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LANG 1003 - English for University Studies II: About: Guide & Assignment

Purpose - How this Guide will Help you

This guide is developed to help LANG 1003 students, search, find, select, and cite good sources (mostly articles) for your assignments.  Using this guide before, during, and after the Library workshop, you will.

  • Learn to recognize & find good articles from useful magazines (like Psychology Today, The Economist, Wired, Time, History Today, etc.).
  • Learn to recognize and find good articles from English language newspapers, locally (like The Standard and the South China Morning Post) and overseas (like The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Globe and Mail, etc.)
  • Learn some criteria for critically evaluating information sources

Your assignments

Academic blogs—two individual blog posts on academic readings, research process (including attention to references, evaluating different sources, critical reading) . The blogs must have APA citations and references.

  • 1st task: individual blog post  - Summary & Critique (which will later be used as a source for group multi-modal project)
    • Required type of text: a magazine or journal article (online or paper/in English)
    • Context: an academic blog on a HKUST/university website
    • Purpose: to share your research
    • Audience: an academic audience, including the general public and university students
    • Words: 300-400 words
  • 2nd task: individual blog post  - Comparison  & Synthesis (which will later be used as a source for group multi-modal project)
    • Two  required types of texts:  
        1. one source can be a website or news article (online or paper/in English) 
        2. the other should be a magazine, journal article, or book excerpt (online or paper) 
    • Context: an academic blog on a HKUST/university website
    • Purpose: to share your research 
    • Audience: an academic audience, including the general public and university students
    • Words: 300-400 words 

Multi-modal presentation: can embed video, graphics, charts, etc.


"Your academic blogs will focus on academic sources that you find in your research for this class.

  • First, your project group will choose a topic from the list of topics.
  • You will then need to individually research your topic to find out more information about it.
  •  In your research, you should use the search strategies that you learn in the library workshop and in lessons to find appropriate sources."

Feedback Link

Link for feedback form: https://library.ust.hk/feedback

Pre-Workshop Videos

Before the Library workshop, watch these 5 short videos (less than 11 minutes total).

How to Searching

PowerSearch - Your One Stop Info Search (0:52)

Advanced Search in PowerSearch (1:33)

Find Magazine Articles with EBSCOhost (2:49)

How to Find Magazine Articles with Proquest (2:55)

Conceptual - thinking about keywords and research questions

Mind Mapping (2:38)

Ask a Librarian

Need help with finding information or doing your research? Ask a Librarian!

WhatsApp 9701-1055
Phone 2358-6760
Email lbref@ust.hk
Schedule Research Coaching session ​


Icons source:
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