Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Primary education

Paradigmatic (vertical) axis

The words organizations, groups, and Amnesty International are related to each other because they all belong to the same semantic group, a relationship known as hyponymy. Organizations serve as a hypernym (a more general or superordinate word), while human rights groups and Amnesty International serve as hyponyms (more specific words, in this case types of organizations). The other two kinds of paradigmatic relationships are those of synonymy (prompted = caused) and antonymy (weak/strong).

Syntagmatic (horizontal) axis
 Unlike the paradigmatic relationships, the syntagmatic relationships of a word are not about meaning. They are about the lexical company the word keeps (collocation) and the grammatical patterns

Modern Descriptive Grammar

Descriptive grammar describes language as it is, not as it should be. It is based on a massive corpus of real English, both spoken and written, and it considers many structures that traditional grammar either ignored completely (e.g., determiners and verb complementation) or discussed only briefly (e.g., aspect and adverbial clauses). The first generation of descriptive grammars may be said to be the work of 'armchair grammarians', while only the current generation is corpus-based. Descriptive grammar, like other kinds of grammar, relies on structural analysis. It looks at syntax on many levels: morpheme, word, phrase, clause, sentence, and text.

Generative Grammar

Chomsky (1965) views language as an innate ability that... Continue reading "Descriptive, Generative, and Systemic Functional Grammar" »

Earth's Internal Structure and Plate Tectonics

Seismic Wave Behavior at Different Depths

P-waves (primary waves) and S-waves (secondary waves) are seismic waves that travel through the Earth's interior. At a depth of 100 km, P-waves have a speed of 6 km/s. This speed increases to 8 km/s as the material becomes more rigid. The speed then decreases at the Mohorovičić discontinuity. After 300 km, the speed begins to rise again until it reaches a point where it increases slowly because the material is less rigid. The Repetti discontinuity separates the lower mantle from the upper mantle. Continuing on, P-waves reach a point where their speed plunges at a depth of over 3,000 km. This is where S-waves diminish completely, as the material is more... Continue reading "Earth's Layers, Seismic Waves, and the Wilson Cycle" »

Academic English

Academic English refers to the oral, written, auditory, and visual proficiency required to learn and communicate effectively in schools and academic programs, where English is used as a vehicular language.

Academic English is usually formal in tone, it has an advanced vocabulary and impersonal style. We avoid contractions or shortened forms of verbs. We avoid personal pronouns. We may use passive forms and academic vocabulary.

• EFL - English as a Foreign Language (in England)
• ESL - English as a Secondary Language (in Spain)
• ELF - English Lingua Franca
• EMI - English as a Medium of Instruction

Understanding Genres in Academic English

A genre is a class of communicative events, the members of which share a communicative purpose. John Swales... Continue reading "Academic English: Oral and Written Communication" »

Romanticism is a term used to refer to a cultural movement whose origins can be traced back to Wordsworth's publication, Lyrical Ballads, in 1798, and it comes to an end in 1924 with Lord Byron's death. It's considered to be a reaction to the Age of Reason and Enlightenment. Romantic thinkers preferred irrationality and attempted to answer big questions.

S. T. Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner": A Poem of Romanticism

S. T. Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is one of the most well-known poems associated with Romanticism. It is included in Biografia Literaria and tells the story of a mariner and his crew sailing, where the mariner kills an albatross and everyone is punished because of it.

Key Features of Romanticism in the

Before Henry I, the two moments belonged to the king because bishops were feudal lords in first place, so the king had the right to choose them. In times of Henry II, the church is going to have a reform known as the Gregorian Reform, and one of the things that the church wanted was to be independent from the king. So this was the first battle, the first moment of tension between the King and the Church.

There was an agreement and Henry I retained the right to choose the bishop, but then the ceremony remained totally religious. So to the eyes of the world it was the Church who invested the bishop.

Henry I had one daughter, Mathilda, but he had no male heirs. That was a problem because it had never been a woman ruling England. Mathilda was married

Then a second woman appeared in his life, Anne Boleyn. This fact, together with the impossibility of having a son with Catherine, led him to want to end his marriage. However, it was difficult because Catherine was the aunt of Charles V, who sacked Rome and imprisoned the Pope, so he could not dissolve the matrimony. To solve the problem, he created a parallel church in England: the Anglican Church, and gave himself the title of Supreme Head. So, finally, he could divorce Catherine and marry Anne. This produced a lot of religious tension all over Europe and many conflicts. Once again, he had a daughter named Elizabeth. At this moment, his decline began due to the impossibility of having a male heir. Anne Boleyn was accused of adultery, so she... Continue reading "Henry VIII's Reign: England's Religious Shift" »

Chapter 8 – Earthquakes

What is the elastic rebound theory? Is it possible for energy building up in the lithosphere to be released in a sequence of earthquakes?

Rocks “spring back” – a phenomenon called elastic rebound

Energy is released in a sequence of earthquakes (one earthquake can trigger slip on a nearby fault)

What is a seismic body wave, and what characterizes each of the two types of body waves (i.e. type of motion, velocity)?

1. Primary(P) waves(spring)=push&pull motion, greatest velocity, arrive first, travel solid, liquid, gases.
2. Secondary(S) waves (rope)=up&down motion, slower velocity, arrive after P at seismograph, travel only solid.

What is a seismic surface wave, and what characterizes each of the two types of surface

The Impact of the Penal Laws

Another negative aspect was the imposition of the so-called Penal Laws, which were a series of laws imposed in an attempt to force Irish Catholics to accept the reformed denomination as defined by the Anglican Church. Many Catholics were persecuted. Another aspect imposed had to do with the distribution of the land: Puritans could give the whole land to their descendants. However, Catholics had to divide it, so the value of the land diminished, and this worsened over generations. Oliver Cromwell imposed these laws because during the First Civil War the King counted on the help of Catholics, so it was like revenge.

1653 – 1658: The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell

During this period, Oliver Cromwell took full control... Continue reading "The Restoration and Reign of Charles II: A Transformative Era" »