TMA Arab Open University FACULTY OF LANGUAGE STUDIES E304B: Exploring English Grammar II 2021/2022 TMA (Second Semester) Prepared by Course Chair: Dr. Ismail Safieh Copyright ©2021-2022 Arab Open University TMA Please return your completed assignment to a

TMA Arab Open University
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE STUDIES
E304B: Exploring English Grammar II
2021/2022 TMA (Second Semester)
Prepared by Course Chair: Dr. Ismail Safieh
Copyright 2021-2022 Arab Open University
TMA
Please return your completed assignment to arrive no later week 11.
In this assignment you will write an essay of 1000 words based on analysis and interpretation of linguistic data. The assignment assesses your ability to accurately describe and interpret linguistic data. It relates to your study of Blocks 1 and 2, and 3 and represents 20% of the overall continuous assessment score (OCAS).
Before you start this assignment, refer to the general guidance on writing assignments in the module guide. While the TMA contains different steps, you will be given a holistic mark for the assignment.
The TMA consists of two parts; Part 2 consists of a series of steps.
Please submit your TMA as a single word document.
Part 1: Choosing two texts
Part 2: Grammatical analysis
Step 1: Reading the texts
Step 2: Taking initial notes about the texts (not for submission)
Step 3: Analyzing the texts
Step 4: Writing up your interpretation (1000 words)
Part 1: Choosing two texts
Choose two texts by speakers/writers of English as a first language (sometimes referred to as “native”): one text should be spoken (natural or fictional conversation/dialogue about any subject taken from a novel, TV, radio, YouTube, magazine, newspaper or any other source) and the other should be written (non-fiction prose) text in English taken from an English newspaper or magazine, book, or any other source. The written text can be about any specialized subject (eg. medicine, law, education, arts, politics, sports, etc.).
The texts you choose should be 200-250 words in length and should also be RECENT; i.e. published over the last 2-4 weeks. You can access most daily newspapers or magazines on the internet.
You should expect to spend a reasonable amount of time selecting your texts, as your choice of text will potentially affect the quality of your answer. Do not be afraid to reject your initial choice if you come across something better, since you will inevitably have gained insights from the process of selection. However, you need to remember to leave yourself enough time to spend on the analysis of your chosen texts.
Part 2: Grammatical analysis
Step 1: Reading the texts
Read carefully the two texts that you chose. Your assignment is to write a linguistic comparison of the two texts of 1000 words which explores and contrasts the themes in the two texts. Note that you do not need to write anything for this step.
Step 2: Making initial notes about the texts
Make some notes on what you notice about the texts and how they differ in terms of the types and patterns of lexical and grammatical cohesion. This will provide you with a set of questions or hypotheses which you can explore. You will not be assessed on this step and you should not include your notes in your submission.
Step 3: Analyzing lexical & grammatical cohesion in the two texts
This TMA question focuses specifically on the relationship between lexical and grammatical cohesion and mode (Units 2 and 3 in Book 3).
Identify the different types and patterns of lexical cohesive devices:(repetition, relexicalization, synonymy, antonymy, co-reference, etc., and grammatical cohesive devices: reference, substitution, ellipsis and text connectors (linking adverbials) that are used in the two texts. You should display your analysis in tables and color highlighting.
Step 4: Writing up your interpretation (1000 words)
After you have analyzed the types and patterns of lexical and grammatical cohesion in each text, write an essay in a word document of up to 1000 words (not including the tables) in which you explain, discuss and interpret how the overall patterns of the lexical and grammatical cohesive devices contribute to the cohesion in texts. In addition, you should compare the results of your analysis in Step 3 to the patterns of lexical and grammatical cohesion in both texts. What do these patterns suggest about the mode and context of the two texts?
Note: You can refer to units 2 and 3 and their relevant activities in Book 3 to help you write this TMA.
Important notes:
Your chosen texts MUST be approved and signed by your tutor to make sure they are the proper texts for the TMA, otherwise your TMA will not be accepted and will not be marked; your mark will be zero.
You should write an introduction to the TMA. You should also write a conclusion to the whole TMA at the end in which you sum up what you have done in the TMA and state your own evaluation and opinion of the TMA.
Make sure you use a good number of references for your TMA from any source from which you should use relevant in-text well referenced citations/quotations to support your discussions, explanations and arguments to make your TMA well researched, well argued, and more convincing. This will help you get a better mark. (see the Assessment Guide on referencing)
In an appendix attach a photocopy or a printout of the two full texts you have used for analysis.
End of TMA Questions
Using the e-library on campus:
Students are requested to visit the e-library on campus and use it to do their TMAs properly. They are also requested to show their tutor that they used the e-library in doing the TMA and this be evidenced.
The following are guidelines on plagiarism:
If you submit an assignment that contains work other than yours without acknowledging your sources, you are committing plagiarism. This might occur when:
Using a sentence or phrase that you have come across
Copying word-for-word directly from a text
Paraphrasing the words from the text very closely
Using text downloaded from the internet
Borrowing statistics or assembled fact from another person or source
Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your sources
Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student
(Slightly adapted from OU document on quoting versus plagiarism)
It is important to remember that plagiarism is strictly barred and would be subject to punitive action by the Arab Open University.