More practice with the language you're learning
Supplementary support — grammar, vocabulary, speaking and review — built from language already taught in the course. Not a lesson, and never a test.
1.Notice first: read these and say what they share — "**Group**: Three lines of work meet on this question: a measurement strand, a causal strand and an institutional strand." / "**Relate**: Within the institutional strand, Lee follows Patel's framing but departs sharply on the question of whether opacity is endogenous." / "**Name the gap**: What this literature has not yet asked is whether opacity is itself a response to prior trust losses, rather than a cause."
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A C2 literature review is built on: (a) GROUPING by argumentative function ('Three lines of work meet on this question…'); (b) RELATING sources within each group ('Following Smith but extending Jones…'); (c) NAMING THE GAP ('What this literature has not yet asked is…'); (d) POSITIONING THE PAPER ('This paper sits in the third line and addresses…'). Chronology is a backup, not the default.
2.Group three sources on screen time into TWO lines of work.
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'Two lines of work meet on this question: one treating screen time as a behavioural input (Smith 2018, Jones 2019), another treating it as a proxy for displacement of other activity (Patel 2020).'
3.Name the GAP in a literature on remote work and innovation.
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'What this literature has not yet asked is whether innovation declines are concentrated in early-career hires, who never had the in-person network to begin with.'
4.POSITION a paper that joins an institutional account but qualifies it.
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'This paper sits in the institutional account, follows Lee on opacity, and qualifies the deterministic version of the claim by introducing two scope conditions.'
5.Sort these into "natural" and "not natural" and justify each decision out loud: "**Group**: Three lines of work meet on this question: a measurement strand, a causal strand and an institutional strand." · "**Relate**: Within the institutional strand, Lee follows Patel's framing but departs sharply on the question of whether opacity is endogenous." · "**Name the gap**: What this literature has not yet asked is whether opacity is itself a response to prior trust losses, rather than a cause." · "**Position**: This paper sits in the institutional strand, takes seriously Lee's concern about endogeneity, and proposes one identification strategy not yet attempted in the literature."
6.Build three sentences on this pattern about your own week — one neutral, one emphatic, one tentative.
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A C2 literature review is built on: (a) GROUPING by argumentative function ('Three lines of work meet on this question…'); (b) RELATING sources within each group ('Following Smith but extending Jones…'); (c) NAMING THE GAP ('What this literature has not yet asked is…'); (d) POSITIONING THE PAPER ('This paper sits in the third line and addresses…'). Chronology is a backup, not the default.
1.Fill: 'Three ____ of work meet on this question.' (1 word)
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strands
2.Fill: 'I ____ three sources into a single claim.' (1 word)
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synthesise
3.Fill: 'The paper sits ____ the institutional strand.' (1 word)
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within
4.Complete in context: "Three strands of work meet on this question."
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strand (of work / argument)
5.Complete in context: "The paper sits within the institutional strand and against the cultural one."
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to sit within / sit against (a tradition)
6.Complete in context: "The gap is not what the literature has answered badly — it is what it has not yet asked."
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the gap (in the literature)
7.Complete in context: "I synthesise three sources into a single claim rather than reviewing them one by one."
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to synthesise (rather than summarise)
8.Complete in context: "The paper proposes ______ not yet attempted."
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an identification strategy
9.Complete in context: "I extend Patel's finding to a non-Western sample, with appropriate caveats."
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to extend (a finding) to
10.Cover the list. Which words can you still recall, and what does each one add that a simpler word wouldn't?
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strand (of work / argument) — a distinct line within a broader literature | to sit within / sit against (a tradition) — to locate the paper inside or outside a school of thought | the gap (in the literature) — what existing work has not yet addressed | to synthesise (rather than summarise) — to draw a unified position from multiple sources | an identification strategy — a method designed to isolate a causal effect | to extend (a finding) to — to apply a result beyond its original context with care
1.Give two natural word partners for "strand (of work / argument)" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: Three strands of work meet on this question.
2.Give two natural word partners for "to sit within / sit against (a tradition)" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: The paper sits within the institutional strand and against the cultural one.
3.Give two natural word partners for "the gap (in the literature)" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: The gap is not what the literature has answered badly — it is what it has not yet asked.
4.Give two natural word partners for "to synthesise (rather than summarise)" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: I synthesise three sources into a single claim rather than reviewing them one by one.
5.Give two natural word partners for "an identification strategy" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: The paper proposes an identification strategy not yet attempted.
6.Give two natural word partners for "to extend (a finding) to" (adjective + noun, verb + noun, or adverb + adjective), then use one.
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Model use: I extend Patel's finding to a non-Western sample, with appropriate caveats.
7.Choose three words from this lesson and build one sentence that uses all three naturally.
1.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "strand (of work / argument)": "Three strands of work meet on this question."
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Keep the meaning of: a distinct line within a broader literature
2.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to sit within / sit against (a tradition)": "The paper sits within the institutional strand and against the cultural one."
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Keep the meaning of: to locate the paper inside or outside a school of thought
3.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "the gap (in the literature)": "The gap is not what the literature has answered badly — it is what it has not yet asked."
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Keep the meaning of: what existing work has not yet addressed
4.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "to synthesise (rather than summarise)": "I synthesise three sources into a single claim rather than reviewing them one by one."
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Keep the meaning of: to draw a unified position from multiple sources
5.Rewrite so the meaning stays the same but you do NOT use "an identification strategy": "The paper proposes an identification strategy not yet attempted."
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Keep the meaning of: a method designed to isolate a causal effect
6.Summarise the lesson's main idea in exactly 20 words — no more, no less.
1.Question: does early bilingual exposure improve later cognitive flexibility?
2.Question: does urban density predict mental-health outcomes?
3.Question: do four-day-week trials change measured productivity?
4.Long turn (2 minutes, no notes): You + teacher co-author a literature-review SKELETON for a paper in your field. The skeleton MUST contain: 2–4 named strands; 2 sources per strand (real or plausibly invented); one named gap; one positioned-paper sentence; one decision about what to bracket. Use today's vocabulary throughout.
5.Record 90 seconds using at least four of: strand (of work / argument), to sit within / sit against (a tradition), the gap (in the literature), to synthesise (rather than summarise), an identification strategy. Listen back and mark one thing to make more precise.
1.Plan first: write a three-line outline (position → strongest support → concession) before you draft.
2.Write a 300–340-word literature review section for a paper you might write. You MUST: (a) organise by AT LEAST two strands, (b) cite at least two sources per strand, (c) name the gap in one sentence, (d) position the paper in one sentence, (e) bracket one question, (f) use at least four target items. (300–340 words). Include: strand (of work / argument), to sit within / sit against (a tradition), the gap (in the literature), to synthesise (rather than summarise), an identification strategy, to extend (a finding) to.
3.Model analysis: compare your text with the model. What does the model do in its first and last sentences that yours doesn't?
1.Academic gapped texts often hinge on cohesion across strands rather than within paragraphs.
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Predict the missing sentence by asking what STRAND or POSITION the paragraph requires next.
2.How is the literature organised?
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By argumentative strand (structural, cultural, institutional), not by chronology.
3.Where is the gap named?
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'What this literature, taken together, has not yet asked is whether the three strands name three distinct mechanisms or three faces of one.'
4.Where is the paper positioned?
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'The present paper sits in the institutional strand but addresses the integrative question.'
5.What is the contribution claim?
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Structural — a new way of asking the question — rather than a new finding.
6.Why is the closing line ('a way of asking the question that the three strands can recognise as theirs') a strong move?
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It positions the contribution as legible across strands, increasing its chance of being read and engaged.
1.In your own words, when do you use "From list to positioned narrative"?
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A C2 literature review is built on: (a) GROUPING by argumentative function ('Three lines of work meet on this question…'); (b) RELATING sources within each group ('Following Smith but extending Jones…'); (c) NAMING THE GAP ('What this literature has not yet asked is…'); (d) POSITIONING THE PAPER ('This paper sits in the third line and addresses…'). Chronology is a backup, not the default.
2.Complete naturally: "Three strands of work meet on this question."
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strand (of work / argument)
3.Complete naturally: "The paper sits within the institutional strand and against the cultural one."
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to sit within / sit against (a tradition)
4.Complete naturally: "The gap is not what the literature has answered badly — it is what it has not yet asked."
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the gap (in the literature)
5.Complete naturally: "I synthesise three sources into a single claim rather than reviewing them one by one."
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to synthesise (rather than summarise)
6.Complete naturally: "The paper proposes ______ not yet attempted."
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an identification strategy
7.Two-minute retell: summarise the reading/listening from this lesson without looking at it.
8.What review have you read that did this WELL — what made it different from a list?
9.What gap in your field can you name in one sentence?