Portfolio Task: Week 10 Getting a First

This assignment requires students to evaluate their own essays based on specific criteria, such as inclusion of an introduction and conclusion, use of counter-arguments, proper citation, and adherence to academic style. It also assesses transferable employability and practical skills like word count management, grammar correction, and vocabulary usage. The task encourages students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, setting Personal Development Plan (PDP) targets. This exercise helps students refine their writing skills, become more aware of their abilities, and improve their overall academic performance.

English for Academic Purposes 2
(EAPB3017)
This is your English for Academic Purposes 2 e-portfolio which , via the Student
Portal. This should be completed throughout the course and you must make sure you save
your work regularly (e.g. on your computer, on a
USB stick, on email or on the Cloud drive). Please refer to suggested word counts for each
task included within this portfolio.
Assessed Learning Outcomes:
1. Produce elements of a cohesive and coherent researched essay
2. Listen to an academic lecture whilst taking coherent notes
3. Read, compare and summarise a number of written academic texts.

Week Table of Contents Page Learning Completed?
Outcome (
)
Portfolio Tasks
(These tasks should be developed throughout the term but completed by
1 Where are you now? 3 LO 1, 2 & 3 ☐
1 Personal Development Plan 4 LO 1, 2 & 3 ☐
[suggested word count: 100 - 150]
2 – 9 Organising your ideas 5 LO 1 & 3 ☐
[suggested word count: varies per task]
6 Making notes with confidence 8 LO 2 ☐
(200 words)
3 – 8 Developing your arguments 7 LO 1, 2 & 3 ☐
[suggested word count: varies per task]
6 – 9 Writing your argumentative essay 10 LO 1 & 3 ☐
(900 words)
10 Getting a First! 11 LO 1 & 3 ☐
Total word limit:
Final task: Argumentative essay (900 words) (+/- 10%)
Track your progress by ticking off each task as you complete it, in the final column
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PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 1: Where are you now?
Below is a list of the skills you will need when working on extended pieces of writing during your university
career. Reflecting on your progress since you started EAP 1, put a cross (X) in the same boxes for each skill
in the first column, and tick () the appropriate box for each skill in the second column, according to how
well you think you can do this now.
You should refer to the checklist throughout the course and decide whether you have made any progress
with these skills.
Skill This is new for I need to I can improve I can do this
me develop this this skill well
skill
Looking for information
Identify which book / journals/ websites
to use
Select relevant parts of a text
Using sources
☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Acknowledge sources of information ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Write a reference list correctly ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Avoid plagiarism ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Planning/Writing
Brainstorm ideas ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Plan written work ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Link ideas effectively ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Paraphrase & summarise ideas ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Write an introduction ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Write a conclusion ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Personal Study
Work independently ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Manage my time ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Oral Presentation
Brainstorm ideas with peers ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Discuss written work in a tutorial ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
IT
Access the internet ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Use search engines ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Create word documents ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Use PowerPoint ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

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PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 1: Personal Development Plan (PDP): Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timescale [SMART]
You are required to develop a Personal Development Plan (PDP), which includes goals for the development of your academic skills after the completion of the
module. This should include skills we cover on this module. To help you, write down the strengths and weaknesses you listed in EAP 1 in the box below, which
can also be from your feedback. Use complete sentences.
Strengths I can easily do paraphrasing and also summaries ideas and this helps in managing planning and writing work.
I need to develop skill of linking ideas effectively and accessing the internet and also need to develop brain storming
ideas.
Using search engines and refernce list will benefit me to effectively use regerence sources and writing paragraphs and
information as well.
Making effective use of power-point presentation and word documents will guide me to manage my time and effectively
perform IT documents.
Weaknesses I'm unable to manage my time effectively and that creates problem for me while making presentation.
Plagiarism affects my presentation and brings negative points for my study. Brain storm ideas with
peers creates communication problem.
Discussing written work in tutorial is weakness that needs to be resolved in order to improve and develop
personal study and presentation.
Now think about what you would like to improve. Be specific when describing your goals and how you will achieve and measure them. (100 – 150 words)
Target Goal Action Success Criteria Completed by?
e.g. To have clear paragraphs To produce an outline before writing The reader can identify the topic/ideas of December 2018
those paragraphs
1
2

3
Target Goal Action Success criteria Completed by?
1 To have clear paragraphs To produce an outline before
writing
The reader can identify the
topic/ideas of those paragraphs
December 2018
2 Discuss written work in tutorial Effectively communicate and
share ideas, views
Development of new and
innovative ideas which will help in
oral presentation
January 2019
3 Access internet Use technical and computer skills This will help in finding and
collecting relevant information
easily
Mid of January
4 Avoid plagiarism Paraphrasing and making own
sentence by using relevant
information
It will lead to make use of relevant
information effectively
December 2018
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PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 3: Organising your ideas: Are my sources reliable?
Look at the table below. Using the sources you have found ( not from GSM Learn or the reading list),
answer the questions below to determine if they are reliable. Make notes.
Who wrote/said it?
Are they qualified to speak on this topic?
Do they have a personal interest in
that issue?
What type of source is it?
Has it been verified in any way? Can it
be proved?
Is there evidence to support this claim?
Was the source created to persuade,
sell, entertain, inform or for another
purpose?
Source 1
Morley, K.
Yes, Morley, k. is qualified
to speak on this topic.
No, they do not have
personal interest in that
issue.
It is a online source.
Yes, it can be proved and
verified.
Yes, there are many
evidence to support this
claim.
Source 2
Wood, Z.
Yes, Wood, Z. is qualified to
speak on this topic.
No, they don't have any
personal interest in that issue.
Its a online source of
reference.
Yes it can be verified and
proved as well.
Yes, there are variuous
evidence to support this claim.
This source was created to
provide information.
Is the content relevant to your research?
When was it published/last updated?
Does this impact its relevance or
objectivity?
This source was created to provide
information.
Yes, this source and content
is relevant to my research.
It was published in 2017.
No, it does not affect its
relevancy.
Yes, this content is relevant to
my researched topic.
This source was published in
2014
No, this doesn't affect its
objectivity and relevancy.
Give the full references of both your sources here in Harvard Style:
To format the text, highlight the word(s) or line of text you want to change and select the required formatting
option (colour change, bold, italics etc.).
Morley, K., 2017. Not so fair trade: Sainsbury’s are misleading shoppers by replacing fairtrade logo
with their own brand. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/02/not-fair-trade-sainsburys-misleading-
shoppers-replacing-fairtrade/>
Wood, Z., 2014. Tesco- the crisis that doesn’t add up. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/sep/28/tesco-crisis-doesnt-add-up>

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PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 4-9: Organising your ideas: Noting down the main points
In the space below, create an outline for your essay by making notes about any information you find from
class or reading list sources and from the two sources you found. Use bullet points and not full sentences.
Include in-text citations where necessary. You should add to this throughout the course. (150 – 200 words)
Essay Question:
Choose one or two successful companies related to your degree programme.
Discuss whether or not these companies demonstrated integrity in achieving their
success, using evidence and examples of their business practices.
Arguments in Favour (Yes) Arguments against (No)
Tesco is mostly committed
towards the provision of quality
products to its consumers that are
proven to meet the supreme legal and
safety requirements.
The cited firm is also known to
have a variety of both manufacturing
and farming standards to cover both its
food and nonfood products and services.
These standards depict some of its best
practices in terms of maintaining the
safety, quality, legality and lifespan of
its offered services, ranging from its raw
materials to its shelf edged as well as
online products.
Tesco has been recently charged for
certain unethical practices in its
accounting department. This has
questioned its sense of integrity in terms
of serving the users in the most ethical
manner.
Tesco’s wrong financial tactics
that is being used for showing inaccurate
financial estimations. This has been a
huge matter of concern, doubting on the
image of Tesco
Paragraph 1
they are also aimed at creating a sense of
confidence in their consumers to assuredly buy
their products by knowing the fact of being
unexploited. Also, the workers involved in the
manufacturing and other related business practices
are not exposed to insecure work conditions, as
claimed by Sainsbury

Paragraph 2
Sainsburry are also aimed at creating a
sense of confidence in their consumers to
assuredly buy their products by knowing the fact
of being unexploited. Also, the workers involved
in the manufacturing and other related business
practices are not exposed to insecure work
conditions, as claimed by Sainsbury.
Sainsburry are also aimed at creating a
sense of confidence in their consumers to
assuredly buy their products by knowing the fact
of being unexploited. Also, the workers involved
in the manufacturing and other related business
practices are not exposed to insecure work
conditions, as claimed by Sainsbury.
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PORTFOLIO TASK
In-class writing task: Developing your arguments and combining sources
Using the sources you brought to class, combine them to create the first body paragraph of your essay.
Use the guide below to help you with the structure of the main body paragraph. Remember to follow the
recommended structure and include in-text citations. (280 – 300 words)
Say why this is a key issue (e.g. Paragraph 1/ Paragraph 2)
(this is your topic sentence)
What is the counter-argument of this issue?
(this is the opinion you do not agree with)
What is the main argument if this issue?
(this is your opinion)
Why is your argument stronger than the counter-argument?
What evidence/examples do you have to support this?
What can you conclude from this? What are the implications?
(this is your concluding sentence)
You should use at least 2 sources in this paragraph.
Please upload the photo(s) of your in-class writing task here.

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PORTFOLIO TASK
Making notes with confidence
This is an in-class activity. Please upload a photo of your notes in the space below.
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Write a summary about what you have just listened to. (No more than 100 words)
Write a response to the opinions given. (No more than 100 words).
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PORTFOLIO TASK
Weeks 7-9: Writing your argumentative essay
Complete your essay below, remember to write an introduction, two main body paragraphs and
a conclusion. Include in-text citations and a reference list.
(word limit: 900 words: +/- 10%)
Choose one or two successful companies related to your degree program. Discuss whether
or not these companies demonstrated integrity in achieving their success, using evidence
and examples of their business practices.
INTRODUCTION
Integrity in today’s modern businesses is hard to detect. This is especially when the companies are
battling for their successful existence in the market. It is basically an ability to act honestly and be
consistent in the undertaken activities of the business (Product Integrity Commitment, 2018). This is
basically to reflect the adoption of ethical practices and maintain a sustainable business performance.
An integral business is however effective in terms of attracting a large base of customers and generate
huge profits and revenues. The current report is on a similar aspect of 2 such businesses whose
integrity has been interrogated with example of their applied practices. For which, 2 well known retail
organizations have been chosen, namely Tesco and Sainsbury.
MAIN BODY
Integrity in Tesco
Tesco is mostly committed towards the provision of quality products to its consumers that are
proven to meet the supreme legal and safety requirements. They have claimed to apply robust product
standards to sustain the product quality with a significant concern of maintaining its safety. They are
together known to operate with their suppliers for bringing constant enhancement in their adopted
standards to further benefit the consumers to a great extent (Wood, 2014). The cited firm is also
known to have a variety of both manufacturing and farming standards to cover both its food and
nonfood products and services. These standards depict some of its best practices in terms of
maintaining the safety, quality, legality and lifespan of its offered services, ranging from its raw
materials to its shelf edged as well as online products.
However, Tesco has been recently charged for certain unethical practices in its accounting
department. This has questioned its sense of integrity in terms of serving the users in the most ethical
manner. This is more evident from the complaints made by its suppliers themselves stating about
Tesco’s wrong financial tactics that is being used for showing inaccurate financial estimations. This
has been a huge matter of concern, doubting on the image of Tesco (Deloitte to investigate Tesco
profit error, 2014). Some concerning areas include delayed payment of accounts for more than 3

months, trimming down the costs by together asking for compensations for maintaining the profit
margins. This has created a greater sense of frustration in the suppliers tied up with Tesco.
Integrity in Sainsbury
This is in context to discuss upon the ethical practices of Sainsbury to operate with integrity.
Herein, the quoted entity has been found to adopt the tactic of ethical trading which is one of their
supplier’s policies. It thus depicts a sense of working in partnership with the suppliers to manage risks
and provide support and training to members, as and when required (Morley, 2017). Besides this, they
are also aimed at creating a sense of confidence in their consumers to assuredly buy their products by
knowing the fact of being unexploited. Also, the workers involved in the manufacturing and other
related business practices are not exposed to insecure work conditions, as claimed by Sainsbury.
Additionally, they are dedicated towards the establishment of long term, fair and open relationship
with their suppliers. It is with another assurance of helping them to gain skills required to competently
manage their work responsibilities.
Contrarily, Sainsbury has been charged for certain unethical practices with a foremost
allegation of not safeguarding the concept of animal well being (Slavin, 2017). This has together been
proved the yearly reports business benchmark on farm animal welfare (BBFAW) noticing a huge shift
of Sainsbury from Tier 2 stating “animal welfare is, integral to business strategy” to Tier 3 which
states animal welfare practices are “established but work needs to be done”. In addition to this,
Sainsbury has together been suspected for misleading the buyers by substituting the Fairtrade labels of
tea with its own brand.
CONCLUSION
The above report has demonstrated the sense of integrity in 2 different chosen businesses that
are operating in similar industry of retail in UK. Herein, arguments have been presented from both the
aspects of maintaining and ignoring the sense of integrity in each of the businesses. Due to which,
both Tesco and Sainsbury have been found to suffer from several unethical accusations with a
contrary standpoint of also maintaining it to a great extent.
Reference list
Deloitte to investigate Tesco profit error. 2014. [Online] Available through:
<https://economia.icaew.com/news/september-2014/tesco-admits-profit-overstatement>
Morley, K., 2017. Not so fair trade: Sainsbury’s are misleading shoppers by replacing fairtrade logo
with their own brand. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/02/not-fair-trade-sainsburys-misleading-
shoppers-replacing-fairtrade/>
Product Integrity Commitment. 2018. [Online] Available through: <https://www.tescoplc.com/reports-
and-policies/product-testing-safety-and-integrity/>

Slavin, T., 2017. Sainsbury’s slips on animal welfare. [Online] Available through:
<http://www.ethicalcorp.com/sainsburys-slips-animal-welfare>
Wood, Z., 2014. Tesco- the crisis that doesn’t add up. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/sep/28/tesco-crisis-doesnt-add-up>
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PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 10: Getting a First!
Tick (✓) the appropriate column to check that your essay has included the necessary parts to help it get as
high a grade as possible!
Good Some Insufficient
evidence evidence evidence
Knowledge and understanding
Have you worked through the tasks in this portfolio?
Have you paraphrased/summarised ideas effectively?
Do your portfolio tasks show understanding of the essay
writing process?
Have you researched and supported your ideas with evidence
and examples?
Cognitive/Intellectual Skills
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
Does your essay include an introduction and conclusion?
Do your body paragraphs contain a counter-argument, argument &
evidence/examples, using appropriate linking words?
Have you used at least 4 sources (2 of them can be from class
or reading list) & combined your sources effectively?
Have you made your opinions clear?
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
Graduate: Transferable Employability & Practical Skills
Are you within the word count?
Have you checked for spelling, grammar and
punctuation mistakes?
Have you used appropriate academic style and
appropriate vocabulary?
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐

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Have you included in-text citations and a reference list
that follow Harvard Style?
Do you show good awareness of your strengths and weaknesses
(skills audit and PDP target)?
☐ ☐ ☐
☐ ☐ ☐
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