GAC002 Anglais académique I : Compétences de lecture et d'écriture

GAC002 is the reading and writing half of Academic English at Level I, over the same six themes as GAC001. Again the theme is the material; the skills are what carry the marks.

Assessment is written and continuous: reading tasks 阅读任务, several pieces of **writing 写作 built up over the semester, and coursework 平时作业. The final piece is usually a short essay 论文 that has to plan and connect ideas rather than list them.

• Plagiarism 抄袭 is dealt with in this module as content, because western universities treat it as a serious offence rather than a formatting mistake.
• ⚠ Marks are for structure and accuracy together. A well-organised text in imperfect English beats perfect sentences in no order.

Academic reading is not reading every word from the start. It is choosing a technique for a purpose.

• Skimming 略读 is reading fast for the general idea: title, first and last paragraph, the first sentence of each paragraph in between.
• Scanning 查读 is hunting a page for one item — a date, a name, a figure — while ignoring everything else.
• Close reading 精读 is slow reading of a short passage for exact meaning, and it is what an argument deserves.
• Choose by purpose: skim to decide whether a source is useful, scan to find the number, read closely to quote it.
• Le topic sentence 主题句 usually opens a paragraph and states what it is about. Reading only the topic sentences of a long text gives you its shape in a minute.

You cannot look up every unknown word, and you are not expected to.

• Context clues 上下文线索 come first: the rest of the sentence, an example after a colon, a contrast marked by but ou however.
• Word parts 词根词缀 carry meaning. Bio- is life, -logy is the study of, un- reverses, -able means can be done. One prefix unlocks a family of words.
• Le part of speech 词性 constrains the meaning. If the word sits after the, it is a noun, whatever else you know about it.
• An English-English dictionary 英英词典 is the module's tool of choice, because a definition in English teaches usage and collocation that a translation hides.
• ⚠ Do not trust a translation app for an academic word. It gives a synonym, not a register, and the wrong register is visible to a marker instantly.

Worked example. "The city's water supply proved precarious: a single dry summer emptied the reservoir."

The colon introduces evidence, and the evidence is a failure after one dry summer. So precarious means unstable or easily lost. The word was never looked up, and the guess is supported by the sentence, which is exactly the marked skill.

A complex idea needs a sentence built to hold it.

• A simple sentence 简单句 has one clause. A compound sentence 并列句 joins two equal clauses with et, but, so. A complex sentence 复合句 joins a main clause to a subordinate one with because, although, when, which.
• Subordination 从属 shows which idea matters: Although the survey was small, the result was clear puts the weight on the result.
• Connectives 连接词 signal the relationship: however (contrast), therefore (consequence), moreover (addition), for instance (example).
• ⚠ A run-on sentence 流水句 joins clauses with commas alone. Use a full stop, a semicolon, or a connective.
• Vary the length. Every sentence long is as hard to read as every sentence short.

The paragraph is the unit of academic writing, and it has parts that are marked.

• A topic sentence states the paragraph's single idea. One idea per paragraph, always.
• Supporting sentences 支撑句 develop it with explanation, evidence or examples.
• A concluding sentence 结尾句 closes the idea or turns it towards the next paragraph.
• Cohésion 衔接 is what makes sentences feel joined: pronouns pointing back, repeated key nouns, connectives that fit.
• Unity 统一性 means every sentence serves the topic sentence. A sentence that does not belongs in another paragraph, or nowhere.

Worked example. Public transport in the city has improved sharply. (topic) The new metro line opened in 2021 and now carries 400,000 people a day. (evidence) Bus routes were redrawn to feed the stations rather than to compete with them. (evidence) As a result, the average commute is eleven minutes shorter than it was. (conclusion)

Four sentences, one idea, each doing a different job.

This unit exists because the rule is cultural as much as academic, and because breaking it unknowingly still counts as breaking it.

• Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own. Copying without a citation, translating without a citation, and buying work are all the same offence.
• Citer 引用原文 utilise les mots exacts entre guillemets, avec une citation.
• Paraphrasing 改写 restates an idea in your own words and sentence structure — and still needs a citation, because the idea is borrowed.
• Résumer 概括 condense un texte plus long à ses points principaux, et nécessite aussi une citation.
• Une citation 引用 dans le texte renvoie à une entrée complète dans la liste de références 参考文献表.
• ⚠ Changing a few words is not paraphrasing. If the sentence shape survives, it is still the phrase de la source.

Exemple résolu. Source : « La hausse des températures marines a accéléré le blanchissement des coraux sur », ⟦number⟧ la Grande Barrière de corail depuis 2016."

Non acceptable : « L'augmentation des températures marines a accéléré le blanchissement des coraux sur la Grande », ⟦number⟧ Barrière de corail depuis 2016. » — mots échangés, structure identique, aucune citation.

Acceptable : « Depuis 2016, les coraux de la Grande Barrière de corail blanchissent plus vite, et l'eau », ⟦number⟧ plus chaude en est la cause (Hughes, 2018). » — nouvelle structure, nouveaux mots, crédité.

La dernière unité assemble les éléments en une seule pièce d'écriture continue.

• Analyser la question 审题 first. Soulignez le verbe impératif — discuss, compare, evaluate — car il détermine la forme de toute la réponse.
• Brainstorming puis sélection 筛选. Écrivez plus d'idées que nécessaire, puis réduisez aux trois qui peuvent être étayées.
• Esquisse 提纲 avant d'écrire : une ligne par paragraphe, dans l'ordre. Réorganiser une esquisse coûte une minute ; réorganiser un essai terminé coûte une soirée.
• L'introduction 引言 donne du contexte et énonce la thèse 论点 — votre réponse à la question, en une seule phrase.
• La conclusion 结论 répond à la question et n'ajoute aucune nouvelle preuve.
• Synthèse 综合 signifie combiner les sources dans votre propre argument plutôt que de les décrire l'une après l'autre. C'est la compétence qui distingue un essai de niveau I d'un rapport scolaire.

Exemple résolu. Plan pour « Discuter des effets des smartphones sur les habitudes d'étude des étudiants. »

1. Introduction : les téléphones sont universels chez les étudiants ; thèse — ils facilitent l'accès mais nuisent à l'attention, et l'équilibre dépend de l'organisation des études.
2. Accès : matériel, dictionnaires, coordination de groupe.
3. Attention : interruption par notification et coût de reprise de tâche.
4. Ce qui décide de ce qui l'emporte : utilisation planifiée contre disponibilité constante.
5. Conclusion : répondre à la question, aucune nouvelle preuve.

Cinq lignes, écrites avant tout texte. L'essai consiste désormais à développer chacune d'elles, et l'argument ne peut s'égarer car le plan répond déjà à la question.