A
1. nonscholarly
2. uneducated
3. sufficiency
4. be excluded
5. disregard
6. unfamiliar with
7. withdraw
8. success
10. Match the noun(s) on the left with a suitable item on the right. Use each item once only.
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11. Replace the underlined words with the words below.
a) academia b) a paper c) panel d) feature e) summary f) keep g) resume h) collaborate i) consist j) fail
1. Although an academic CV follows the same principles and aims of any other CV there are some important differences in content and format. 2. This paper will present a study that analyses Twitter use in several different academic conferences which happened from 2009 to 2011. 3. She found business very different from academic world. 4. When it comes to interacting with colleagues, 1 work hard to meet deadlines. 5. The two groups agreed to cooperate with each other. 6. The conference will bring together scholars and postgraduate students to participate in workshops and group discussions. 7. The group will be composed of academics from different disciplines, such as international business, political science, and business ethics. 8. I am afraid my plans will not succeed. 9. Most journals provide guidelines for submitting an article in each and every issue. 10. The conference abstract is an important piece of academic writing that is required prior to delivering a presentation or talk at a conference.
Memorize the active vocabulary to Text 7A.
Read and translate the following international words. Look up their transcriptions in the dictionary if necessary. Mind the part of speech.
Form n v, visual adj, figure n, result n v, base n v, social adj, activity n, interest n, publish v, display n, career n, interview n, category n, online n, regional adj, national adj, international adj, regular adj, limit n v, telephone n, line n, provider n, functionality n.
Read and translate the following word combinations which come from the texts of the Unit. Mind the use of nouns as attributes in preposition. Look up your dictionary if necessary.
A time span, the conference proceedings, a keynote speaker, a keynote lecture, panel discussions, a programme committee, key figures, entertainment activities, interest groups, conference activities, a career and job search, interview activities, a web conference, a website address, audience interaction, a standard telephone line.
15. Form the adjectives with the help of the following suffixes. Read and translate them into Russian.
a) -ent/-ant: magnificence, differ, significance, depend, correspond, dominate, exist, distance, respond, persist, relevancy, vacancy, triumph;
b) -ive: construct, create, collaborate, decorate, produce, act, attract, effect, decide, comprehend, defense, destruct, mass, offense, imagine, protect;
c) -y: wealth, sun, cloud, might, worth, smoke, bulk, dirt, dust, flower, fog, leaf, mud, rain, sketch, snow, stone.
Section 3. GRAMMAR PRACTICE
16. Read and translate the following sentences paying attention to the forms and functions of the Gerund.
1. Speaking at the most prestigious conferences in your field is a real achievement. 2. Conferences are excellent because giving a paper can sometimes lead to publication, either in a journal or a special edited collection. 3. Listening to presentations will inspire research ideas of your own. 4. Being a student volunteer at a conference is a great way to network with other students. 5. The most important part of a conference is standing in hallways talking to colleagues. 6. His greatest pleasure is reading books. 7. The problem to be discussed is making a new program for a computer. 8. Our aim is finding new ways of using this material in the building industry. 9. We strongly recommend watching videotapes of his lectures. 10. You should present the material you will enjoy talking about. 11. It is worth trying to get involved in these conversations when possible. 12. He remembers having been shown this project. 13. At a conference you might meet scholars who are interested in pursuing a shared area of research with whom you can collaborate in the future. 14. Productive criticism from friends is useful for making improvements. 15. Higher education institutions are individually responsible for setting the academic standards of their own degrees. 16. The investors insisted on being informed about the financial position of the project they supported. 17. During a presentation lots of people, maybe even you, quake at the thought of talking in front of a roomful of strangers. 18. You probably have your own system of marking key words in your back-up text of the presentation. 19. PhD thesis research is the best way we know of in developing
powerful researchers. It is the best investment for becoming a successful researcher. 20. Postgraduate qualifications can provide a valuable way of getting ahead in your career. 21. You will learn a lot by listening to presentations and by asking questions. 22. As your career advances, you will learn that even though listening to the presentations and talks is extremely valuable. 23. Some people can be shy about approaching people they don’t know at a conference. 24. Before producing final copies of a thesis for submission, the candidate should ensure that all the spelling, grammar, punctuation and choice of language are of a doctoral standard and the bibliography is complete and exact. 25. It is very hard to describe a system implementation without having a picture of the components of the system.
17. Use the Gerund of the verbs in brackets. Define the functions of the Gerund and translate their sentences.
1. You might meet an academic who remembers (be impressed) by you at a conference. 2. These are the new ways of (look) at your results. 3. We knew nothing about his (to have been sent) to New York. 4. I was interested in (do) a postgraduate degree but I wanted something that would be practical and useful, not just theoretic. 5. Compliance with the Bologna Process is important in (ensure) ongoing competitiveness with European universities, and for (provide) globally recognised standards. 6. (Speak) in a monotone is boring and will put people to sleep, so be sure to vary the speed and pitch of your voice during a presentation. 7. He is proud of (have won) in the chess tournament. 8. (See) is (believe). 9. Don’t let any idea or question go by without first (give) it careful thought. 10. During the presentation (look) at your slides will help you get back on track. 11. They expected (be given) further assistance. 12. A PhD thesis is probably the only real challenge for (get) a PhD degree.
18. Read and translate the following sentences paying attention to the verbal noun.
1. You should prepare good notes, and refer to them when you need to, but don’t perform a formal reading of your presentation text. 2. This writing is hard to read. 3. He is primarily responsible for the planning, execution and preparation of work for publication. 4. Your audience purports to be exactly what it is a gathering of colleagues.
5. The coming of the industrial age marked a major change in the role of the building engineer. 6. You should rehearse the pacing of your talk and master the effective use of visual aids for your presentation. 7. This degree should be awarded to researchers who have demonstrated a detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry. 8. The university library collection contains a variety of publications on the writing of theses.
19. Find the sentences in which the -ing form is a) a verbal noun or b) a gerund. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. Look at the audience throughout your talk. You will create a rapport with the audience by establishing eye contact with as many people as possible. 2. Thesis writing is useful in the sense that it helps reveal possible problem areas and provides new insights. 3. The drawings were erased during the final finishing of the wall surfaces. 4. You have to convince others that the work is worth hearing about before they will be willing to listen to the technical details. 5. Openings were cut through the framing as required. 6. Public speaking is an art. 7. She encourages candidates to focus on making the paper presentation interesting and accessible to the widest range of potential hearers. 8. The development of bronze and later iron in that period led to the making of metal tools for working wood. 9. The programme focuses on the understanding of construction technology and production management processes. 10. During your presentation you may risk confusing people if you overwhelm them with too much information.
20. Compare the -ing forms — the Gerund, the Verbal Noun and the Present Participle in the following sentences. In every case state the subject and the predicate. Translate the sentences into Russian.
1. Not all academics attend conferences regularly, but many at the start of their career do, and while exposing your research to public scrutiny can be nerve-wracking, most conference attendees are usually friendly and good spirited, choosing to encourage new scholars rather than criticise their work. 2. Through organising an academic conference, researchers will not only gain access to cutting edge research but also develop a range of transferable skills, including project management, team working, problem solving and communication — all critical employability skills.
3. Theses should normally be bound using thermal binding. 4. It is now very difficult to find cheap housing for rent. 5. With the coming of building science, there was a further division of labour in the design process 6. Some presenters shorten their work, choosing for more dialogue and interaction. 7. We have a postgraduate student working on this area for his PhD thesis. 8. Your theory contradicts existing knowledge. 9. Attending a conference is a professionally rewarding experience. 10. The extracting, moving, and working of stone were costly processes. 11. With job roles becoming increasingly complex, higher levels of skills and qualifications are needed, especially if job candidates are seeking a competitive edge over those with undergraduate qualifications. 12. After attending a number of conferences, you may realise that there is a particular topic of study that has not been covered or that would be enhanced by having a gathering of scholars to discuss it.
21. Translate the following sentences into English using the Gerund.
1. Участие в научных конференциях — неотъемлемая часть работы ученого. 2. Он закончил писать текст выступления очень поздно. 3. Я считаю, что стоит проводить такие семинары. 4. Цель дискуссии состояла в том, чтобы обсудить его последнюю статью. 5. После окончания университета он поступил в аспирантуру. 6. Я всегда получаю большое удовольствие, слушая выступления основных докладчиков на научных конференциях. 7. Аннотация предполагает сжатое, логически четкое и ясное изложение основных идей статьи. 8. Мой научный руководитель настаивал на том, чтобы я подготовил статью в установленные журналом сроки. 9. Его самое большое удовольствие — это чтение научной литературы. 10. Он не может написать ни одной статьи без того, чтобы не сделать ни одной орфографической ошибки. 12. Я помню, что я получал приглашение для участия в этой конференции. 13. Я думаю подготовить иллюстративный материал для своей презентации и передать его организаторам конференции в установленный срок. 14. Благодарю вас за то, что вы согласились сотрудничать с нами.
Section 4. READING FOR MAIN IDEAS
Skim Text 7B “Academic Conferences: Should I Stay or Should I Go? They Can Help Propel Your Career” and try to understand what it is about. Give a brief overview of its structure and contents.
Text 7B. ACADEMIC CONFERENCES: SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO? THEY CAN HELP PROPEL YOUR CAREER
For an aspiring postgraduate student contemplating tenure-stream employment, the number of academic conferences being held today can be overwhelming. To make informed decisions about whether to go, when to go and where to go, it is critical to be realistic about your own career goals and to understand the role of conferences in the academic world. Conferences serve a number of purposes. Many of these support your interests as a postgraduate student regardless of the strength of your commitment to become an academic. That said, if none of the three points below resonate, then it is probably the best to stay home and pursue other priorities:
1. Conferences celebrate the best and latest academic research. So if you are interested in where your field is going, or what some of the leading experts have been thinking about, then attendance should be worth your while.
2. Conferences provide semi-organized networking opportunities. If you want to establish connections with other academics, share your ideas with people who have similar scholarly interests, or create a stronger peer support network, attending the right conference is an excellent idea.
3. Conferences enhance academic profiles. Conference presentations are included on your CV. In some fields, peer-reviewed conference presentations are important additions to your scholarly record.
Many postgraduate students wonder whether they should attend a conference if they are not presenting. If reasons 1 and 2 are important to you, then simply attending the right conference could be worthwhile. But keep in mind that simple attendance — or chairing or commenting on a panel — does not enhance your CV.
What about attending postgraduate student conferences? Again, the answer is “Maybe”. The quality of scholarship at these conferences probably will not be as high, nor will the network opportunities be the same, but if you lack a social network of supportive peers, a postgraduate student conference is one way to expand your list of contacts. And, while a presentation at a postgraduate student conference does relatively little for your CV, it does provide you with experience, which should lessen your nerves when it comes time to present in a more prestigious setting.
Each academic discipline has its own, largely unstated, culture when it comes to conferences. It is possible that your supervisor will insist on your attending a certain conference even if you are not presenting. In other cases, you could be advised to avoid a conference because participating would implicate you in a culture war within the field.
Some conferences accept virtually any proposal that comes their way, others pride themselves on their selectivity. Some favour joint submissions, others do not. Some adhere to their conference themes rigidly, others virtually ignore them. When in doubt, submit a proposal. Strong postgraduate students often underestimate the originality of their work and fail to apply to conferences to which they would almost certainly be accepted. Moreover, you can submit a proposal more than once and to more than one conference, so putting together a proposal is worth the time and effort.
With your supervisor’s blessing, having built a proposal that follows the conference call for papers religiously, consider the following factors when making your final conference decisions:
— Is the conference significant in my field? If it is, the leading scholars will be there, as will be potential collaborators. The major conferences also tend to offer professional development workshops for graduate students, which can be extremely helpful.
- Does the conference publish any portion of its proceedings? On a CV, publications generally trump conference presentations, so presenting at a conference that will publish your paper — especially if there is peer review involved — is an efficient use of your time.
- Does the conference offer awards to the best paper? Again, awards do wonders for CVs, so look for conferences where you have a chance to win one.
Does the conference offer funding for graduate students travelling from afar? Conferences outside of your institution are never cheap, and departmental support — if it exists — is rarely sufficient to cover all of your costs. All other things being equal, it makes sense to factor cost into your decision-making process [Chapnick, 2011].