FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

HBEL4403: MORPHOLOGY, SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS

SEMESTER: MAY 2009

COURSE ASSIGNMENT (35%)

INSTRUCTION

1. The assignment will be evaluated based on accurate explanations which fulfilled

the requirements of the questions supported by credible points and references.

2. Type your assignment using “Times New Roman” font size 12 with 1.5 spacing on
A4 size paper.

3. Submit your assignment to your tutor before or by the 4th tutorial week.

4. Your assignment is limited to 10 – 12 pages only.

5. This assignment is worth 35% of your final course grade.

6. Plagiarism in any form is prohibited. Plagiarised materials will not be accepted. No

marks will be given for plagiarised work.

1
ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

1. Tense is defined as the linguistic expression of time relations realised by verb forms
(Lim et al. 2009: 180) and is language specific. In English, the learning of tense may
be confusing to ESL learners as, the Present Tense, for example, cannot be
exclusively used to refer to events in present time.

Discuss how the present tense in English can be used to refer to FOUR point or time
references and meaning. Illustrate your discussion with examples for each time
reference and meaning.
(20 marks)

2. In the literature of grammar and English language learning, grammarians often make
a distinction between prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar.

a) Discuss the difference between prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar?

(10 marks)

b) As an ESL instructor, do you feel that descriptive grammar is acceptable?

Briefly discuss your view and justification.
(5 marks)

[Total: 35 marks]

2
GENERAL GUIDELINES

Provided below are some tips to assist you in completing your assignment.

Question 1 (20 marks)

Expected length: Minimum -- 3 pages; Maximum -- 5 pages, excluding references

Your answer should be in the form of continuous essay writing. Use the following format:

1. An Introductory paragraph NB:

Do NOT write down these
2. 4 body paragraphs (consisting of 3 to 4 paragraphs) sub-headings at the
beginning of each section.
3. Concluding paragraph

Pay attention to the following points:

1. Introductory paragraph: Provide a concise definition of tense and link it to 2 to 3 other

sentences, which introduce the focus of the question.

2. Body paragraphs: This section should have FOUR paragraphs. Discuss the FOUR
point or time references of the present tense usage in English in each of the paragraphs.
Your discussion for each point or time reference must be illustrated with appropriate
examples of English sentences or statement.

You must as far as possible include original examples (your own examples). If your
examples are taken from other sources, they must be properly cited. Use the APA
convention for citation purposes.

3. Concluding paragraph: A good conclusion should NOT just comprise sentences which
merely restate the points that you have included in the body paragraphs. You are
expected to conclude effectively by recapitulating the points discussed and tying them
to the central focus of the question. In other words, DRIVE YOUR POINT HOME.

4. To complete the assignment, you are expected to obtain information from other sources
as well as your module. To merit good marks, you MUST demostrate the ability to
select and organise the information into a cohesive and coherent piece of work,
paying attention to the requirements of the assignment, e.g., required focus & length,
maturity of discussion, and of course clarity and good English.

5. Your essay must also be coherent, i.e., there must be smooth transitions from one
paragraph to another. In other words, each of your paragraphs must be well linked to
each other for a reader to follow your discussion well.

3
Question 2 (15 marks)

Required length: Minimum -- 2 pages; Maximum -- 3 pages, excluding references

In answering this question, please pay attention to the following requirements:

1a) You are expected to dicuss the difference between prescriptive grammar and
descriptive grammar. This entails you defining and explaining the 2 types of
grammar and providing examples with each respective definition.

What you should NOT do:

Do NOT simply copy word for word description or explanation or examples given in
your module or other sources. All examples included in your work must be original.
Examples taken from other sources must be properly cited and acknowledged.

To complete the assignment, you are expected to obtain information from other
sources as well as your module. To merit good marks, you MUST demostrate the
ability to select and organise the information into a cohesive and coherent piece
of work, paying attention to the requirements of the assignment, e.g., required focus
& length,

b) There is NO right or wrong answer to this question. What is important is to show your
ability to briefly discuss your opinion on this matter. You MUST include your
justification to support your opinion.

4
IMPORTANT REMINDER

All Your Own Work

Submitted work MUST always be your own. This means:

It is always perfectly reasonable – indeed, profitable, and part of the educational process for
you to discuss assignment topics with your course mates. The actual writing of the
assignment, however, together with any required analyses of text, etc. should be only and
entirely your own work.

You should NOT draw excessively on the work of others, however eminent it may be, and
should take care to make your own comments on, or evaluations of, others’ work.

To avoid PLAGIARISM, when referring to the work of published authors, or make

quotations from them within your essay, you should in each case give the author’s name, date
of publication and page of the cited reference, and list all the references on a separate page at
the end of your assignment.

Please follow the APA conventions (which can be downloaded from the Internet) for this
purpose).

Your assignments will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Coherence and development of ideas

• Quality and originality of thought and perception. You must go beyond what has
been covered in the module (in particular, for question 2)
• Grasp of fundamental concepts
• Grasp of the detailed facts of the question/issue addressed
• Presentation: organisation of content; length; language accuracy (grammar);
mechanics-punctuation & spelling; proper citation of references within text and
reference section