Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Zuzana Šaffková
the other properties of a text. The source of success in spotting the introduction (Q2 – 81%) is
obvious for the same reasons. The outcome from this activity significantly influenced the mode of the
subsequent face-to-face training that offered the students more guidance in the aforementioned area.
Q1 Conclusion
Q1.1 Reasons
Q2 Introduction
Q3 Description
Q4 Explanation
Q5 Summary
Q6 Background information
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Figure 4: Distinguishing argument from non-argument (N=106*)
Correct
Incorrect
*The lower number of students shows a gradual drop-out rate, typical of the first-year undergraduates.
Reading between the lines, as the main theme of Unit 3 (Figure 5), is an ability that requires using
inference and deduction in order to understand what is meant, as well as what is expressed explicitly.
In the in-class session, the attention was paid to intensive practice in recognizing narrative
perspective, picking up clues form text, evaluating false premises and disclosing latent messages
used to reinforce an argument. In the on-line component of the lesson, the students read a short
paragraph and had to detect three hidden assumptions that the text contained (Q1).
Q1 Hidden
assumptions
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
3 assumptions
2 assumption
1 assumption
None
Figure 5: Reading between the lines (N=106)
A relatively high number of the students who were able to disclose at least one hidden assumption
(69%) and formulate satisfactorily the latent bias, indicates an effective prior instruction that
contributed to these results. Moreover, for the students, this was a completely new area that attracted
their attention as they considered it both important and interesting. Nevertheless in the consecutive inclass
session more practice was devoted to exploring and evaluating underlying assumptions.
The ability to recognize valid arguments was a further step towards developing the students´ critical
reading skills in Unit 4 (Figure 6). In the face-to-face session the students discussed different types of
evidence that makes a sound argument and rehearsed finding and critically evaluating potential
sources of support. Then their task was to determine the conclusion (Q1), distinguish relevant pieces
of evidence in a text (Q2) from sections that were not valid for the main conclusion (Q3).
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