This section provides you with the essential details of the course, such as what materials will be included and how you will be assessed. Please read through this material carefully to ensure that you are aware of the expectations and requirements for completing this course.
Course materials
ENGL 1070EED consists of:
- this Course Guide; and
- the study units (Units 1–6).
You will also be required to purchase a set textbook for use during the course.
Course Guide
This Course Guide tells you briefly what the course is about and how you should work through the material. It also gives you some information about tutorials and the assignments. You should refer to this document throughout the course to help clarify important points about studying with HKMU.
Study units
There are six study units in ENGL 1070EED English for Post-secondary Study; each requires two or three weeks of work. Each unit includes directions for study and references to sections of recommended reading from your set textbook.
The units also direct you to work on self-tests and activities. The self- tests are designed to help you check your understanding of the content of the study units, while the activities require you to reflect on and put into practice important issues and grammar points raised in the units and in the set textbook. Along with the assignments, the self-tests and activities will help you understand the key concepts of the individual units and, indeed, of the whole course.
The study units have a common format. Each includes:
- An introduction to the unit.
- Self-tests and activities spread throughout the unit. You should check the answers to each of these as you complete them.
- A summary of the unit.
Set textbook
You are required to purchase the following set textbook for use in ENGL 1070EED:
Swan, M., & Walter, C. (2019). Oxford English grammar course: Advanced with answers (Revised edition). Oxford University Press.
Reference books
In addition to the set textbook, the following are some recommended references:
Geyte, E. V. (2014). Writing: Learning to write better essays. HarperCollins Publishers.
Hart, S. (2017). Expand your English: A guide to improving your academic vocabulary. Hong Kong University Press.
Langan, J. (2023). College writing skills with readings (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Legg, M., Pat, K., Roberts, S., Welland, R., Chan, L., Chan, L., & Tsang, W. L. (2017). Academic English: Skills for success (revised 2nd ed.). Hong Kong University Press.
Ng, P. T. P. (2003). Effective writing: A guide for social science students. The Chinese University Press.
Murphy, R. (2019). English grammar in use: A self-study reference and practice book for intermediate learners of English (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Read, S. H. (2019). Academic writing skills for international students (1st ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing.
You may choose to buy your own individual copies of the above books. In addition, you are advised to equip yourself with a good, up-to-date dictionary (although this is not a compulsory purchase). The dictionary exercises in the course may be completed by reference to any dictionary, but the following two are particularly recommended for our students:
Oxford advanced learner's dictionary (10th ed.). (2020). Oxford University Press; or
Collins Cobuild advanced learner's English dictionary (9th ed.). (2018). Harper Collins.
Course overview
The following table provides an overview of the course and suggests the amount of time needed for completing each unit. However, each of us has our own learning styles and speeds, so this schedule is only a guide. You may find, for example, that a particular unit requires more time than another. For these reasons, you should feel free to adjust the schedule to suit your needs more closely, while still adhering to the deadlines for the assignments.
Unit | Topic | Study weeks | Assessment |
1 | Text and fluency | 3 | |
2 | Words and meaning | 3 | |
3 | Good paragraphs | 3 | Assignment 1 |
4 | Putting ideas together | 2 | |
5 | Getting started on writing | 2 | Assignment 2 |
6 | Producing a text | 2 | |
| Revision | 1 | Final examination |
| Total | 16 | |
Course assessment
There are two methods of assessing progress: continuous assessment through the completion of the assignments and an examination at the end of the course. The course is designed to help you progress smoothly through the study units to the assignments and examination.
Assignments
The assignment details will be provided to you as a separate Assignment File, uploaded to the course OLE. There are two assignments for continuous assessment. These give you the opportunity to put into practice the skills and knowledge you have acquired in the course.
Each assignment is worth 20% of the total marks of the course.
The Assignment File contains detailed instructions and advice for each assignment. The Presentation Schedule, also found on the course OLE, will remind you of when to submit your assignments. It is very important to read the Assignment File and keep to the deadlines given in the Presentation Schedule.
Examination
The examination for ENGL 1070EED will last for three hours and carries 60% of the total course marks. It consists of questions which reflect very closely the types of assignments you will have been working on throughout the course. This means that you will only be examined on what you have learnt throughout the term.
HKMU has a clear and open approach to help students succeed in all aspects of their study. You will be provided with a specimen examination paper similar in format to the actual examination, although the questions will, of course, be different. To be awarded a final pass grade for this course, you must attain passes in both the continuously assessed course assignments and the examination.
The assessment items are outlined in the following table.
Assessment | Course area covered | Weighting |
Assignment 1 | Units 1–3 | 20% |
Assignment 2 | Units 4–5 | 20% |
Examination | Entire course | 60% |
Total | | 100% |