Final Reading Test - 20%

• Be sure to read the articles on genetically modified foods in your textbook, Unit 8.
• Remember that the reading test will take place in the first period on Tuesday, June 26, in the computer lab.
• The writing test (10%) will follow in the second period in the lab.
• Send the answers to the two tests to my two e-mails: fjbonkowski@cegep-st-laurent.qc.ca and fbonk@videotron.ca

Pascua Lama Simulation

Economic benefits vs. protection of the environment
As a class activity for the rest of the course, we are going to do a simulation based on the Pascua Lama Project.
What is a simulation? It's an extended group activity in which students take on roles and act out a real-world situation.
The Pascua Lama Project involves the controversial initiative of a Canadian mining company to extract gold reserves from two glaciers in waters belonging to Chile in South America. In this activity, you will:

• do research on the Internet and collect information
• create a bank of documents
• take notes on your reading
• write summaries of the information you found (posted on your blog under the section: Pascua Lama Project
• join a special interest group
• create a role as part of a special interest group, organization or company as well as an international tribunal
• develop your position, for, against or undecided on the Project
• write your own role card
• participate in group and whole class discussions
• evaluate your performance in the activity

There will be six groups of students (five groups of three and 1 group of 2):

1. News reporters from different news agencies: 3
2. Judges of an International Tribunal: 3
3. Representatives from international agencies, such as the United Nations: 2
4. Mining Company officials: 3
5. Environmentalists: 3
6. Chilian government officials: 3

The activity will extend over the next three classes. Your particiaption in the activity will be evaluated for speaking, reading and writing. In the last class on June 28 we will hold the trial before the International Tribunal.
Monday, June 18:
- Join one of the six groups mentioned above. Work with someone you haven't worked with previously. Choose a group leader to coordinate the work.- Get the general facts on the Project by searching information on the Internet, such as in newspapers. Take notes on the sources you found and put them on your wiki. Indicate which sources and summaries are yours.

Tuesday – Thursday, June 19 and 21:

1. Research information specifically related to your group. For example, mining company people should find out about the company, the purpose of the project and the benefits on carrying out the project. Decide on who does what in the group.

• Decide on your specific role.
  Write up your role card including: Title of special interest group
• Your name and position in the group
• A short statement of your point of view worded as such: (3 0r 4 lines) 'My name is ______. My responsibilities are ______ . I am primarily concerned with improving the quality of life by (give reasons). I also want to . . . - As you do research, keep a written record of your developing position.
• The team leader should insure that there are different positions in the group, ranging from pro-project and neutral to anti-project.

Thursday, June 28:
Session 1, testify before the International Tribunal.
Session 2, answer questions from the judges and other groups

Writing Correction Code

1. Thesis statement (main point of paper) weak or missing
2. Topic sentence (main point of paragraph) weak or missing
3. Supporting points or examples inadequate
4. Transitions (linking devices between paragraphs) weak or missing
5. Coherence (linking between sentences) weak or missing
6. Coordination / subordination expressions used incorrectly (and, but, although, whenever)Grammatical errors
7. Sentence fragment – subject or verb is missing
8. Run on sentence – two sentences running together without a conjunction
9. Use of weak expressions: “There is/there are.”
10. Starting sentence with “and” or “but.”
11. Verb form incorrect – missing 3rd person “s” or “ed” on past or irregular verb
12. Verb tense (time of action) incorrect
13. Inappropriate shifting between present and past tens
14. Incorrect use of reported speech (He said, “The class is fun.”
15. Subject / verb agreement is incorrect (singular / plural)
16. Pronoun (he, she, it …) incorrect
17. Adjective / adverb incorrectLanguage use (syntax, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation)
18. Redundant word or phrase
19. Wrong word
20. Word order incorrect
21. Incomplete comparison
22. Apostrophe incorrect
23. Spelling incorrect
24. Unidiomatic expression
25. Comma ( , ) or semicolon ( ; ) incorrect
26. Capitalization incorrect (English, Canadian, Monday)

Writing Evaluation Grading Criteria

Here is the grading criteria for writing:

• Content and Coherence
  - Organisation, clear thesis, paragraph topics, structured intro and conclusiong [25 points]
  - Development of main point through analysis, detail or example [25 points]
• Grammar and Syntax
  - variety of sentence types [25 points]
• Vocabulary, punctuation, spelling [25 points]
  - word choice, accurate usage

See Writing correction code for the key to the numbers.

Top Brands

Check out this site for the top 100 brand names:
www.finfacts.com/brands.htm

Revised Writing Test - June 14

• Write a five hundred word essay based on the five sources you collected and annotated.


• You will have 90 minutes to write it on Thursday, June 14, between 10:30 and 12:00.


• Use the basic essay format: Introduction, body of the essay and conclusion.


• It is recommended to prepare an outline for your essay. You can put the outline on your blog and refer to it during the exam.


• You can refer to the five sources you collected during the exam.


• Look at the following site for information on basic essay writing. It provides valuable suggestions on deciding on your topic, preparing an outline, writing your thesis statement, and composing the three parts of the essay. http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/index.html

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Sample: Mid-Term Reading Test Revised

This will be used as a practice activity and will count for five bonus points.

Part 1: Steps to reading for understanding

(Answer the five questions in connection with the five short texts.)



Part 2: Analyzing what you have read

(Answer the seven questions in connection with the five short texts.)