the
American cinema, although an accidental Hollywood masterpiece. Critically-acclaimed, bittersweet,
popular, much-loved, __________of ill-fated lovers.
*******
5) This is a landmark of cinema history - often voted the greatest film ever made. An
expressionistic, __________of the rise to power (and tragic fall) of a larger-than-life newspaper
tycoon/publisher.
*******
6) This film is a classic silent masterpiece (with sound effects). Critically acclaimed for its blend of
__________, pathos, slapstick, and comic pantomime.
*******
7) One of the best-loved, appealing films of all time and one of filmdom's greatest cinematic
achievements and blockbusters, based on Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel. The star-studded Civil
War __________traces the South's tragic history during the war and the Reconstruction period.
*******
8) The greatest, most influential __________ever made and the progenitor of the modern Holly-

wood horror film, based on Robert Bloch's novel. A classic, low budget tale that includes the most
celebrated shower sequence ever made.
*******
9) One of the all-time best Hollywood __________that satirizes the transitional chaos surrounding
the end of the silent film era and the dawn of the 'talkies.'
*******
10) The first full-length, commercially-successful masterpiece of __________, a classic, adapted
from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.
*******
11) Spielberg's thrilling, entertaining homage to 1930's cliff-hanging __________at Saturday
matinees. One of the greatest action films ever made - led to a trilogy.
*******
12) A stylized, visually-compelling, melodramatic silent film set in the 21st century. This German
Expressionistic masterpiece helped develop the __________genre.
*******
13) A legendary classic __________about a lawman awaiting a suspenseful, fateful showdown with
ruthless bandits returning to a small town to seek revenge.
Read the sample text.

Miss Potter (2006, US/UK, 92 mins)

Childrens author Beatrix Potter is the subject of a new movie, released in 2006, starring Renee
Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. Directed by Chris Noonan, Miss Potter is mostly a love story
between the author and her publisher, based on events that occurred around the time Potter was
creating her Peter Rabbit stories. Beatrix did not have many friends but did have a whole zoo of
animals: a hedgehog, a bat, mice and, of course, rabbits. She also drew her pets as well as bugs,
frogs and snails in minute detail.
Chris Noonan, whose last film, Babe, was about a very clever little pig and his array of animal
friends, was not a great fan of Beatrix Potters and at first he did not think he was the right person to
direct a movie about her. But after reading the script, he was surprised to discover what a gifted
women she had been.
Renee Zellweger plays Potter as a determined, disciplined artist who is not easily dismissed. It is
perfect casting for this inspiring story of a woman who strains against her sheltered existence in the
1900s, to fulfil her childhood dream of publishing her stories. Ewan McGregor is delightfully
awkward as Potter's publisher, Norman Warne, whom she finally married despite her parents
objections.
The film covers Potters phenomenal success with her childrens books but leaves out a significant
part of her life as Beatrix also had a passion for science. Although the movie does not focus on
Potters scientific activities, it does tell the story of how she bought and managed a working farm in
the Lake District, where she lived the last 30 years of her life. When she died in 1943, Beatrix

Potter left more than 4,000 acres of her land to the National Trust to preserve its farming culture
and natural landscape.
Charming, with some beautiful photography, lush period backgrounds and animated asides, this
film will no doubt increase the number of people interested in the woman and her work.
WRITING TASK
1. Choose a film you have either enjoyed or hated. Write notes under the headings below.
2. Write a paragraph for each heading.
3. Proofread your work for:
a) spelling mistakes
b) grammar mistakes
c) clear paragraph structuring
Paragraph 1: Introduction
Title of film:
Director:
Year made:
Author original book:
Year of publication:
Genre:
Overall purpose:
Paragraph 2: Background information
Summary of plot
Biography of author/director
Paragraph 3: Cast
Interpretation

Paragraph 4: Evaluation

Paragraph 5: Conclusion and concise comment

ACADEMIC SPEAKING SKILLS

SKILLS 1 - Formal and informal register in spoken English
The use of the correct register (signalling degrees of formality in communication) is extremely
important in the English language, as English lacks words that express formality commonly found
in other languages (eg. Lei in Italian). Part of learning to speak English well is knowing what
register to adopt in any given situation. Think of the different kinds of registers you use when
speaking to your friends, parents, teachers, etc.
Exercise 1
Choose the most appropriate statement based on the context.
1.
a.
b.
c.

Bank manager to employee.

Hey John, come over here.
John, I need to talk to you.
Mr Smith, could you come here a minute?

2.
a.
b.
c.

One student to another.

Give me a hand.
Excuse me, could you give me a hand?
Excuse me, do you think you could possibly give me a hand?

3.
a.
b.
c.

Stranger to a man in the street.

The time, please.
Whats the time?
Could you possibly tell me the time?

4.
a.
b.
c.

Waiter to customer.
Do you think you could possibly tell me what you want to eat today?
What do you want?
What would you like today?

5.
a.
b.
c.

Wife to husband.
Whats up?
Excuse me dear, I was wondering how you were feeling.
How do you do?

6.
a.
b.
c.

Lecturer to students.
Look at the map now!
Lets look at the map now.
Could you just spare a moment to look at the map please?

7.
a.
b.
c.

One teenager to another.

Going out, are you?
Do you think you will go out this evening?
Shall you go out this evening?

8.
a.
b.
c.

Job interviewer to interviewee.

Sit down!
Please sit down, Ms Smith.
Please sit down, Susan.

LISTENING
Content, context, audience
The speakers register, vocabulary, tone and gestures allow the listener to understand the content,
purpose (to inform, persuade, entertain etc) and context of the discourse, as well as who the speaker
is addressing.
Exercise 2
Listen to the five short monologues and complete the chart.
monologue
1

speaker

context

purpose of
speech

audience

SPEAKING
Statement, meaning and context
Register use also depends on the tone of voice used and the context. For example: Will you please
shut that door? can be stated in such a way as to seem offensive, implying that the speaker is
exasperated. In addition, non-verbal communication provides extra information to the listener, so it
also important to use appropriate gestures, especially in a culture different to your own.
The meaning of a simple statement depends on who says it, who they are speaking to and where
they are speaking. As the people are both in the same situation, the meaning is clear to them it
does not need to be said.
For example:
statement
The door is open.

meaning
No wonder Im cold.

context
A person sitting in a room that
is freezing cold.
Please come in.
A receptionist in an office
someone has just knocked on
the door.
You forgot to lock it again, you A bank manager to a clerk
idiot!
standing in front of the safe.
What a relief! Now I dont have A person arriving home without
to break a window to get in.
a key

Now say the statement according to various meanings (angrily, politely, etc.)
Supply the meaning.
statement
Its raining.

meaning

context
Mother to young son dressed
only in T-shirt and shorts who is
going outside.
Farmer to harvesters.

Noah to his wife.

Man dying of thirst.

Now say the statement according to various meanings (angrily, politely, etc.)

Supply the context.

statement
I feel tired.

meaning
Its time you went home.

context

Carry me.

Im ready to die.

Ive done enough work today.

Now say the statement according to various meanings (angrily, politely, etc.)
Academic discourse
When speaking in an academic environment, spoken English is less formal than written English.
Sentences are simpler and the speaker can refer to himself. However, the student should still avoid
colloquial expressions and slang. The students will need to know how to give a presentation and
take part in discussions (in seminars, for instance). There are many types of functions used in
academic spoken English.
Exercise 3
Match the functions to the examples.
1. Discussing
2. Describing
3. Defining
4. Narrating
5. Describing processes
6. Providing examples
7. Contrasting
8. Comparing
9. Giving reasons
10. Expressing certainty

a. This film, unlike the last one, is excellent

b. During the 16th century London had many theatres
c. Pest infestation in museums is due to bad cleaning
d. The author almost certainly died of a heart attack
e. This vase is the same price as that bowl
f. As you can see, the colours are extremely bright and glowing
g. He is certainly correct when he says that
h. Freedom may be defined as the absence of obstacles to your desire
i. First, the parchment is made. Then, it is folded into quires
j. For instance, Kandinsky

SKILLS 2 Lecture note-taking

Note taking during lectures is important to help you identify the most important ideas on the
subject, retain information which would otherwise be forgotten and highlight what the lecturer
believes is important, especially in studying for an exam. Before the beginning of the lecture,
review notes from the previous lecture and try to predict the key ideas from the lecture title. Make
sure you have paper and pen ready and write the title and date of the lecture.
Lecture format
Most lecturers have a typical pattern that they follow in their lectures. Try to recognise the pattern
as this will help you to listen and write more effective notes.
Introduction The lecturer states his topic, defines terms, identifies the purpose of his presentation,
relates the purpose to the rest of the course and provides a summary of what is to come. Here it is
important to determine the purpose of the lecture. Some purposes are:
To inform
To argue in favour of one theory or another
To convince you to take action
Body The lecturer provides details to accompany ideas. The details support, explain and develop
the main idea and may often be supported by visual material. It is therefore important to identify the
important details in a lecture, as not everything that is said may be directly relevant. You will also
hear some new terms while listening to the lecture. Sometimes the terms are defined by the
lecturer, but you may have to try and guess the meaning from the context. The body of the lecture
may be organised in different ways, so it is very important to recognise the structure of the lecture.
Some typical structures are:
Chronological organised according to time
Inductive starting with a small fact and arriving at a major conclusion
Deductive starting with major conclusion and defending it with smaller facts
Logical cause and effect order
Comparative comparing and contrasting theories
Conclusion The lecturer will summarise the main ideas and provide a concluding statement to show
the relationship of supporting material to the main idea. Pay close attention to this, as it restates the
initial idea and will help you to check the organisation of your notes.
Listening and note-taking tips
Concentrate on the lecture, and try not to be distracted by the lecturers mannerisms, people
sitting next to you or the clock, etc. Sit at the front of the classroom if you have problems
concentrating
Remain objective and open-minded, even if you do not agree with eveything
Write brief notes, summarising in your own words - you need to understand what the lecture
is saying, not to record everything the lecturer says
Use abbreviations to save time
Include examples or definitions that are mentioned to clarify the concept
Write key words that refer to the main points in your notes
Pay attention to both verbal (lecturers organisation pattern) and non-verbal signals (visual
presentations, lecturers body language, voice inflections) that can indicate main points

After the lecture, revise your notes as soon as possible, as the ideas are still fresh in your
mind

Verbal signals
The lecturer will use signals to indicate main ideas, transition and reiteration. Common signals are:
Introduction of topic

I want / would like to discuss ...

Im going to talk about ...
Today I shall consider ...
I will aim to show ...
The lecture today argues that ...
This lecture today will question ...
This lecture will explore ...

Stages of main ideas

The main points ...

Remember that ...
The important idea is that ...
The basic concept is that ...
There are three reasons why ...
First ... second... third ...
A major development ...

Transition

Now I will present a definition of ...

We will turn to consider the theories of ...
Id like to move on to ...

Result

As a result ...
In effect ...
One impact ...

Reason

One reason for this ...

Because ...

Examples

As an example ...
For instance ...
As an illustration ...
Similarly ...

More ideas

Furthermore ...
In addition ...
Moreover ...

Explanation

One explanation is that ...

That is to say ...

Contrast/Contradiction

On the contrary ...

In contrast ...
On the other hand ...
However ...

Conclusion/summary

In conclusion ...

Finally ...
From this we see ...
Therefore ...
Note taking practice
Exercise 1
Pre-listening vocabulary
Give a definition of the following words: museum, theft, war.
Look at the list of vocabulary items. Write museum, theft, or war next to each item. Sometimes
more than one answer is possible.
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________

collection
booty
armed conflict
antiquity
to seize
to ransack
curator
occupation
to house
to loot
to loan
to fund

Listen to a lecture entitled Finders Keepers.

Exercise 2
Complete the chart, choosing the most appropriate alternative.
Main idea

a) All artworks should be returned

b) No artwork should be returned
c) Only illegally stolen artworks should be
returned
d) Nothing can be done

Lecture Purpose

a) To inform
b) To argue in favour of one thing or another
c) To convince you to take action
a. Russia wants its artworks back from Germany
b. Art theft is increasing
c. Greece has returned works to Italy
d. Western countries took artworks to conserve
them

Details say if True or False

New words
1.finders keepers
2.took their pick
3. changed hands
4. to draw the line

probably means

1.
2.
3.
4.

SKILLS 3 Discussing issues

Discussing a subject or topic helps understand an issue more completely, improves critical thinking,
and lets you hear the thoughts of other people which may even change your ideas or attitudes. What
matters is the exploration of an issue, rather than winning an argument.
Vocabulary for discussion
Now each group will give their opinion on the subject. The other groups may intervene, saying
whether they agree or disagree. When you state your point of view, you should give a reason and
give examples as evidence.

Giving an opinion

In my opinion...
Personally, I believe/think that...
It seems to me...
As I understand it...
As far as Im concerned...

Giving a reason

This is due to...

Because...
What I mean by this is that...

Giving evidence

For example/instance...
An example can be seen...
Statistics/Sources indicate that....
From what I know...
Studies show that...

Agreeing

I agree with you.

I definitely agree.
I completely agree with you.
Youre right.

Disagreeing

I dont really agree with you.

Im not sure I agree with you.
Yes, that may be true, but....
Thats a good point, but...
Thats beside the point.
That doesnt make sense.
Sorry to interrupt, but...

Interrupting

Excuse me, but...

Continuing after an interruption

As I was saying...
Anyway...
Going back to what I was saying...

Some questions relating to the issue of art work restitution.

-Does the origin of the collection matter any longer?
-Is an important work of art the property of the people of the world or an individual group?
-Is there a difference between art works taken during conflicts and art stolen through other
channels?
-At what point should a limit be set?
Work in groups and discuss these issues. Think of other examples of art works that are no longer in
their country of origin. What about art works in Venice? You will then decide whether you are in
favour of or against the restitution of art works. Write down your reasons.
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SKILLS 4 Art criticism

Criticism is used to describe, analyse and interpret works of art.
Below is a sample set of questions related to four major areas of art criticism: description,
analysis, interpretation, judgement.
Description
What is the information in the credit line? (name of artist, nationality, date of birth/death, name of
artwork and year it was made, medium used and size of piece, where work can be viewed)
Describe the subject matter. What is it all about? Are there recognizable images?

Describe the elements of the work (line, shape, form, space, colour, texture, balance, proportion,
movement, emphasis, unity)
Describe the technical qualities of the work (tools, materials, instruments).
Analysis
How is the work constructed or planned?
How does the artist use colour, lines etc.?
Identify some of the points of emphasis in the work (specific scene, figure, movement).
If the work has subjects or characters, what are the relationships between or among them?
Interpretation
Describe the expressive qualities you find in the work. What expressive language would you use to
describe the qualities (tragic, ugly, funny)?
Does the work remind you of other things you have experienced (analogy or metaphor)?
Does the title fit the work?
How does the year the work was painted in affect the subject?
Judgment
What qualities of the work make you feel it is a success or failure?
How original is the work? Why do you feel this work is original or not original?
What is worth remembering about this picture?

Useful vocabulary
Medium: acrylic paint, chalk, charcoal, crayon, tempera, pastel, pencil, ink, oil, textile, watercolour,
gouache, canvas, paper, parchment, wood panel, clay, bronze, marble
Subject: landscape, allegory, fantasy, icon, landscape, life drawing, (self-) portrait, still life, trompe
loeil
Type: abstract, realistic, non-objective, conceptual
Process: sketch, drawing, engraving, woodcut, collage, assemblage, mosaic, mobile, mural, fresco,
poster, photograph, sculpture, tapestry
Line: diagonal, horizontal, vertical, curved, broken, circular, spiralling, thin, thick
Shape: organic (from nature) geometric (circle, square, rectangle)
Form: three-dimensional shapes with length, width, and depth (ball, cylinder, cone, pyramid)
Space: area between and around objects, positive/negative
Colour: primary, secondary, tertiary, warm, cool, dark, light, shade, monochromatic
Texture: the surface quality that can be seen and felt. (rough, smooth, soft, hard)

Balance: textures, colours, forms, or shapes are combined harmoniously

Proportion: sizes of elements in a work of art are combined harmoniously
Movement: movement can be directed by lines, contrasting shapes, or colours within the artwork
Emphasis: contrast of colours, textures, or shapes to direct viewing towards a particular part of the
image
Unity: images have a complete sense of unity, or formal unity is avoided to create feelings of
tension and anxiety
Descriptive adjectives (appearance)
Beautiful: appealing, charming, delicate, exquisite, graceful, impressive, magnificent, pleasing,
stunning, wonderful, powerful
Ugly: awful, coarse, grotesque, plain, unattractive, unimpressive, banal
Descriptive adjectives (emotion)
This artwork expresses/is an expression of: anger, happiness, loneliness, calm, sadness, anguish,
joy, madness
Write notes on your artwork for the four areas of criticism
DESCRIPTION

ANALYSIS

INTERPRETATION

JUDGEMENT

SKILLS 5 Giving a talk

Some points to bear in mind when giving any type of talk, whether long or short.

communicate your arguments and evidence

persuade your audience that they are true
keep audience focused on what you say what you have to say
talk rather than read
stand up unless youre literally forced to sit - listeners need your help to keep their attention
vary the pitch of your voice - monotones make people sleep
speak loudly and clearly, facing the audience
make eye contact with the audience - be careful not to ignore one side of the audience
focus on main arguments in a conference situation, less is more
use visual aids if possible
have a paper version of your outline in front of you; speak from that, rather than from the
one on the screen
finish your talk within the time limit
summarize your talk at the beginning and again at the end

Some useful phrases

I am going to talk today about...
Id like to start by...
In my opinion...
I agree/dont really agree with ...
For example/instance...
Next...
To summarise what Ive said...
Choose one of the statements below. Brainstorm the ideas and write down some notes. You will
give a 5 minute talk on the subject. Remember, you do not have to agree with the statements, but
you must provide reasons for your ideas.
1) Art critics are not always credible.
2) Describe your favourite art museum.
3) Cartoons and comics are not art forms.
4) What would life be like without art?
5) Photography is an art form.
6) The last time you visited an art gallery.
7) Art is the patrimony of mankind, not of single countries.
8) Films adapted from books are usually terrible.
9) All art forms can be forged.
10) The basic differences between theatre and cinema.

ANSWER KEY
UNIT 1
Exercise 1
Westminster Palace, rebuilt from the year 1840 on the site of important medieval remains, is a fine
example of neo-Gothic architecture. The site which also comprises the small medieval Church
of Saint Margaret, built in Perpendicular Gothic style, and Westminster Abbey, where all the
sovereigns since the 11th century have been crowned is of great historic and symbolic
significance.
In the 1040s King Edward (later St Edward the Confessor), last of the Anglo-Saxon kings,
established his royal palace by the banks of the river Thames on land known as Thorney Island.
Close by was a small Benedictine monastery founded under the patronage of King Edgar and St
Dunstan around 960 AD. This monastery Edward chose to enlarge, building a large stone church
in honour of St Peter the Apostle. This church became known as the west minster to distinguish
it from St Pauls Cathedral (the east minster) in the City of London. Unfortunately, when the
new church was consecrated on 28 December 1065 the King was too ill to attend and died a few
days later. His mortal remains were entombed in front of the High Altar.
Exercise 2
1. Several countries participated in signing the Treaty: Britain, France, Italy and Spain.
2. English is full of idiomatic expressions. Some are so old their origins are lost; others have recent
easily identifiable roots.
3. Although mention of the churchs existence was mentioned by the historian in the 1450s, its
location is still unknown.
4. Hamlet is, however, a highly developed character.
5. I look after two-year-old children (I look after children who are two years old); I look after two
year-old children (I look after two children who are one year old).
6. The Tower of London, an impressive castle, is situated by the Thames.
7. The age of Shakespeare and of Marlowe, Kyd, Chapman and Ben Jonson extends roughly
from 1590 to 1625
8. Restoration projects on buildings at risk have been completed at Betchworth Castle, Surrey;
Cowdray House, West Sussex; and Halswell House, Somerset.
9. The Lord of the Rings was nominated as the British Nations best-loved novel in 2007.
10. Occupied since Roman times, the site is rich in historic associations.
Exercise 3
All writings of (no article) history are in some way revisionist. If there were a universally accepted
view of history there would be no need to research it. Many historians who write revisionist
exposs want to correct history. Up to now many great discoveries have come as a result of the
research of men and women that have been curious enough to revisit certain historical events and
explore them again in depth from a new perspective.
Those historians who work within the existing establishment, who have a body of existing work
from which they claim authority, have the most to gain by maintaining the status quo. This may be
called an accepted paradigm. Revisionist historians, such as feminist historians, or ethnic minority
historians, often contest the mainstream or traditional view of historical events and raise views at
odds with traditionalists, which must be freshly judged. Between the mainstream of accepted
beliefs and the new perspectives of historical revisionism, information is either changed, or
solidified and clarified. If over a period of time the revisionist ideas become the new establishment
status quo a paradigm shift is said to have occurred.

It is the spirit of the times that influences historians. Developments in other academic areas, and
cultural and political fashions, all help to shape the model and outlines of history that are being
currently accepted (the historiographical paradigm). As time passes and these influences change so
do most historians views on the explanation of historical events. The accepted model is revised to
fit in with the current agreed-upon version of events. Some of the influences whose features may
change over time are language, nationalism, culture and idealogy.
Exercise 4
1. You can go out now. It is not snowing any more.
2. I cut my finger while I was cooking.
3. She did not have much to do at all yesterday.
4. How many plays did Goldoni write?
5. Italian is a European language.
6. We studied Latin at school.
7. If I had known you were coming, I would have come to get you at the station.
8. He is doing much research on the subject.
9. The building should be saved because it is an outstanding example of industrial architecture.
10. The professor will let me study this topic.
11. The French President, accompanied by his new wife, is going to Egypt.
12. Look at the ground. It has been raining all night.
13. What will the world be like in 50 years time?
14. The ancient town had an intensive economic and social life, which flourished for centuries.
15. It is said that he has written 40 novels.
Exercise 5
1. bookshop; 2. currently, at present; 3. cheap; 4. subject, topic; 5. attached; 6. insignificant,
unimportant; 7. news; 8. lately, recently; 9. reading; 10. records.
Exercise 6
Examples
Paraphrase
The Britons have been called barbarians by Mike Tomlinson, former chief inspector of English
schools and the results of research undertaken on the British and their ability to speak foreign languages seem to confirm this. Only one in ten were able to do so, and a recruitment office found that
the percentage went down when workers were asked to count up to twenty. The majority of workers
believe that English is an international language and thus it is not necessary to learn another language. In 2001 a European Commission survey revealed that among EU countries, Britons had the
highest percentage speaking only their mother tongue.
Summary
The results of research and surveys carried out on Britons speaking a foreign language seem to
suggest that very few people are able to do so. Indeed, Britain has the lowest proportion of people
speaking a foreign language among the countries in the European Union.
UNIT 2
Exercise 1
1. John reads a newspaper every day.
2. I dont like meat very much.

3. I have never seen such a beautiful film.

4. Jane read the letter slowly/Jane slowly read the letter.
5. He put the book on the shelf.
6. I did a lot of homework yesterday.
7. We met some friends at the concert.
8. They dont speak English very well.
9. We have worked here since 1996.
10. I sent her a present.
Exercise 2
1. This church was designed by Christopher Wren.
2. Should the present demographic trend persist, the population will fall by 20 million.
3. It was Galileo Galilei who laid the bases of the modern science of mechanics.
4. Greater are the films strengths than its weaknesses.
5. Founded in 1895, the National Trust is the largest independent conservation charity.
6. A famous landmark, the Tower can be seen for many miles.
7. Never have I read such a good book.
8. Having been recently restored, the sculpture is again on show
9. An interesting play was broadcast by the radio yesterday.
10.What is extremely fascinating is the theory.
Exercise 3
1. I know nobody.
2. He went nowhere.
3. We have done nothing wrong.
4. Some people have no respect.
5. They have no money left.
6. No firm evidence of prehistoric dwellings has been found.
7. They have said nothing new about the subject.
8. We will be able to afford to live there no longer.
9. This book by the author is no better than the last one he wrote.
10. The use of the machine requires no prior technical knowledge.
Exercise 4
Where was Ian McKewan born?; How long did he live abroad?; What did he study at University?;
Who taught creative writing at the University of East Anglia?; When did he write his first novel?;
What is the novel about?; What awards has he won?; Has he written anything else?; Who wrote the
screenplay for The Comfort of Strangers?; What is the title of his latest novel?
Exercise 5
1. Anne asked what the time was.
2. James asked why I had run out of the room so suddenly.
3. The student asked if they were going to visit the castle.
4. Clare asked if I had seen the new art exhibition the day before.
5. My husband asked what I thought of our new neighbours.
6. She asked whether I would do it if I could.
7. John asked if nothing would be done until the next day.
8. Robert asked if I knew how many people lived in this town.

9. Jane asked if they could postpone the meeting until the following week.
10. Susan asked where the office had been moved to.
Exercise 6
1. The professor, to whom I talked, was very helpful.
2. The hotel in which we stayed was marvellous.
3. It is believed he is writing another novel/ He is believed to be writing another novel.
4. That is the book in which I am interested.
5. The restoration of the building was completed in 5 years.
6. The issue of historical revisionism will be considered.
7. That is the university at which I am studying.
8. This study will help us make connections of which we were previously unaware.
9. He is a person of whom I am really proud.
10. The statements he had made were proved to be false.
Exercise 7
1. raised; 2. comprehension; 3. initially; 4. incorrect; 5. demonstrated; 6. consequence; 7.
repeatedly; 8. decrease; 9. investigating; 10. producing.
Exercise 8
Examples
The Portland Vase at the British Museum
1. The Portland Vase is believed to be the most famous and influential piece of ancient glass in the
world.
2. Its blue and white cameo appearance may have served as a source of inspiration for the potter
Josiah Wedgwood.
3. The scenes on the vase appear to be Roman and it is likely of Roman date.
4. The Vase was probably made by the skilled glassmakers of Renaissance Venice.
5. In 1845 the Vase was permanently damaged by a visitor to the Museum who might have been
mentally unstable.
Exercise 9
1) perhaps/ believed to be; 2) probably used; 3) could have been used; 4) may also have displayed;
5) perhaps/ believed to be; 6) suggest; 7) appears to be; 8) might also be suggested; 9) imply; 10)
probably displayed.
UNIT THREE
Exercise 1
Paragraph 1
1. The environment of art and artefacts has a major impact on their preservation. 2. It includes the
effect of differing levels of relative humidity and temperature, the presence of insects and mould. 3.
In addition, artworks are highly susceptible to light. 4. The provision of a suitable environment for
cultural artefacts can make the difference between preservation and destruction. 5. Therefore,
preventive conservation is the most direct and uncomplicated way of caring for works of art.
Paragraph 2

1. For many Puritans, Christopher Columbus's passage in America was one of the most important
historical events as the sign of a bigger historical destiny. 2. Their conception of their role in the
discovery of America is profoundly religious: it is inseparable from the biblical metaphors of the
Apocalypse and the coming of the millennium. 3. Indeed, their historical and geographical position
in America is closely related to their biblical definition of themselves and of America. 4. In the
bigger divine plan, the Puritans are God's chosen people. 5. Their destination, both spiritual and
geographical, is America, the new Israel that marks the beginning of the millennium.
Paragraph 3
1. Many people see Britain as being the home of freedom as we created our unique system of parliamentary democracy backed by our common law. 2. The latter has been adopted, in various forms,
by the other English speaking nations, notably the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland
and Malta. 3. Our legal system is unique in that it embodies our concept of the individual's freedom.
4. Hence, it makes our laws quite different to those of our friends in Continental Europe. 5. However, these ancient rights are now under imminent threat from Brussels under a proposal known as
Corpus Juris.
WRITING TASK
Artists and Craftsmen in the Late Bronze Age of China (eighth - third centuries BC): Art in
Transition
The paper describes the major social changes that occurred in China in the Late Bronze Age, in
particular the fourth century BC. They are mirrored in the organization of workshops and in artistic
production. Although bronze and lacquer were different media and each had specific properties,
they both played a significant role in the development of the arts in ancient China. Specifically,
their respective styles interacted on several levels. These interactions will be explored in order to
understand the role of artists and craftsmen in the art history of this particular period.
The Quadro da Portego: A genre of Venetian Painting?
This lecture examines the development of the quadro da portego in the sixteenth century, and
explores how the intention to hang a painting in this room influenced not only its size and shape,
but also its subject and content. The portego, the long salon-like space of the Venetian home that
extended from the front to the back of the house, was the most important display area and has been
seen as a precursor of the gallery. Its original purpose was to house weapons and armour of noble
ancestors. By the sixteenth century the room was used chiefly for display, entertaining, and
banqueting. However, it continued to be associated with family identity and civic virtue. Using the
quadro da portego as an example, the lecture considers how location within the house is significant
in its impact on both the production and interpretation of works of art.
Celtic Origins: The Western and Eastern Celts
In the first part of the lecture the concept of Celtic - primarily a linguistic one - and its extension to
non-linguistic uses is discussed. The second part refers to the various Celtic movements and
settlements. The ancestors of the Celts as speakers of an Indo-European dialect came from the East,
but established themselves in Western Europe. Later, from the 5th century B.C. onwards, Celtic
groups migrated eastwards again, settling in Noricum and Pannonia. The linguistic evidence for the
Eastern Celts, consisting mainly of personal and tribal names, is presented, and inferences are
drawn as to the survival of Celtic speech, social structures and cultural habits into Roman times.

UNIT FOUR
Exercise 1
1. Go on, Im listening to you.
2. He has lived in India since he was ten.
3. Call me when you get home.
4. -You look tired. Yes, Ive been gardening all day.
5. -What do you do? Im a lawyer.
6. I went to bed early last night. I had had a long day at work.
7. We were listening to the radio when someone knocked on the door.
8. The phone is ringing. Ill answer it.
9. At this time tomorrow they will be travelling on the train.
10. She will have finished all her exams by next February.
Exercise 2
1. Two decades
2. By the early 1450s
3. Spanning two centuries
4. Between 1960 and 1997
5. From 1457 to 1459
6. Prior to WWI
7. In the middle of the 16th century
8. In the late 1950s

d.
f.
e.
h.
g.
b.
c.
a.

20 years
1453
200 years
for 37 years
for 2 years
1913
1550s
1958/59

Exercise 3
Examples
1. Were reading War and Peace at the moment.
2. They bought the house two years ago.
3. We always have a late breakfast on Sundays.
4. Theyre studying 18th century philosophy prior to Kant.
5. You have been late every day this week.
6. Im seeing my professor next week.
7. Shes been to Paris twice this year.
8. He used to have a dog when he was a child.
9. He hasnt completed his thesis, yet.
10. Theyll have painted the room by tomorrow.
Exercise 4
ROBERT WILSON (1941- )
Robert Wilson is an avant-garde stage director and playwright. 1) Over the course of his eclectic
career, he has worked as a choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound and
lighting designer. He is known best for his collaborations with Philip Glass on Einstein on the
Beach, and with numerous other artists, such as William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Tom Waits,
and David Byrne.
Wilson was born in Waco, Texas, and studied Business Administration at the University of Texas
2) from 1959 to 1962. He moved to Brooklyn in 1963, receiving a BFA in architecture from the
Pratt Institute in 1965. He also explored painting under George McNeil, and architecture with
Paolo Soleri in Arizona.

3) Four years later, Wilson founded an experimental performance company, the Byrd Hoffman
School of Byrds, named after a dancer who helped him to overcome a speech impediment 4)
while he was a teenager. With this company, he created his first major works, beginning with 5)
1969's The King of Spain and The Life and Times of Sigmund Freud. He started to work in opera in
the 6) early 1970s, creating Einstein on the Beach with Philip Glass, which brought the two artists
world-wide fame.
Wilson works are noted for their austere style, very slow movement, and often extreme scale in
space or in time. The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin was a 12-hour performance, while Ka
Mountain and Guardenia Terrace was staged on a mountaintop in Iran and lasted seven days.
Wilsons use of language is highly innovative, often mixing different registers, and he visually
shows language on his set designs. Light is another highly important element on stage, according to
Wilson, as he feels that lighting design enhances a production. 7) Lately, works like Black Rider,
Alice and Woyzeck have drawn heavily on the visual style of German expressionism and also on
its often apocalyptic view of mankind and his future.
In addition to his work for the stage, Wilson has produced sculpture, drawings, and furniture
designs. He won the Golden Lion 8) at the 1993 Venice Biennale for a sculptural installation. 9)
Since 2004 Wilson has worked on dozens of high-definition videos called the Voom Portraits.
Subjects range from royalty and celebrities, including Brad Pitt, to animals, Nobel Prize winners
and homeless people. He is 10) currently working on the European continent and will appear
soon in a documentary entitled Absolute Wilson by Katharina Otto-Bernstein.
UNIT FIVE
Exercise 1
1. A wonderful old black Spanish silk shawl.
2. A pair of 15th century French silver candlesticks.
3. A hideous modern pink plastic sofa.
4. A bizarre 20th -century abstract oil painting.
5. Two delicate white Roman marble statues.
Exercise 2
1. He is a well-known artist.
2. His has a time-worn face.
3. This year there was record-breaking attendance at the museum.
4. He was a well-dressed man.
5. It is a hand-painted vase.
Exercise 3
1. It is a 12th-century castle.
2. It is a 400-year-old bridge.
3. It is a two-metre long table.
4. It is a 5-metre-thick wall.
5. It is a 5-year project.
Exercise 4
1. The painting was valuable.
2. The design was circular.
3. The upper part is illuminated.

4. The sight of the palace was astonishing.

5. She found the fresco impressive.
6. The mask is colourful.
7. The texture seems rough.
8. The use of glass is imaginative.
9. The landscape is realistic.
10. The flowers are decorative.
Exercise 5
Examples
1. Sculpture is the art or practice of shaping figures or designs in the round or in relief, such as by
chiselling marble, modelling clay, or casting in metal.
2. The Renaissance was a cultural movement that extended over the 14th to the 17th centuries,
beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and then spreading to the rest of Europe.
3. The term trompe l'il derives from the French, meaning to fool the eye and refers to the
painting technique that makes two-dimensional work appear to be three dimensional.
4. A colour palette is the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of
art.
5. An art patron is a person who sponsors artists or commissions art works. Today it often refers to
the direct financial support of an artist, for example by grants.
UNIT SEVEN
Exercise 1
1) Apocalypse Now (1979) war epic
Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
2) Blade Runner (1982) sci-fi
Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah, Sean Young, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy,
Director: Ridley Scott
3) Bringing Up Baby (1938) - comedy
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, May Robson
Director: Howard Hawks
4) Casablanca (1942) sentimental drama
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid
Director: Michael Curtiz
5) Citizen Kane (1941) fictional biography
Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, Dorothy Comingore
Director: Orson Welles
6) City Lights (1931) - romance
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill
Director: Charlie Chaplin
7) Gone With the Wind (1939) epic drama
Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilland, Hattie McDaniel

Director: Victor Fleming

8) Psycho (1960) - horror/thriller
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, John Gavin, Vera Miles, Martin Balsam
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
9) Singin in the Rain (1952) - musicals
Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Cyd Charisse
Directors: Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen
10) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - animation
Starring: Voices of Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Adriana Caselotti
Director: David Hand, Perce Pearce
11) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - adventure films
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen
Director: Steven Spielberg
12) Metropolis (1927) science fiction
Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Frohlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Director: Fritz Lang
13) High Noon (1952) - Western
Starring: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Lloyd Bridges, Katy Jurado
Director: Fred Zinnemann

APPENDICES
STRUCTURE AND COHESION
Adding
Sentence connectors
also
besides (+ noun)
furthermore
in addition
moreover
too

Clause connectors
and

Other words and structures

another

Examples
Besides heritage sites and monasteries, West Sikkim is extremely rich in biodiversity.
People all over the world need to be made aware of the importance of cherishing our varied
heritage. Furthermore, heritage preservation is essential if we are to retain the wealth of our cultural
diversity.
Troy is one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. Moreover, the siege of Troy,
immortalized by Homer in the Iliad, has inspired great creative artists throughout the world ever
since.
Comparing
Sentence connectors
also
likewise
similarly
too

Clause connectors
and
both and
not only but also

Other words and structures

as as (not so as)
to be like
to be similar to

Examples
The faade of the theatre is magnificent. The old movie house at the corner of the main plaza
likewise has a special architectural character.
Both Heard Island and the McDonald Islands have Australias only active volcanoes.
Similarly, the ancient city of Ghadames, known - like Shibam in Yemen - as the pearl of the
desert, is gradually falling into ruin because its fragile clay houses are not being maintained.
Contrasting
Sentence connectors
however
in contrast
instead
in/by comparison
nevertheless
nonetheless
on the other hand

Clause connectors
but
although
even though
whereas
while

Other words and structures

despite (+ noun)
in spite of
compared to
to be unlike
contrary to

on the contrary
Examples
Inclusion in the World Heritage List is essentially honorific. A prerequisite for World Heritage Site
status is, nevertheless, the existence of effective legal protection.
here is also a Furniture Museum, but the real joy is the town itself
The distribution of winter grass has expanded since its discovery in 1986, but unlike Macquarie
Island, there are no introduced vertebrates such as cats or rabbits.
Although difficult to get to, this site is not guarded and has no protective mechanisms to keep
visitors to keep away.
Despite being a bird, the Cassowary is Australias largest land animal.
Contrary to popular belief, the Great Barrier Reef is not a continuous barrier.
Effects and results
Sentence connectors
accordingly
as a result
as a consequence
consequently
hence
therefore
thus

Clause connectors
so

Other words and structures

to result in
to cause
to affect
the cause of
the reason for

Examples
To co-operate with other States in achieving this objective, the New Zealand Government will make
available its skills and resources. Accordingly, the New Zealand Government and UNESCO will
consult one another.
Viewed from the air, Tel Aviv appeared as a vision of startling white. Hence the appellation,
White City.
The project should also result in improved management of the ten pilot World Heritage sites in
Africa.
The history of mammal lineages in modern Australia can be traced through these fossil deposits
and, as a consequence, there is a better understanding of the conservation status of living mammals
and their communities.
Reformulating
In other words
To put it more simply,
It would be better to say
i.e. (id est)
viz. (videlicet)
namely

Then, as now, people wanted to be taken away from their every day lives and into a new world. And
so narrative film - or to put it more simply, storytelling through the movies - was born.
There is always, so to speak, another already within us, even before the other outside of us. In
other words, identities and belonging, in differentiated and complex societies such as our own, are
ever increasingly a residing in displacement.
The lighthouse has quarters which contain spaces indicative of their unusual function, viz. large
pantries and offices.
In other cases, namely that of the historic centre of Mexico City or that of Koge in Denmark, urban
regeneration is a fully-fledged multisectoral operation.
Listing
First, second, third,
Firstly, secondly, thirdly,
Next, then, afterward, finally,
Giving examples
e.g. (exempli gratia)
for example
for instance
such as
in particular
notably
Examples
Scientific and technological research helps to create an understanding of the contribution that
heritage preservation makes to society by elaborating on issues such as (on such issues as) heritage
value, cultural tourism, cultural identity, and quality of life.
Observation satellites are already used to watch natural world heritage sites, notably in Africa,
where the last mountain gorillas survive.
Concluding
Sentence connectors
in brief
in conclusion
to conclude
in short
in summary

Clause connectors

Other words and structures

it is clear that
the evidence suggests that
these examples show that

Examples
To conclude, I wish you a very pleasant experience in the maritime archaeological centre here in
Roskilde.
The evidence suggests that, with only a few notable exceptions, the physical damage of warfare is
secondary to that inflicted by human negligence.

CITING REFERENCES
At the end of your text, you will need to list the works you have cited. You need to include the
following information, which is set out here following the Modern Language Association style.
Books
Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.
Also include, when necessary, the name of the editor or translator, compiler, if any, the edition, if it
is not the first (i.e., 2nd ed., rev. ed.).
Smith, John. The Words of the Historian. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Two or More Books by the Same Author
After the first listing of the authors name, use three hyphens and a period instead of the
authors name. List books alphabetically by title.
Smith John. More Words of the Historian. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
---. The Words of the Historian. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Book with More Than One Author
First author name is written last name first; subsequent author names are written first name, last
name.
Smith, John and Sally Jones. The Words of the Philosopher. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
If there are more than three authors, you may list only the first author followed by the phrase et al.
in place of the other authors names, or you may list all the authors in the order in which their
names appear on the title page.
Smith, John et al. Words and More Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Article
Author(s). Title of Article. Title of Periodical Volume. Issue. Year: pages.
Smith, John. Life in the 20th Century. Cultural Studies 20 (1) 2000: 54-61.
Fuller, Larry and Sally Jones. Irregular Verb Forms in Japanese. Applied Linguistics June 1995:
1-22.
Web site
In MLA style, the W in Web is capitalized, and Web site is written as two words. It is
necessary to list your date of access because web postings are often updated, and information
available on one date may no longer be available later. Electronic addresses are listed between
carets (<, >).
Name of Site. Date of Posting/Revision. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site
(sometimes found in copyright statements). Date you accessed the site <electronic address>.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 26 Aug. 2005. The Department of Philosophy at Oxford
University. 23 April 2007 <http://oep.philosophy.oxford.edu/>.
Article in an Online Journal
Include volume and issue information, when available. Also, some electronic journals and
magazines provide paragraph or page numbers; again, include them if available.

Lynch, Trevor. Bertrand Russell. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 23 April 2007.
<http://www.oxford.edu/campusorg/psiphi/DS9/ep/503r.html>.
Personal Interview
Listed by the name of the person you have interviewed.
Lynch, Trevor. Personal Interview. 2 Dec. 2007.
Lecture or Speech
Include speaker name, title of the speech (if any) in quotes, details about the meeting or event where
the speech was given, including its location and date of delivery. Instead of a title, label the speech
according to its type, e.g., Guest Lecture, Keynote Address.
Lynch, Trevor. Keynote Address. History and Philosophy Conference. Union Club Hotel, Purdue
University. 23 May 2007.
Painting, Sculpture, or Photograph
Include the artists name, the year the work was created, and the institution (e.g., a gallery or
museum) that houses it, followed by the city where it is located.
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, Madrid.