Student Name:
Instructor:
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE – WRITING AND READING CENTER
AELW 940 LAB PACKET – SPRING 2016
Location
Humanities 002
Rockville Campus
Tutoring Hours
Monday to Thursday 9:00 am to 7:30 pm
Friday 9:00 am-3:30 pm; Saturday 11 am-2:30 pm
While working on this lab pack, you must do the following:
A. Read and follow instructions and ask your instructor and tutors questions when you need help.
B. Complete exercises assigned by your instructor during the semester and bring completed exercises and signature
sheets to a Writing Center tutor.
C. Carefully edit your own work and produce college-level, quality responses and ideas.
D. Engage actively and professionally with tutors. You should explain what you did in an exercise and ask specific
questions about what you did not understand about the language and content.
E. Keeping the signature sheet, completed exercises, and writing assignments until instructors require them.
General Instructions
1. Bring completed exercises to the Writing Center (HU 002) to be reviewed by a tutor. Check in with your MC ID card
at the front counter. Tutoring is on a first-come, first-serve basis.
2. Write your name on your signature sheet, exercises, and writing assignments.
3. Read and follow all instructions carefully before completing the exercises.
4. Write or type answers to questions on separate pieces of paper. Attach those to the back of the packet.
5. After a tutor has read your work and found it to be satisfactory, be sure that tutor signs or initials and dates your
exercise and signature sheet. If a tutor requests a rewrite or revision, follow the tutor’s suggestions and present a clean
copy to the tutor. TUTORS WILL SIGN NO MORE THAN TWO EXERCISES PER WEEK.
6. Keep your work until your instructor asks for it. You must know the due dates for your work.
7. Submit this lab packet with your AELW 940 course folder to your instructor at the end of the semester.
AELW 940 Tutor Signature Table
Exercise
A
Due Date
Redo #1
Redo #2
Satisfactory and Date
B
C
D
E
Tutors: Review students’ work and discuss language and content issues you observe and provide assistance as the
student needs, especially when students must redo their work. Initial and date each redo and/or satisfactory
assignment. The redo column is an option when a student does not follow instructions, when she/he plagiarizes/parrots
excessively, or if an assignment has persistent language errors and/or content problems that significantly impact
readability. Only indicate “satisfactory” when a student has produced what you think is an acceptable quality answer.
These are ideas for ways that you can interact with students.
a. Expect students to have read instructions, but help when they do not understand them.
b. Ask students for clarification of unclear ideas in their writing and challenge them when their answers are not
correct or logical.
c. Expect students to edit their writing themselves but guide students (talking and writing on another piece of paper)
when they do not fully understand certain grammar points or need help with patterns of grammar errors.
d. Help students use reference materials to improve their written grammar and usage.
TUTORS WILL SIGN NO MORE THAN TWO EXERCISES PER WEEK
Page 1
Student Name:
Instructor:
Writing and Reading Center
AELW 940 – Exercise A
(Word Families)
Word Families: A “word family” consists of a group of words which have related meanings and similar word shapes but
which belong to different parts of speech. The following is a sample of a word family. Find all of these sample words in a
dictionary, such as the Longman dictionary (or visit http://www.ldoceonline.com/) or Cambridge dictionary (or visit
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/learner-english/), to see how they are listed and how their part of speech
is indicated.
“create”
“creative”
“creation”
“creatively”
VERB
ADJECTIVE
NOUN
ADVERB
Some word families have fewer parts of speech. For example, there is no verb form of “happy,” and there are no adjective
or adverb forms of “television.” Again, look in a dictionary for these.
“happiness”
“happy”
“happily”
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
“televise”
“television”
“televised”
VERB
NOUN
ADJECTIVE
Part 1 (Word Families): Read these instructions carefully. Read the following passage and note the underlined words,
numbered 1 to 10. According to the numbers, write the underlined words in the correct columns (“verb,” “noun,”
“adjective,” or “adverb”) in the table on the next page. Then, in the other spaces in the table, write other related words in
the word family. First try to fill in the boxes based on your own knowledge and after that use the Longman Dictionary to
check yourself and add words. Write X in boxes where there is no related word form, as in the example in row 1. If you
find additional related words, put them in the “additional” column.
NOTE: you should check a dictionary to see if you are correct.
The WHO report (1) summarizes two decades of (2) research challenging the view that people in poor
countries die of (3) infections, and people in rich countries die of diseases brought on by the (4) effects of
overeating, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle. While not entirely untrue, that stereotype masks an overlooked and
(5) growing number of “rich-people’s diseases” in the (6) developing world. Noncommunicable diseases cause
36 million of 57 million deaths each year, or nearly two-thirds of global mortality, based on 2008 (7) statistics, the
most recent available. Most of the victims live in low- and middle-income countries — places such as Kenya,
Indonesia and Poland. More than 80 percent of deaths from cardiovascular disease and (8) diabetes occur outside
(9) industrialized nations such as the United States, France and Japan. Particularly troubling, say the authors of the
report, is the amount of “premature death” — defined in this case as death before age 60 — occurring in places
where the incidence of the diseases is (10) rising rapidly.
Taken from: “WHO warns of growing epidemic of premature death from ‘noncommunicable diseases’”
Page 2
Student Name:
Instructor:
Write the name of the dictionary you used to check your answers. _____________________________________
1.
VERB
summarize
NOUN
summaries
2.
researchers
3.
infections
4.
effects
ADJECTIVE
summary
5.
growing
6.
developing
7.
statistics
8.
diabetes
9.
10.
ADVERB
summarily
ADDITIONAL
X
industrialized
rise
NOTE: The words in the table above are not all equally common. Notice in the Longman Dictionary (printed paper
version) how these words are marked in pink (more common) or blue (less common).
Part 2 (Choosing the Correct Word Form): Enter the correct forms of the words (noun, verb, adjective, or adverb) in
the sentences below, as in the first example.
1. (summary) College students often need to ___summarize_________ articles as part of their research.
2. (research) Over the past century, many medical ____________________________ have developed numerous medical
techniques and medicines to treat diseases.
3. (infection) ____________________________ diseases, such as influenza and AIDS, are ones that spread from person
to person.
4. (effect) Growing numbers of people in both developed and developing countries are ___________________________
by noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
5. (grow) WHO researchers are trying to inform governments of the ____________________________ of rates of high
blood pressure and strokes in their countries and to encourage them to take actions to reduce the rates.
6. (develop) The ____________________________ of new medical technology has helped people, but individuals must
still make efforts to prevent health problems themselves.
7. (statistics) Researchers often rely on ____________________________ analysis to determine whether a certain
medicine or type of medical technology is effective.
8. (diabetes) The number of ____________________________ in the U.S. is currently over 18 million.
9. (industry) ____________________________ countries are not the only ones with high numbers of noncommunicable
diseases. Less developed ones also have such problems.
10. (rising) The ____________________________ in the number of noncommunicable diseases is partly due developing
economies.
Page 3
Student Name:
Instructor:
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE
Writing and Reading Center
AELW 940 – Exercise B
(Set Expressions and Collocations of Academic Vocabulary)
Introduction: Many words are frequently used together with other words. For example, the word “number” is often
used in phrases such as “a large number of words,” which contains the adjective “large,” the preposition “of,” and a
plural noun. The word “effect” is often used in the phrase “to have an effect on something.” Learning set expressions
or collocations and the common ways they are used is essential to write effectively in college and professional
situations.
Instructions: Read these instructions carefully. In this exercise, you will write single-sentence responses using the
words in quotation marks or related words. First, list related words in the word family next to the word. Second, look
in a usage dictionary, such as the Longman dictionary (or visit http://www.ldoceonline.com/) or Cambridge dictionary
(or visit http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/learner-english/), to find common expressions with those
words. Then, answer the questions and use those words and expressions to produce sentences that are fully
developed and contain language that is suitable for college-level writing. Underline words and collocations that you
use in each sentence. Look at the example below before you begin.
Example
Word: “significant” (Related words: signify, significantly, significance
)
Words that go with them: great/little significance, significance of, significantly better/worse
Question: What is the most important event in your home country? Why?
Response:
The Vietnamese people’s political independence from China one thousand years ago was of great
significance because they were able to develop their own cultural identity separately from China.
Exercise:
(1) Word: “benefit” (2 or more related words: __________________________________________)
Words that go with them: ___________________________________________________________
Question: How does education help people?
Response:_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(2) Word: “harmful” (2 or more related words: _________________________________________)
Words that go with them: ___________________________________________________________
Question: How can computers be bad for people?
Response:_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
NOTE: You must use a dictionary with collocations and sample sentences to make sure you are using the words in a
natural way and not just guessing how to use them.
Page 4
Student Name:
Instructor:
(3) Word: “number” (1 or more related words: _________________________________________)
Words that go with them: ___________________________________________________________
Question: What is the effect of having many languages spoken in a country?
Response:_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(4) Word: “similarly” (2 or more related words: ________________________________________)
Words that go with them: ___________________________________________________________
Question: Consider any two countries. How are they alike?
Response:_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(5) Word: “differently” (2 or more related words: _______________________________________)
Words that go with them: ___________________________________________________________
Question: Consider any two countries. How are they unlike each other?
Response:_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(6) Word: “cause” (2 or more related words: ___________________________________________)
Words that go with them: ___________________________________________________________
Question: How can video games change people’s behavior?
Response:_____________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
(7) Word: “likelihood” (1 or more related words: _______________________________________)
Words that go with them: ___________________________________________________________
Question: What kinds of problems may result if a student frequently misses class?
Response:_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________ ______
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Write the name of the dictionary you used to check your answers. _____________________________________
Page 5
Student Name:
Instructor:
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE – WRITING AND READING CENTER
EL 104 – EXERCISE C
(Writing on Homelessness)
Instructions: In this exercise, you will answer questions about the article “Five Myths about Homelessness.” Use
accurate, academic English. Do not copy sentences or phrases from the text, which is plagiarism. Use your own English
and paraphrase to answer questions based on information in the article. Then show your writing to a tutor who will help
you with major problems in your writing.
Taking Notes and Using Information: As you read, collect notes. These should include important words, short
phrases/expressions, and numbers, but no long phrases or sentences. Copying long phrases or sentences is plagiarism. As
you write your answer, you should not look at the article: only look at the notes you have taken. Pay special attention to
word families such as the homeless (n)/homeless (adj)/homelessness (n), myth, housing, shelter, mental illness,
chronic/chronically, long-term, work (n)/work (v)/working, and other words you need to use in your responses.
Paraphrasing the Myths: Rewrite the following sentences from the article which describe the myths. Use synonyms
when possible, and change the sentence structure completely. The first one has been done as a sample.
1. Most of the homeless have a severe mental illness.  One myth is that a majority of people who are homeless
suffer from mental problems.
2. Homelessness is usually a long-term condition. 
3. Shelters are a humane solution to homelessness. 
4. These poor you will always have with you. 
5. Homeless people don't work. 
THOUGHT: Did you read the instructions above and paraphrase logically and without copying the same sentence?
Writing to Be Checked by Tutor
A. Read the article “Five Myths about America’s Homeless,” at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070902357.html on the Washington Post website.
B. Take notes including important words, phrases, numbers, and other details from the reading. When you write the
answers, you must not copy any sentences or long phrases.
C. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. As you answer the questions, focus on producing proper
academic English and correctly using vocabulary from the article.
Questions
1. In 2 or 3 sentences, describe the main differences between the short-term homeless and the long-term homeless.
2. Answer in 2 or 3 sentences: According to the author, what are the primary problems with temporary shelters for the
homeless?
3. Answer in 3 to 5 sentences: What is one myth in the article that you previously believed in but do not believe in now?
Use evidence from the article. If your opinion did not change according to the data in the article, explain why not.
IMPORTANT: Copying any sentences or long phrases is unacceptable and reduces the quality of your learning. Only use
important words, phrases, and paraphrased ideas from the reading. If you copy sentences, you will be required to rewrite
the assignment entirely with proper paraphrasing.
Page 6
Student Name:
Instructor:
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE – WRITING AND READING CENTER
AELW 940 – EXERCISE D
(Writing on Ways to Reduce Global Warming)
Instructions: In this exercise, you will answer questions about the article “Study: Simple Measures Could Reduce Global
Warming, Save Lives.” Use accurate, academic English. Do not copy sentences or phrases from the text, which is
plagiarism. Use your own English and paraphrase to answer questions based on information in the article. Then show your
writing to a tutor who will help you with major problems in your writing.
Preparing to Write (Key Words and Phrases): To prepare to write, notice the following words and phrases in the
article: emissions, measures, pollutants, reduce/reducing/reduction, diesel. Also pay attention to expressions such as
“climate change” or “crop production” and to how the words are used in sentences. Check the Longman dictionary if you
need to use the words in your answers. If you use some of these key words and phrases in your answers, underline them in
your writing.
Using Information and Paraphrasing: As you read and find answers to the questions, you should (a) understand the
general idea, (b) write answers which contain the main ideas of the article, and (c) completely paraphrase the ideas and
never copy any sentences or parts of sentences. Practice this by rewriting the following statement. Completely rewrite the
quotation by providing synonyms and other ways to express the same ideas.
ORIGINAL: “But simple changes can be difficult to implement globally, Shindell acknowledged, even when
the ultimate benefits dwarf the upfront costs.”
YOUR PARAPHRASE
Writing to Be Checked by Tutor
A. Read “Study: Simple Measures Could Reduce Global Warming, Save Lives,” at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-simple-measures-could-reduce-global-warming-savelives/2012/01/12/gIQAtcKztP_print.html at the Washington Post website.
B. Take notes including important words, phrases, numbers, and other details from the reading. When you write the
answers, you must not copy any sentences or long phrases.
C. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. As you answer the questions, focus on producing proper
academic English and correctly using the vocabulary above, which you should underline in your writing.
Questions: Answer the following questions in short paragraphs of 3 to 5 sentences each. None of the sentences may be
copied, or else you will be required to rewrite the answer.
1. Describe ways that methane and soot are released into the air. What problems do they cause?
2. Describe the benefits of reducing these pollutants. According to the article, why might it be difficult to reduce the
creation of these pollutants?
3. Consider your home country (mention the name specifically). Would it be easy or difficult to reduce the
production of methane and soot there? Why?
THOUGHT: While doing the exercises in this packet, have you tried to develop your note-taking and paraphrasing skills?
Have your skills improved? How good are your skills for college courses and professional situations?
Page 7
Student Name:
Instructor:
MONTGOMERY COLLEGE – WRITING AND READING CENTER
AELW 940 – EXERCISE E
(Writing on Distracted Driving)
Instructions: In this exercise, you will answer questions about the article “Talking on a cellphone while driving is risky.
But simpler distractions can also cause harm.” Use accurate, academic English. Do not copy sentences or phrases from the
text, which is plagiarism. Use your own English and paraphrase to answer questions based on information in the article.
Then show your writing to a tutor who will help you with major problems in your writing.
Taking Notes on Main Points, Details, and Vocabulary: To prepare to write, collect notes on the following from the
article, either directly in the article or in your notebook.
a. Main points: Summarize main ideas of parts of the article (one or more paragraphs) in short phrases.
b. Details: Note specific details and facts which are central, useful for the questions, and/or interesting to you.
c. Vocabulary/Collocations: Collect key vocabulary and phrases which may be important to use in your written
responses or are interesting to you.
Using Information and Paraphrasing: As you read and find answers to the questions, you should (a) understand the
general idea, (b) write answers which contain the main ideas of the article, and (c) completely paraphrase the ideas and
never copy any sentences or parts of sentences. Practice this by rewriting the following statement. Completely rewrite the
quotation by providing synonyms and other ways to express the same ideas.
ORIGINAL: “But here’s the surprising thing: It doesn’t seem to make a difference whether drivers are using handheld phones or hands-free systems. What matters is simply that they are talking with someone outside the car.”
YOUR PARAPHRASE
Key vocabulary: distract, distracted, distracting, distractions
Writing to Be Checked by Tutor
A. Read “Talking on a cellphone while driving is risky. But simpler distractions can also cause harm,” at the Washington
Post website http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/talking-on-a-cellphone-while-driving-is-riskybut-simpler-distractions-can-also-cause-harm/2014/02/07/49675ce8-8cf2-11e3-95dd-36ff657a4dae_story.html.
B. Take notes including important words, phrases, numbers, and other details from the reading. When you write the
answers, you must not copy any sentences or long phrases.
C. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. As you answer the questions, focus on producing proper
academic English and correctly using the vocabulary in the article.
Questions: Answer the following questions in short paragraphs. None of the sentences may be copied, or else you will be
required to rewrite the answer.
1. According to the article, what activities are the most distracting? Which are the least distracting? Provide some of
the distraction ratings mentioned in the article. Answer in 4 or 5 sentences.
2. What did you think about distracted driving before you read the article? What did you learn from the article?
Provide one detail from the article. Explain in 3 or 4 sentences.
3. Search on the internet for distracted driving and another country (not the U.S.). What news can you find? Write a
short paragraph of 3 to 5 sentences which summarize the general information and provide at least one specific
number or statistic. You must mention the title, author, and date of the article you discuss.
IMPORTANT: Copying any sentences or long phrases is unacceptable and reduces the quality of your learning. Only use
important words, phrases, and paraphrased ideas from the reading. If you copy sentences, you will be required to rewrite
the assignment entirely by paraphrasing.
Page 8