English for Academic Purposes 2 (EAPB3017) Portfolio Submission

This EAP 2 portfolio, submitted on April 27th, 2017, showcases a student's development in academic English. The portfolio includes a self-assessment of skills from EAP 1, identifying strengths and weaknesses. A detailed personal development plan (PDD) outlines specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) goals for improvement in areas such as time management, planning, and brainstorming. The portfolio also analyzes the reliability of research sources, providing evaluations and full Harvard-style references for two sources. Furthermore, it presents an essay outline addressing the privatization of the NHS, with arguments for and against, and incorporates in-class notes and summaries of a lecture, along with a response to the opinions presented. The portfolio demonstrates the student's progress in critical thinking, research, and academic writing skills throughout the course.

English for Academic Purposes 2
(EAPB3017)
Name:
Student
Number:
Tutor name:
This is your English for Academic Purposes 2 e-portfolio which you must submit on Thursday
27th April 2017 by 2pm 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.
PORTFOLIO TASK
Week 1: Where are you now?
Using the list from EAP 1, tick (X) 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.
Skill This is new for
me
I need to
develop this
skill
I can improve
this skill
I
c
a
n
1

d
o
t
h
i
s
w
e
l
l
2

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
PORTFOLIO TASK
2

Week 1& 10: Personal Development Plan (PDD): Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Realistic – Timescale [SMART]
3

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
My strength is that I am very much capable to access the Internet. I have
also done my entire work on my own. .
Weakness
My weakness is that I am unable to manage my time properly and also I
am not able to design appropriate plans for my tasks and activities.
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)
Tar
get
Goal Action Success Criteria Completed by?
e.g. Time management- It
refers to those
methods through
which I can organise
and plan my work as
to how much time I
should spend time on
each task and activity.
It will enable me to
organise and form
plans for dividing my
time between
particular activities.
Make time tables,
schedules and
prioritising my
tasks.
Take feedback
from superior
and my peers.
Also I will be
doing self
monitoring
to supervise my
skills and
improvement
June 2017
1 Planning skills- These
are the skills which
will allow me to see
ahead and achieve
objectives. These
skills will facilitate me
in making and
executing decisions.
Make schedules for
uninterrupted time
for each day.
Foresee the
sequences of
activities to
accomplish goals.
The results after the
plans are implemented.
Click here to enter
text.
2 Brainstorming Try to read out new
things for becoming
more creative and
finding new ways of
The outcomes when
creative ideas are
executed.
Click here to enter
text.
2

performing tasks.
3 Write an introduction To study different
reports to gain
knowledge about
how to form a
proper introduction
to a report.
Comments and reviews
of seniors
Click here to enter
text.
PORTFOLIO TASK
2

Organising your ideas: Are my sources reliable?

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.
Source 1 Source 2
Who wrote/said it? Parker, 2013 Powell and Miller, 2014
Are they qualified to speak on this topic? Yes he is qualified. Yes they are qualified.
Do they have a personal interest in that
issue?
Yes he has a personal interest
on this issues.
One of the author Powell has more
interest than the other Miller.
What type of source is it? Books Journals
Has it been verified in any way? Can it be
proved?
Yes it is verified. Yes it is verified
Is there evidence to support this claim? No there is not proof for
supporting this claim.
In this sources also there is no
evidence to support.
Was the source created to persuade, sell,
entertain, inform or for another purpose?
Source is created to inform. This source was also intended to
provide information.
Is the content relevant to your research? Yes the content is relevant. Yes the content is relevant to a
great extent.
When was it published/last updated? 2013 2014
Does this impact its relevance or
objectivity?
Yes it influences its relevance
and objectivity.
No it does not affect its relevance
and objectivity.
Give the full references of both your sources here in Harvard Style:
Parker, D., 2013. The Official History of Privatisation, Vol. II: Popular Capitalism, 1987-97.
Routledge.
Powell, M. and Miller, R., 2014. Framing Privatisation in the English National Health Service.
Journal of Social Policy, 43(03), pp.575-594.
2

PORTFOLIO TASK
Organising your ideas: Are my sources reliable?
Create an outline using 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
NHS should be privatised or not?
Arguments in Favour (Yes) Arguments against (No)
Economic
If the number of people using services
of NHS are less, it will enable the
government to bring down the taxes and
makes reduction in borrowing. Also
selling of owned assets to private firms
will increase revenues of the
government (Frith, 2015). It will also
grow the efficiency level of
management in health care services.
Private firms operates for shareholders.
They place profit margins before the
patient and their health. If NHS is
privatised then companies will overcharge,
over-treat and will pay less attention on
safety and health of patients. Transfer of
ownership of this sector may bring an
inbuilt monopoly (Powell and Miller,
2016).
Social
Absolute privatisation of NHS will
surely remove political intervention and
interim goals in managing NHS. The
government institutions makes bad
business managers as their actions are
impacted by political ideologies
(Iacobucci, 2015). Thus, a privatised
NHS enterprise will be operated
through business ethics. With
privatisation the important decision will
be based upon economic principles.
When NHS is given in the hands of private
firms, public will lose the authority to hold
healthcare services providers responsible
(Dyer, 2014). This is because private firms
are legally needed to give rewards to their
stakeholders by making revenue generation
their priority. They do not depict public
interest for rewarding their stakeholders.
2

PORTFOLIO TASK
Making notes with confidence
[Insert a screenshot/photo of you in-class notes here]
Click here to enter text.
2

Write a summary about what you have just listened to. (No more than 100 words)
It has been concluded that there are more strong arguments against the privatisation of NHS. The
economic benefits of privatisation may seem to be fascinating but the negative economic aspects of
privatising healthcare organisation are strong enough. Thus, it can be seen that although there are
some good benefits of privatisation of NHS but one cannot ignore the negative implications. Same is
in the case of social aspects (Davis and et. al., 2013). If NHS is given in the hands of private
organisations then it may lead to an increase in inequality. There are more positive benefits of this as
compared to the economic aspects. So it can be summed up that economic aspects give more
disadvantages while social aspects provide more benefits.
Write a response to the opinions given. (No more than 100 words).
One should not only consider the benefits of social aspects in privatisation of NHS. Equal attention
has to be given to the economical disadvantages of privatisation of healthcare services. So, both the
negative and positive perspectives of social and economic implications should be given with due
emphasis so that effective results can be drawn (Smith and Peedell, 2014). They have to be balanced
in an effective manner. The demerits and merits both should be considered equally as both of them are
important.
2

PORTFOLIO TASK
Developing your arguments: Paraphrasing/Summarising
Choose one aspect (e.g. Economic or Social) and summarise and/or paraphrase the main points you noted in
the outline. Use complete sentences and include in-text citations where necessary. (150 - 200 words).
Arguments in favour (Yes):
Economic aspect: Private healthcare service providers can give their help in reducing the fiscal burden
of state by reducing expenditure on NHS for those who can afford quality health insurance. Also, if
NHS is privatised then it will not be restricted by public budgets (Kaehne, 2014). Also, it will bring
more improvements in the financial and clinical results for healthcare sector.
Arguments against (No):
Economic aspect: As it is stated in the above arguments, NHS brings together critical elements in
healthcare services that makes it the biggest unions in this industry. If the ownership of NHS will be
transferred to private organisations then it may introduce an intrinsic monopoly. This monopoly can
increase the risk of deterioration of citizens (Parker, 2013).
2