Today's picture: The hole in the rock, Bay of Islands

Part 1: Today's word

If research, strategies, beliefs etc are flawed, it means that there’s something basically wrong with them A flaw is some kind of mistake that means that something is not perfect. So, for example, if a diamond has a flaw, it means that it’s not pure and its value is much less. A flawed argument is the same – it contains some mistake which means that it’s ineffective. The word is often used with ‘logic’, ‘argument’ ‘policy’, ‘analysis’ etc and normally means that the report, policy etc needs to be done again because it’s not good enough. You need to make sure that your academic work isn’t flawed – the most common flaws include irrelevance (not answering the question), ambiguity (unclear arguments), incoherence (arguments not connected together), poor interpretation (arguments not supported by evidence), plagiarism (copying from the work of others).

Her argument was interesting but flawed as her conclusions were not supported by her own evidence.

Her research suffered from one basic flaw – a lack of attention to detail.

For more practice, see Unit 2 of www.academicenglishgenerator.com

Part 2: Test

Here are FOUR sentences with the word of the day. But only THREE are correct. Which is the Odd One Out?

Her research project was flawed since she hadn’t developed any model with which to interpret her data.

He produced some interesting ideas but his basic argument was flawed.

The company was flawed by its lack of organisation

Marlon Brando was recognised as a fascinating but flawed actor.

Part 3: Practice Questions:

Do you feel your academic work has suffered from the common flaws (irrelevance, ambiguity, incoherence, poor interpretation or plagiarism)?

Can you think of any famous flawed geniuses?

Part 4: Kiwi Quiz Question

Which of these soccer clubs is the oldest?

Real Madrid (Madrid, Spain)
Chelsea (London, England)
North Shore United (Devonport, New Zealand)
Internazionale (Milan, Italy)

Part 5: Today's online reading:

Why dying is forbidden in the arctic (BBC)

To read article, click on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7501691.stm

To listen to podcast of the article in a 30 minute programme, click on:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/fooc/

Vocabulary for the article:
remote / succumb / decompose / morbid curiosity / stem from / entrenched / limbs / dread / huskies /

Questions for the article:

Why can't you die on the island of Longyearbyen?
What's the population of the town?
How long is a summer's day?
What facilities are there for retired people in the town?
How do the children remember the sun during winter?
Why do the children have to be taught to stretch?
What do university students learn on their first day?
Why do the ducks live next to the dogs in the town?

Today's musical intro: from Senegal, W. Africa
Douna by Daby Balde. From the CD 'Introducing Daby Balde'. World Music Network: 2005