BBI2424 ACADEMIC WRITING

SEMESTER 1, 2017/2018

LECTURE NOTES 5 (WEEK 10 - WEEK 12)

Topics:

1. Sentence Error (Subject-Verb Agreement)

2. Tenses

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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

In academic writing, you have to construct sentences based on the correct subject
verb agreement rules. The basic rule is singular subjects need singular verbs; plural
subjects need plural verbs. Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you
correct errors of subject-verb agreement.The following are some of the rules that
you can use as a guide:

N Rules Examples
o
1 A singular verb follows a  The boy laughs loudly.
singular subject and a  The boys laugh loudly.
plural verb follows a
plural subject.
2 When two or more  Michelle and Matthew sing well.
singular subjects are  Lara and Sam study very hard for the test
joined by the conjunction
“and”, a plural verb is
used.
3 Phrases such as  Jim, together with his sister, is leaving for
“together with", “as well Korea on Sunday.
as” and "along with” do  The manager as well as the employees, has
not affect the actual to go for the blood test.
number of subject before  The doctors, along with their nurses , are
taking a break at the cafeteria.
them. They are not the
same as the conjunction
"and”.
4 A singular verb is used  Neither of the two traffic lights is
after “neither” and working.
"either".  Either dress is fine with me.
5 When two subjects are  Neither Jasmine nor Megan knows the
joined by "neither…nor” answers.
or “either...or”, the verb  Are either the boys or the girls required to
agrees with the subject stay in the venue?
nearest to it.
6 The indefinite pronouns  Everyone likes durians.
such as "anyone",  Someone has taken my dictionary
"anybody", "anything",  None of the students has done the
"everybody”, "everyone", assignments.
“everything', "nobody",
"no one”, “nothing",
"someone", "somebody",
“something” and “none”
require singular verbs.

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7 When the subjects follow  Every boy and girl has to pay for the entrance
"each", “even” and "one tickets.
of", a singular verb is  Each of the students is responsible for
used. success or failure of the event.
8 lndefinite pronouns such  Some of the umbrellas are missing.
as “all” and “some” can  Some of the rice is stale.
be singular or plural
depending on whether
they are referring to
countable
or uncountable nouns.
9 When the subjects are  All but the lecturer have left the lecture hall.
separated by “all but"  Both Mary and Kay enjoy singing and
and “both...and", a plural dancing.
verb is used.
10 When two singular  My good friend and neighbour is a musician.
subjects refer to the  Ryan, my supervisor and mentor,
same person or thing, a teaches me how to be a good
singular verb is used. technician.
11 When two subjects are  Bread and butter is all I usually take for my
used to express one idea, breakfast.
a singular verb is used.  The horse and carriage is beautifully
decorated for the competition.
12 "There" and "here" are  Here is your shirt.
never a subject.  There are your shirts.

13 A collective noun takes a  The team wins all the competitions.

singular verb when it is  The committee has not decided on where to
used to mean a group. hold the camp yet.
15 Words such as  My glasses are missing.
"glasses", "trousers",  My trousers are torn.
"pants", “scissors” are  A pair of trousers is on the table for you.
regarded as plural
unless they are used
with the phrase "a pair
of".
16 Plural numbers take a  A million dollars is a lot of money.
singular verb when they  Three years is a long time.
are used in a phrase to
mean an amount or a
unit.

17 Some words end in  Physics bores me to death.

“s” but are singular in

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 meaning. ln this case,
a singular verb is
used.
18 Some nouns are  The police have caught the culprit.
singular in form but  Poultry continue to rise in price.
plural in meaning. In
this case, a plural
verb is used.

EXERCISE 1
Fill in the blanks with suitable verb forms.

It is customary for Malaysians to work at least eight hours per day if they
(1)_________(work) in an office. However, this is considered as long working hours
in Europe. Working long hours (2)_________(be) common for most Asian countries
such as Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea – all countries with developing
economies.
Malaysia (3)________(have) been ranked as one of the top countries with
workaholic employees as they also work on holidays. (4)_________(Do) this
reputation harm or benefit Malaysia? Japan and South Korea (5)________(have)
taken the initiative to reduce the number of working hours as they fear longer
working hours may cause health problems and (6)_________(reduce) the quality of
life for the workers. Nevertheless, if Malaysia reduces its working hours, productivity
will suffer. The Malaysian economy largely (7)________(depend) on a productive
workforce. If working hours are decreased, workers may not be able to make up for
lost hours or meet employer demands. It is also feared that employers will put more
expectation on workers to complete their tasks in a fairly short deadline.
Moreover, if employees (8)_________(take) long leave, it may reflect
negatively on their careers. As one travel survey found, Malaysian employees take
the least amount of leave for travel. The survey mentioned that this trend
(9)_________(be) worrisome as taking annual leave for travelling is important for
workers’ well-being. Malaysian employees are reluctant to take long work holidays
because they have the option of carrying forward the unused leave to the next year
calendar. Therefore, instead of reducing working hours for Malaysian workers, a
more viable solution for their productivity and the economy of the country

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(10)_________(be) to allocate more hours for lunch break, currently practised by
workers in Spain. The workers in Spain take a ‘siesta’, or a long break in the
afternoon for resting and doing leisure activities after lunch, and they resume
working at about 4pm. Thus, reducing working hours may be counterproductive for
the Malaysian economy in the long run.

EXERCISE 2
The text below contains SIX errors on Subject-Verb Agreement. Identify and correct
the errors.

Many people have diversity of thoughts about the importance of early

childhood learning. Better academic achievement, of course, is one of them.
According to Ethridge (2010), the president of the National Association of Early
Childhood Teacher Educators, children who attend early learning programmes
demonstrates higher levels of school achievement and better social adjustment than
those who have no formal early education. These children are less likely to repeat a
grade or be placed in special education classes, since learning issues can be
identified and mediated early. In addition to that, research also indicate that children
who have had formal early learning experiences are also more likely to graduate
from high school with better grades as they learn best when educational activities is
exposed at the very early age. Thus, it will help them perform better in examinations.

On the other hand, critics of pre-kindergarten education highlights the

differences between children enrolled in pre-school programmes and children not
receiving formal education. Most childhood education specialists claim that it is not
good for young children to be separated from their parents for extended periods of
time. One reason for this is children who are educated by their parents during their
early developmental years experiences the same benefits as children enrolled in pre-
school programmes, especially children receiving a lot of attention from parents.
While some children benefit immensely from pre-school, it may not be the best
educational setting for other children. In fact, they usually do not benefit in
programmes with inexperienced teachers and large classroom sizes. Parents must

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evaluate a child's unique personality before determining which programme are best
suited for a child since not all programmes benefit children the same way.  

Adapted from John, W. (2003). What is so important about early childhood education?. Retrieved
from http://www.educationcorner.com/importance-of-early-childhood-education.html

TENSES

In academic writing, it is important to use the correct tenses depending on the

context of your writing. You will probably need to use different tenses to indicate
ideas/truth, to give a particular meaning or to emphasise certain functions. Below are
the three common tenses used in academic writing:

1. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

The simple present tense is used to describe, to express opinions and to write about
facts or general truths. It is one of the most frequently used verb forms in writing.
Notice how the writer uses the simple present to express feelings and to describe
habitual actions.

USE EXAMPLE

To indicate general ideas and truths Text messaging causes the deterioration
of proper English usage.

Organic farming is an approach that

seeks to create an integrated,
sustainable and humane agricultural
system.

To express habitual actions The campus election in all public

universities in Malaysia is done every
semester.

All students sit an examination before

entering the course.

To express mental perceptions, emotions I prefer exercising in the morning rather

or opinions than in the evening.

She claims that her research is published

in a high impact journal.

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2. SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The simple past tense is used to write about events and situations in the past. It is
especially useful when writing a story or narrative that happened in the past. Like the
simple present, the simple past can be used to express general ideas and truths,
habitual actions and mental perceptions and emotions. The only difference is that
they happened in the past and are completed.

USE EXAMPLE

To indicate general ideas and truths In 1980s, people chose to listen to

classic rock songs.

In the past, students did not have the

chance to benefit from online learning.
To express habitual or completed actions During my school days, my teacher used
the blackboard in class.

The teacher appeared at the door before

the class started.
To express mental perceptions, emotions I felt afraid of the punishment.
or opinions
I thought about my selfishness.

3. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

When you are analysing or explaining, you will often use the present perfect tense
(has or have + past participle). The present perfect is used to refer to an event in the
past, but the past time of the event is not the important focus. The real focus is the
effect that the past action or event has on the present time and on the writer. The
present perfect always ties the past to the present.

USE EXAMPLE

Events that occurred at some unspecified He has already decided to major in

time in the past (often with recently,
already, just, or yet)
business studies.
Recently, research has shown that
abnormal behaviour is often associated
with anxiety.

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Events that occurred more than once in
the past
Events that began in the past and
continue into the present (often with for
or since)
He has changed his major three times.
The lecturer has failed the students twice
due to their poor performance in the
tests.
Many students have matured a lot since
they started college.
Mr Smith has worked in Malaysia for 10
years.

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EXERCISE 3
Fill in the blanks with suitable verbs using correct tenses.

The hectic pace of life today causes most people to disregard the importance
of exercising. One of the options for people to exercise is cycling. Bicycles
(1) ________ (date) back to as early as the 18 th century, yet they do not seem to
take centre stage in everyday lives. Interestingly, people (2)_______ (learn) to ride
the bicycle when they (3) ________ (be) young, but the moment they (4) ________
(obtain) their driving license, they abandon these two-wheelers for cars.

Perhaps, this is because people (5) _______ (be, not) aware of the health
benefits of cycling. Health experts say that cycling (6)________ (offer) many health
advantages. For instance, it may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and fight
obesity. One of the advantages of cycling (7)________ (be) that it helps one to have
a healthy heart. Cycling also (8) ________ (reduce) the incidences of cardiovascular
diseases such as stroke, high blood pressure and heart attack. This is because
regular cycling (9) ________ (improve) blood circulation and (10) _________ (keep)
blood pressure in check.

Furthermore, cycling is one way to fight obesity. It (11) _______ (help) people
to control body weight by boosting their metabolic rate and building muscles.
However, this only (12) _________ (work) if cyclists (13) ________ (practise) healthy
eating habits since childhood. These health advantages, however, (14)________ (do
not, seem) to encourage people to cycle. Many people (15)________ (do not, take
up) cycling as a routine activity. It is a shame though if an easy and low impact
activity like this is not promoted for the purpose of healthy living.