English for Academic Purposes
CRICOS Course Code: 092779J
Levels: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced (Level 1 to 4)
Duration: 12 weeks per level
Full-time: 20 hours per week
Fees (per week): $410
Delivery Mode: Face to Face
Delivery Location: Level 5, 127 Liverpool Street, Sydney NSW 2000

INFORMATION ABOUT THIS COURSE
Scots’ EAP Course consists of four 12-week blocks of 20 hours per week.
Students who successfully complete the EAP 1 and EAP 2 course will have gained a strong language skills foundation to allow them to take the language skills EAP 3 and EAP 4 Levels. Having completed EAP 3, students usually meet the English language requirements for vocational education and training (VET) courses. Students entering the EAP course at level 4 will be seeking a pass at IELTS 6.5 - 7.0 in order to enter a tertiary course at a higher education provider
The table below provides a sample of the Syllabus for EAP 3 – Upper Interndiate, Week 3
EAP Upper Intermediate | Week 3 (Module 1, Week 3) |
Theme: Society (1st of 3 weeks) | 1st of 3 weeks on EAP Now! Unit 2 |
Key learning Outcomes | Performance Criteria / Sub-skills |
Speaking | |
EUS1: Can take part in discussions on topics of current or general interest provided the topic is not too abstract, technical or obscure | Discuss various social issues; explain own ideas; respond to the ideas of others |
EUS2: Some ability to use more complex, less common and/or idiomatic lexis and language patterns has developed | Use vocabulary for social issues; for expressing change; understand the importance of collocation Build awareness that different fields have their own vocabulary |
EUS4: Can clearly express & justify opinions, discuss pros & cons, provide coherent arguments etc | Discuss various social issues; explain own ideas; respond to the ideas of others |
EUS5: Can give short structured spoken descriptions and explanations in which significant features, trends etc are highlighted | Understand & describe percentages, pie charts and bar charts |
EUS8: Can successfully negotiate roles in a group assignment | Negotiate joint construction of a group project Jointly ensure group essay has cohesion |
Listening | |
EUL1: Can generally follow group discussions where delivery isn’t too fast & the language isn’t too colloquial | Listen to participate in discussion on various social issues |
EUL2: Follows the main points and many details of conversations & lectures on common topics, applying strategies such as prediction as appropriate | Listen for specific info/details in a short lecture Relate ideas heard to own life |
EUL7: can identify some meaning through stress & intonation, e.g. emphasis, attitude | Listen for tone of voice to infer tone/attitude |
Reading | |
EUR1: Effectively uses strategies such as predicting from headings etc, skimming & scanning | Choose between skimming and scanning; skim a variety of text types such as essays, web pages, indexes and catalogues |
EUR2: Can follow & extract most information & ideas from most short to medium length articles on common topics | Read in detail after skimming/scanning to find appropriate place in the text |
EUR3: Extracts meaning by following features of text structure such as staging, topic sentences and cohesive devices etc | Identify and use text structure to aid understanding |
EUR5: Can identify and evaluate evidence used to support an idea | Differentiate between weak and strong evidence |
Writing | |
EUW1: Can write a range of types of short essay that explain, argue or discuss topics in an academic way, broadly structured according to genre conventions, with logical paragraphing | Plan and write structured argument essays Write body paragraphs with an appropriate structure |
EUW3: Some use of cohesive devices allows for some smoothness in the flow of ideas | Use discourse markers of addition and contrast |
EUW4: Can give and justify an opinion, evaluate ideas etc in a logical way | Plan and write structured argument essays |
EUW8: Can contribute to an extended explanation essay or report as part of a group project | Negotiate joint construction of a group project Jointly ensure group essay has cohesion |
Assessment in Week 3
Weekly out-of-class work: write an opinion based essay (argument or discussion), topic at teacher’s discretion (EUW1-4)
Weekly skills test: CI4 Test 1, Reading (EUR1-6)
In-class assessment: Speaking (EUS1-7)
The following table shows a course content sample of Scots’ IELTS Preparation Level 1 program
Bring together the first drafts of their sections, and put together a first draft of the whole essay discuss first draft and how it should be refined (may include feedback from teacher and/or peers)
Language focus e.g. grammar, vocab, functions |
Activities Main activities in each macroskill area |
Resources Ref & page nos |
Oral/aural skills | ||
Discuss various social issues; explain own ideas; respond to the ideas of others; Listen to participate in discussion on those topics | Respond to guided discussion questions (EUS1,4; EUL1) Personal response questions after listening; ‘fine someone who’ activity involving well-developed opinion based responses |
EN2 p30-31 EN2 p33-34 EN2 p38 EN2 p43 AE2-3LS p129-134 AE2-3LS p137-139 |
Use vocabulary for expressing change; understand the concept of collocation | Examine nature and usefulness of collocation; vocabulary/collocation input; vocabulary/collocation practice (EUS2) | EN2 p30-31 FoI2 p18-21 for later reviewECU-A p129-134 |
Build awareness that different fields have their own vocabulary | Examine vocab in context; extend by discussing how to find out about terms in own field of future study | ECU-A p131 |
Negotiate joint construction of a group project jointly ensure group essay has cohesion | Students finish first drafts of their part of the essay, then bring them together, and, through negotiation, put together a first draft. Then negotiate further improvements for the second draft (EUS8, EUW8) | Project work |
Understand & describe percentages, pie charts and bar charts using appropriate vocabulary | Describe pie charts; extend by discussing how bar charts are similar/different (EUW2,5) | AE2-3LS p132, 137 |
Listen for specific info/details in a short lecture; relate ideas heard to own life; listen for tone of voice to infer tone/attitude | Answer T/F questions; multiple-choice questions; identify tone of voice and match to attitude; discuss what was heard | AE2-3LS p133-136 |
Writing/reading skills | ||
Choose between skimming and scanning; skim a variety of text types such as essays, web pages, indexes and catalogues; | Examine the purpose and usefulness of skimming; compare with scanning; decide which technique is best in a variety of situations; scanning race (EUR1) | EN2 p31-35 |
Read in detail after skimming/ scanning to find appropriate place in the text ; identify and use text structure to aid understanding | Check information; answer/discuss questions relating to the text (EUR2,3) | EN2 p34-35 |
Find meaning from context | Use the text to match words to meanings (EUR2) | EN2 p36 |
Differentiate between weak and strong evidence | Look at possible types of evidence and the reasons why the evidence may be weak or strong; decide what types of evidence are represented in a text; evaluate the strength of evidence therein (EUR5) | EN2 p36-38 |
Plan and write structured argument essays; Use discourse markers of addition and contrast; Write body paragraphs with an appropriate structure | Examine structure and generic features of example argument essay; look at how cohesion is achieved through discourse signals marking similar and opposing ideas; examine how body paragraphs are structured; write own body paragraphs; plan and write own argument essay. this could be extended by asking students to respond to at least one of the questions on p46. (EUR3, EUW1,3,4) | EN2 p39-44
FoI2 p30 looks at ‘mindplans’ for essays |
Homework / Independent study Finish writing started in class; work on project |
Resources
Core text(s) / Key resources Cox & Hill (2010) EAP Now! 2nd Edition. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Australia | EN2 |
Recommended supplementary resources | |
CUP (2006), Cambridge IELTS 4. Cambridge: CUP | CI4 |
Glendinning & Holmstrom (2004) Study Reading 2nd Edition. Cambridge: CUP | SR2 |
Guse (2011) Communicative Activities for EAP Cambridge: CUP | CAE |
McCarthy & O’Dell (2008) Academic Vocabulary in Use with Answers. Cambridge: CUP | AVU |
McCarthy & O’Dell (2008) English Collocations in Use: Advanced Cambridge: CUP | ECU-A |
O’Connell (2010) Focus on IELTS New (2nd) Edition. Harlow: Pearson | FoI2 |
Sanabria (2012) Academic Encounters 2nd Ed 3: Life in Society Listening & Speaking New York: CUP | AE2-3LS |
How many tests will I get?
If you study the EAP 1, 2, 3 OR 4 course, you will be assessed through a series of assessment tasks which will be carried out throughout the duration of each 12-week course. All four levels of EAP have about a similar number of assessment tasks but the subject matter will more difficult and demanding as you move through the levels from EAP 1 to EAP 4.
Each assessment task will be graded, with three pass grades; A, B, and C, and one non-pass D grade. To satisfactorily complete the EAP course, you must receive a pass grade for all your pieces of work. If you receive any D grades up to two-thirds of the course (week 6), you will be given the opportunity to improve and resubmit work before the end of week 8. If you get more than 2 D grades (after resubmission or after week 7), you will have to retake the course if you hope to achieve a pass grade higher than D.
The following table gives you and outline of kind of assessment tasks you will be asked to complete for the EAP courseS. You can see from this table that you have a number of weeks to hand in each assessment task. Your teacher may also give you extra assignments, especially if there is an area where you need some improvement.
Skill | Assessment |
Listening | Gap fill |
Listening for detail | |
Taking Notes | |
Writing a summary | |
Speaking 1 | Oral Presentation |
Speaking 2 | Debate/ Discussion Group |
Reading & Comprehension | A range of Reading & Comprehension tasks from different text types |
Writing 1 | Writing a summary from a text |
Argument essay | |
Narrative | |
Compare & Contrast Essay | |
Information Report | |
Writing 2 | Major Research Essay |
Thesis & Tentative References | |
References & Notes | |
First Draft | |
Final Draft | |
Finished Essay |
This table will help you understand the grades you can achieve and the end of course results you need to study at different levels of tertiary education.
Grade & % | EAP 2 - Pathway to | EAP 3 - Pathway to | EAP 4 - Pathway to |
HD = > 85% | VET Cert IV Certificate Courses | VET Advanced Diploma Courses | Higher Education |
D = 75% - 84% | VET Cert III Courses | VET Diploma Courses | Higher Education |
C = 65 – 74% | VET Diploma/ Advanced Diploma Courses | VET Diploma/ Advanced Diploma Courses | |
P = 50 – 64% | VET Cert III Courses | ||
F = < 50% |